Justia Nebraska Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court reversed the order of the district court denying Grandfather's intervention, as a person standing in loco parentis, in a custody proceeding brought by Mother against Father, holding that the district court erred in ruling that Grandfather did not stand in loco parentis and in denying the complaint in intervention.The district court concluded that any in loco parentis status had been extinguished by virtue of a child support order issued more than one year earlier, as well as through temporary custody orders placing the child with a parent. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded the case, holding (1) rather than making factual findings, the district court should have determined the matter of intervention on the pleadings; and (2) based on the allegations of the pleadings, Grandfather had a right to intervene. View "Carroll v. Gould" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court reversing and vacating the decision of the County of Knox board of supervisors approving a conditional use permit for an expansion of H&H Cattle's feedlot to 20,000 head of cattle, holding that there was no merit to Defendants' appeal.In 2003, H&H Cattle, the predecessor in interest of Epic Land and Cattle, LLC, obtained an impact easement from the mother of Plaintiffs. Thereafter, the County's board of supervisors approved a conditional use permit for an expansion of H&H Cattle's feedlot to 7,500 head of cattle. Fourteen years later, H&H Cattle again sought expansion of its feedlot. Relying in part on the 2003 impact easement, the board of supervisors granted the conditional use permit. The district court reversed and vacated the decision approving the permit. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not err in finding Plaintiff was unable to execute an easement that bound the shares of her children; (2) Defendants' arguments regarding estoppel by deed and ratification were without merit; and (3) any reliance on the easement was not reasonable. View "Harts v. County of Knox" on Justia Law

In this workers' compensation case, the Supreme Court affirmed the order of the compensation court granting Donna Parks compensation for chronic pain and aggravation of her mental health issues, both caused by a work-related low-back injury, holding that there was no merit to Hy-Vee Inc.'s arguments on appeal.Parks incurred a work-related injury in 2008 while employed by Hy-Vee and was granted compensation for her low-back injury. In 2017, the compensation court entered a further award granting Parks compensation for chronic pain and aggravation of her mental health issues caused by the low-back injury. Thereafter, the court modified the further award upon Parks' motion. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the compensation court's further award was not based on legal error; (2) the record supported the court's findings of fact, upon which the further award was based; and (3) the compensation court did not abuse its powers in modifying the further award. View "Parks v. Hy-Vee, Inc." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court transferring sole legal and physical custody over C.J. to Duke Jaeger, subject to Stacey Jaeger's parenting time, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion.Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) the district court did not abuse its discretion by moving C.J. to Duke's sole legal and physical custody; (2) the district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding Stacy's testimony about previous abuse allegations; and (3) the district court did not abuse its discretion in overruling Stacey's motion for a new trial. View "Jaeger v. Jaeger" on Justia Law

In this proceeding brought by the daughters of Gale Marsh to determine the amount of inheritance tax due, the Supreme Court affirmed the county court's determination of the ownership interest of Marsh's revocable trust in a limited liability company valued at more than $12 million, holding that the court did not err in determining that assignments signed by Marsh rather than the trustees were valid.Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) published notice of the evidentiary hearing was not a prerequisite of the County court's subject matter jurisdiction, and even if notice was not published, the County did not suffer prejudice; (2) the county court did not abuse its discretion in overruling the County's motion for a continuance; and (3) the court's determination that ownership interests were validly transferred from the trust conformed to the law, was supported by competent evidence, and was neither arbitrary, capricious, nor unreasonable. View "In re Estate of Marsh" on Justia Law

In this divorce action, the Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the district court ordering Timothy Weiland to pay Ann Weiland a fixed award of $465 per month for military pension benefits and to pay Ann her share of Timothy's retirement benefits had had received and not paid to Ann, holding that the district court erred when it assigned a fixed monthly dollar value.Specifically, the Supreme Court held that under the parties' divorce decree, the district court erred when it assigned a fixed monthly dollar value to Ann's interest in Timothy's military retirement benefits. Ann was entitled to an award of military pension benefits and back payments, but the fixed monthly benefit award and the fixed monthly amount of back payments was vacated. The Court reversed and remanded with directions to determine the equitable distribution of Timothy's military retirement expressed as a formula that adheres to the points awarded in the decree and consistent with a hypothetical retirement date as of the date of the decree. View "Weiland v. Weiland" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the district court denying Defendant's motion for discharge, holding that the time Defendant spent incarcerated in Douglas County was properly attributable to Defendant for purposes of her speedy trial rights.Defendant was arrested in Lancaster County and charged with possession of methamphetamine. One day before her pretrial docket call, Defendant was arrested for shoplifting in Douglas County. Defendant was arrested on a bench warrant by authorities at Douglas County Department of Corrections but was not returned to Lancaster County. After Defendant was convicted and served her sentence in Douglas County for the shoplifting charge, Defendant was transported to Lancaster County. Defendant filed a motion for absolute charge, which the Lancaster County District Court denied. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the Lancaster County District Court did not err in excluding from Defendant's speedy trial calculation the time she spent incarcerated while awaiting charges in Douglas County and while serving her sentence. View "State v. Blocher" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the district court entering summary judgment in favor of Heartland Heating & Air Conditions, Inc. on the claims brought by Troy and Julie Fuelberth alleging that Heartland's work for them was defective, holding that Heartland was not entitled to summary judgment.In their complaint, the Fuelberths alleged that Heartland performed defective work for them in designing, constructing and installing an interior in-floor geothermal system and an exterior cement system for a shop building on the Fuelberths' farm. The district court entered summary judgment for Heartland on statute of limitations grounds. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the district court by entering summary judgment in favor of Heartland on statute of limitations grounds. View "Fuelberth v. Heartland Heating & Air Conditioning" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's sentences imposed pursuant to jury convictions related to a prison escape, holding that Defendant's claims lacked merit.After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of escape, theft by unlawful taking, and operating a motor vehicle to avoid arrest. The trial court found Defendant to be a habitual criminal and sentenced him to a combined consecutive term of eighty to 140 years' imprisonment. Defendant appealed, assigning fourteen errors in his appeal. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Defendant failed to show that the trial court erred or abused its discretion in its rulings. View "State v. Clausen" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court modifying several provisions of a judgment establishing custody, visitation, and support of minor children based on the common-law doctrine of in loco parentis, holding that the correct modification standard was applied.In its order, the district court found a material change in circumstances and modified several provisions pertaining to the support of the minor children. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) judgments establishing in loco parentis rights regarding the custody, visitation, and support of a minor child ordinarily will not be modified absent a material change in circumstances affecting the best interests of the child, but whether the in loco parentis relationship has changed is relevant to determining whether there has been a material change in circumstances and whether modification is in the child's best interests; and (2) the district court did not abuse its discretion in finding that a material change in circumstances justified modifying support-related provisions concerning the minor children. View "Windham v. Kroll" on Justia Law