Justia Nebraska Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court reversed the order of the district court dismissing the complaint brought by Great Plains Livestock Consulting, Inc. and its president (collectively, Great Plains) against Midwest Insurance Exchange, Inc. (Midwest), as well as UNICO Group, Inc. and one of its agents (collectively, UNICO), holding that Great Plains' action was ripe.Great Plains alleged that Midwest and UNICO negligently failed to transfer or procure an errors and omissions insurance policy, which would have covered the costs of defense for two lawsuits filed in another state against Great Plains. The district court dismissed the complaint as unripe because Defendants' liability and Great Plains' damages were currently unknown and because Great Plains may never be found liable in the out-of-state litigation. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded the case for further proceedings, holding that Great Plains' action was ripe. View "Great Plains Livestock Consulting, Inc. v. Midwest Insurance Exchange, Inc." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's convictions relating to allegations of sexual assault of a child, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on her assignments of error.After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of eleven counts in four separate cases relating to allegations of sexual assault of a child and was sentenced to an aggregate sentence of sixty-four to 102 years' imprisonment. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Defendant was not prejudiced by the procedure followed by the district court with respect to instruction No. 4; (2) the district court did not err in allowing the forensic interview program manager at a child advocacy center to testify as an expert on the issue of grooming; and (3) there was no abuse of discretion in the district court's sentences. View "State v. Greer" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the Tax Equalization and Review Commission (TERC) affirming the judgment of the Perkins County Board of Equalization dismissing a 2021 property valuation protest brought by Mid America Products/Wheatland Industries LLC (Wheatland) because it was not timely filed, holding that there was no error.Wheatland, which owned a real estate parcel in Perkins County, protested the Perkins County assessor's valuation for the 2021 tax year. The Board automatically dismissed the 2021 protest as a matter of law. TERC affirmed, concluding that the Board correctly dismissed Wheatland's protest because the protest had not been timely filed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that because Wheatland's protest was filed after the statutory June 30 deadline, the Board properly dismissed the protest of the 2021 property valuation. View "Mid America Agri Products v. Perkins County Bd. of Equalization" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion for postconviction relief without an evidentiary hearing, holding that the district court properly found that Defendant's claims were either procedurally barred, insufficiently alleged, or affirmatively refuted by the record.After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of first degree murder, two counts of use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony, first degree assault, and possession fo a firearm by a prohibited person. Defendant later filed a motion for postconviction relief, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel and trial error. The district court denied relief without holding an evidentiary hearing. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Defendant failed to allege facts that would affirmatively show that he was entitled to no relief. View "State v. Lessley" on Justia Law

In this medical malpractice action, the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of defendant-doctors after granting a motion to strike Plaintiff's expert witness, holding that there was no error.Plaintiff brought this action individually and on behalf of her minor daughter alleging negligence during the child's birth. After dismissing one defendant by operation of law and entering an order striking Plaintiff's expert witness the district court granted summary judgment in favor of Defendants. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court's decision to strike the expert witness was not an abuse of discretion; and (2) the district court did not err in granting summary judgment to Defendants. View "Carrizales v. Creighton St. Joseph" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court vacated the decision of the court of appeals concluding that an order of partial summary judgment entered in the underlying proceeding to modify custody and child support was immediately appealable as a final order in a special proceeding under Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-1902(1)(b), holding that Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-1315(1) was implicated but was not satisfied.Plaintiff filed a complaint to modify his child support obligation and certain provisions of the parties' parenting plan. Defendant counterclaimed, alleging that the Nebraska court did not have subject matter jurisdiction over the child at issue when the dissolution decree was entered. The district court granted summary judgment for Defendant and voided every provision in the decree and parenting plan related to the child. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court vacated the court of appeals' decision, holding that section 25-1315(1) was implicated in this case, and there was no proper certification under that statute. View "Mann v. Mann" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court overruling Appellant's motion for discharge for an alleged violation of Nebraska's speedy trial statutes, holding that there was no error in the overruling of Appellant's motion for discharge.Defendant was charged with second degree murder and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony. Prior to a status hearing, Defendant filed a motion for discharge. After an evidentiary hearing, the district court overruled the motion. On appeal, Defendant argued that the district court erred in excluding from the speedy trial calculation delay related to his competency proceedings in a separate case and to his motion to continue an arraignment. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court did not err in overruling the motion. View "State v. Moore" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court dismissed this appeal from a district court's order denying injunctive relief, holding that this Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the appeal.Plaintiffs were ten students at Creighton University who brought this petition seeking to enjoin Creighton from administratively withdrawing students who did not comply with its COVID-19 vaccine policy. After a hearing, the district court denied the petitions, concluding that Plaintiffs failed to show irreparable harm or a likelihood of success on the merits. Plaintiffs appealed. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, holding that the court's denial of a temporary injunction was not a final order, and therefore, this Court lacked jurisdiction over the appeal. View "Ramaekers v. Creighton University" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction for manslaughter, with reckless driving as the predicate unlawful act, holding that Defendant's claims on appeal were without merit.Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) the district court did not abuse its discretion when it allowed testimony from a sheriff's deputy who was dispatched to the scene of the accident that driving on the wrong side of the road could be a sign of reckless driving; (2) there was sufficient evidence to support Defendant's conviction for manslaughter; and (3) the district court did not err when it did not give a lesser-included offense instruction on careless driving as a lesser-included offense because that instruction was not requested. View "State v. Cerros" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of in favor of Defendants and dismissing Plaintiffs' legal malpractice action on the grounds that Defendants did not breach any duty of care to Plaintiffs, holding that the district court did not err.In 2017, Plaintiffs, various liquor stores in Whiteclay, sought to renew multiple liquor licenses, but when the cause was appealed, the Supreme Court determined that it did not have jurisdiction. Plaintiffs then brought this action against their counsel, alleging legal malpractice. The district court granted summary judgment for Plaintiffs. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court did not err in concluding that, as a matter of law, Defendants did not breach the applicable standard of care. View "Kozal v. Snyder" on Justia Law