Justia Nebraska Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s grant of qualified immunity to county deputy sheriff James Roark in this action brought by Marilyn Walton pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983. In her complaint, Walton alleged a violation of her Fourth Amendment rights when Roark entered Waldron’s home to serve a warrant on Waldron’s grandson. Specifically, Waldron alleged that Roark violated the knock-and-announce rule and that her arrest was unlawful. The district court ultimately granted summary judgment in favor of Roark on the basis that he was entitled to qualified immunity. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Waldron did not meet her burden of showing that Roark violated a clearly established right in any of Waldron’s claims. View "Waldron v. Roark" on Justia Law

In this divorce case, the Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals, which affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court’s judgment, and remanded the cause with directions to affirm the decree entered by the trial court. The Supreme Court held that the court of appeals erred in (1) determining that the entirety of the proceeds from a personal injury settlement should be included in the marital estate; (2) remanding the matter to the district court for recalculation of the value of the marital estate and redistribution of the assets and debts; and (3) remanding the matter for recalculation of Husband’s child support obligation. View "Marshall v. Marshall" on Justia Law

At issue was whether the district court properly dismissed the petition brought by Frenchman-Cambridge Irrigation District (FCID) challenging certain integrated management plans (IMPs). The district court found that there was subject matter jurisdiction but dismissed the petition for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. The Supreme Court vacated the order of the district court for lack of jurisdiction, holding (1) FCID lacked standing to challenge the IMPs because it failed to show that the IMPs caused an injury-in-fact; and (2 )because FCID failed to establish standing, the district court lacked jurisdiction over the case. View "Frenchman-Cambridge Irrigation District v. Department of Natural Resources" on Justia Law

A court can consider an exception to the State’s waiver of immunity for tort claims under the State Tort Claims Act (STCA) sua sponte and for the first time on appeal. In so holding, the Supreme Court overruled Nebraska cases holding that an STCA exception is an affirmative defense that the State must plead and prove.Here, Defendant appealed the district court’s order dismissing his negligence claim under the STCA and his due process and Eighth Amendment claims under 42 U.S.C. 1983. The district court dismissed Defendant’s claims against Defendants - state officials and employees of the Nebraska Board of Parole and the Department of Correctional Services - concluding that all of Defendant’s claims were barred by sovereign immunity, qualified immunity, or pleading deficiencies. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the STCA exception for claims of false imprisonment applied, which exception barred Defendant’s tort claim under the doctrine of sovereign immunity; and (2) the district court did not err in ruling that Defendants were shielded from Defendant’s section 1983 action by absolute or qualified immunity. View "Davis v. State" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court vacated the order of the district court vacating the order of the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission, which denied four beer retailers’ applications to renew their liquor licenses. The retailers were located in an unincorporated border town just across the state line from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation where the sale and consumption of alcohol were prohibited. Without addressing the merits of the parties’ respective positions, the Supreme Court vacated the district court’s order, holding that the district court lacked jurisdiction over the retailers’ petition for review because the retailers did not comply with the requirements for judicial review under the Administrative Procedure Act. View "Kozal v. Nebraska Liquor Control Commission" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s admission of evidence obtained during a search of Defendant’s room. The district court overruled Defendant’s motion to suppress evidence seized from Defendant's bedroom following his consent to a search. The court found that the search warrant for the common areas of a house and a roommate’s bedroom was invalid but that Defendant voluntarily consented to the search of his bedroom and that the search was sufficiently attenuated from the invalid warrant. The Supreme Court agreed, holding that the district court correctly determined that Defendant’s consent was voluntary and that it was not obtained by exploitation of the prior illegality of the search warrant. View "State v. Bray" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the holding of the Court of Appeals reversing the decision of the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Court finding that Employee’s work-related injury was fully resolved within three days of the work accident and that Employee’s need for additional medical treatment was the result of a non-work-related injury. The Supreme Court held (1) there was sufficient competent evidence to support the Workers’ Compensation Court’s determination that Employee’s work-related injury was fully resolved prior to his subsequent fall; and (2) the Workers’ Compensation Court was not clearly wrong in finding that Employee did not meet his burden of proving that his subsequent injury was the result of his workplace accident. View "Hintz v. Farmers Cooperative Ass’n" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the district court’s grant of summary judgment for Plaintiff inmates and grant of injunctive relief enjoining state officials and their agents from denying the inmates a marriage ceremony via videoconference or enforcing the Department of Correctional Services’ policy that interfered with Plaintiffs’ ability to marry. The Department denied Plaintiffs’ request to marry under an internal policy that it does not transport an inmate to another facility for a marriage ceremony. The inmates were also denied a marriage ceremony via videoconferencing because the Department interpreted Neb. Rev. Stat. 42-109 to require Plaintiffs to both appear physically before an officiant. Plaintiffs sued Defendants - state officials - in their individual capacities for interfering with the inmates’ request to marry. The district court concluded that the Department’s policy impermissibly burdened the inmates’ right to marry and that its interpretation of section 42-109 was constitutionally flawed and granted an injunction. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the district court erred in granting the inmates juncture relief because Defendants could only be sued for injunctive relief in their official capacities. View "Gillpatrick v. Sabatka-Rine" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the district court’s exclusion of untimely disclosed expert opinions regarding medical bills in order to enforce progression orders in an automobile negligence case. The court of appeals reversed the judgment in favor of Defendants, concluding that the district court abused its discretion in excluding, as a discovery sanction, nearly all of Plaintiff’s medical bills, as well as testimony from Plaintiff’s expert witness that the bills were reasonable and necessary. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) the district court did not need to apply the factors set forth in Norway v. Union Pacific Railroad, 407 N.W.2d 146 (Neb. 1987) to enforce its progression order; and (2) it was not an abuse of discretion to exclude evidence disclosed more than one year after the discovery deadline imposed by the court’s progression order. View "Putnam v. Scherbring" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the trial court denying Defendant’s motion for absolute discharge, holding (1) the district court did not err in denying Defendant’s motion for discharge based on Defendant’s statutory right to a speedy trial under Neb. Rev. Stat. 29-1207(4)(b) because Defendant had permanently waived his statutory right to a speedy trial by asking for a continuance that resulted in extending the trial date beyond the statutory six-month period; and (2) there was no merit to Defendant’s constitutional speedy trial claim. View "State v. Gill" on Justia Law