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Full-Text Articles in Law

The Montana Supreme Court – The Statistics, Monte Cole, Adam Taub Nov 2023

The Montana Supreme Court – The Statistics, Monte Cole, Adam Taub

Montana Law Review

The Montana Supreme Court is Montana’s highest court. Unlike most state court systems, Montana does not have an intermediate appellate court. The Montana Supreme Court hears direct appeals from all of the district courts across the state, as well as from the Workers’ Compensation Court and the Water Court. In keeping with the trends of recent years, the Montana Supreme Court has continued to issue more than twice the number of opinions as the United States Supreme Court. Many of these opinions become binding precedent that Montana’s legal community must keep abreast of and incorporate into their practices and scholarship. …


Mtsun, Llc V. Mont. Dep't Of Pub. Serv. Regulation, Ryan W. Frank Dec 2020

Mtsun, Llc V. Mont. Dep't Of Pub. Serv. Regulation, Ryan W. Frank

Public Land & Resources Law Review

MTSUN, LLC initiated negotiations for a power purchase agreement with NorthWestern Energy in September of 2015 for a potential solar energy facility in eastern Montana. In December of 2016, at an impasse in contract negotiations with NorthWestern, MTSUN filed a petition with the Montana Public Service Commission requesting that the agency exercise its statutory authority to set the terms of the contract for the proposed project. Following MTSUN’s petition, the PSC issued a series of orders and reconsiderations which ultimately reconfigured the entirety of the agreement, including the terms that the parties had previously agreed upon. After exhausting its administrative …


Montana Environmental Information Center V. Department Of Environmental Quality, Anthony P. Reed Jan 2020

Montana Environmental Information Center V. Department Of Environmental Quality, Anthony P. Reed

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The DEQ renewed a 1999 MPDES Permit on September 14, 2012 that allowed Western Energy Company to discharge pollutants from the Rosebud Mine into streams. Environmental groups MEIC and the Sierra Club sued, arguing this violated both the Montana Water Quality Act and federal Clean Water Act because the DEQ’s interpretation of its own regulations that exempted waters with ephemeral characteristics from water quality standards was arbitrary and capricious. The district court agreed, but the Montana Supreme Court reversed. It held the DEQ’s interpretation was lawful and remanded for further fact finding to assess how the DEQ applied the interpretation …


Preview—Murray V. Bej Minerals, Llc: Finding A Home For Fossils, Layne L. Ryerson Nov 2019

Preview—Murray V. Bej Minerals, Llc: Finding A Home For Fossils, Layne L. Ryerson

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Montana Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in this matter on Thursday, November 7, 2019 at 9:30 AM in the courtroom of the Montana Supreme Court, Joseph P. Mazurek Building, Helena, Montana. The Honorable Olivia Rieger will hear the case in place of Justice Jim Rice, who recused himself. Eric B. Wolff is expected to argue for the Appellants. Harlan B. Krogh is expected to argue for the Appellees.


Standards Of Review In Montana Appellate Courts - Documents, Jeffrey T. Renz Jan 2015

Standards Of Review In Montana Appellate Courts - Documents, Jeffrey T. Renz

Faculty Journal Articles & Other Writings

This document and the three additional files set out the standards of review applicable to various cases and issues before the Montana Supreme Court. These documents explain what the various standards mean and how the appellate attorney should consider them. They also point out those few occasions when the Court has been imprecise or inconsistent in articulating the standards so that both lawyers and judges may avoid those statements. Three additional files are attached to this document. The first addresses the standards applicable to issues on appeal in civil cases. The second sets out the standards that apply to issues …


Auto Policy Conflicts Of Law In Montana, Greg Munro Jan 2010

Auto Policy Conflicts Of Law In Montana, Greg Munro

Faculty Journal Articles & Other Writings

This article reviews the conflicts of law cases in Montana in chronological order. The article notes that the Montana Supreme Court followed a clear and predictable set of principles in dealing with the issue of what law applies to the out-of-state auto policy involved in an accident in Montana for almost thirty years, from Kemp in 1979 until Moodro in 2008. The end result of the last two years, however, is a confused abandonment of Montana's materially greater interest in its public policy protection for consumers of auto insurance. The article asserts that this interest needs to be inserted back …


Montana's Unique Writ Of Supervisory Control, Larry Howell Jan 2009

Montana's Unique Writ Of Supervisory Control, Larry Howell

Faculty Journal Articles & Other Writings

This article explores the history of the Montana Supreme Court's unique writ of supervisory control, which dates back to the infamous War of the Copper Kings in Butte, Montana. The article also examines the steps the Court has taken to clarify the law of supervisory control in Rule 14(3) of the new Montana Rules of Appellate Procedure, which went into effect in October 2007, and expressly states for the first time the circumstances under which the writ will issue.


Obtaining Attorney Fees In Actions Against Insurers, Greg Munro Jan 2003

Obtaining Attorney Fees In Actions Against Insurers, Greg Munro

Faculty Journal Articles & Other Writings

This article reviews the law regarding awards of attorney fees in cases against insurance companies by insurance consumers or third-party claimants as developed by the Montana Supreme Court. The article outlines the Court's significant remedial body of law that can be used to obtain attorney fees and costs in cases where civil litigation has been necessary to secure the insurance benefit. The article concludes that the continued development of the remedy of attorney fees in such cases will help resolve the problem of insurers denying claims based on the simple economics of saving money by failing to pay claims and …