Fielding v. GBS Benefits — Court affirms dismissal of banquet-speech claims
The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of contract, defamation, and false-light claims and upheld denial of an unsupported request to amend.
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Utah
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Estate of Carey v. Spencer — Good-faith pleading defeats wrongful-lien judgment
The Utah Court of Appeals reversed judgment on the pleadings against a law firm because its answer alleged a good-faith basis for an attorney’s lien.
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Bonham v. Bonham — Court orders new findings on property, alimony, and fees
The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed portions of a divorce decree but required additional findings on property valuation, alimony, support arrears, and attorney fees.
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Bingham Livestock v. Paccar — Discovery issues revive warranty claims
The Utah Court of Appeals revived truck-warranty claims under a contractual discovery rule but held that the economic loss rule barred negligence claims against repair shops.
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Ayala v. Unified Police Department — Fact disputes defeat governmental-immunity judgment
The Utah Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment for a police department because factual disputes remained over whether an officer complied with emergency-vehicle requirements.
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State v. Solstad — Speculative fear did not establish compulsion defense
The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed negligent homicide, holding that speculative fear of a pursuing driver did not require acceptance of a compulsion defense.
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Nikols v. Nikols — Personal trust and development rights ended at death
The Utah Court of Appeals held that a deceased beneficiary’s widow did not inherit his trust share, personal development agreement, or right of first refusal.
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State v. Hassan — Court affirms child-sex-abuse convictions
The Utah Court of Appeals rejected four ineffective-assistance claims and held that body-camera footage of a victim’s post-disclosure demeanor was properly admitted.
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Dahl v. Dahl — Court orders new review of marital trust assets
The Utah Court of Appeals upheld the divorce-date valuation of trust assets but vacated their distribution because the trial court did not resolve tracing and dissipation issues.
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State v. Garza — Court affirms aggravated-murder conviction against trial challenges
The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed an aggravated-murder conviction, rejecting challenges to voir dire, graphic evidence, intent testimony, jury instructions, and trial counsel’s performance.
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State v. Connelley — Court vacates credit-card convictions and orders PSI review
The Utah Court of Appeals vacated three credit-card convictions under merger doctrine and required an on-record resolution of presentence-report objections, while affirming consecutive sentences.
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Guanuna v. Sawatzki — Court preserves legal father-child relationship despite genetic paternity
The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed a ruling that preserved a presumed father’s legal parentage because disrupting his established relationship with two children would be inequitable.
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Watson v. Prestwich — Court upholds custody transfer and vexatious-litigant restrictions
The Utah Court of Appeals upheld sole custody, supervised parent-time, and vexatious-litigant restrictions after repeated defiance of court orders.
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Taylor v. Lawlor — Single spacing cannot justify dismissal without prejudice finding
The Utah Court of Appeals reversed dismissal after a trial court rejected opposition briefs for single spacing without explaining the defect.
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State v. Rendon — Court affirms murder conviction under third-person-defense rules
The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed a murder conviction, finding overwhelming evidence that thirteen shots were retaliatory rather than justified defense.
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State v. Pontiff — Court vacates aggravated-assault conviction for insufficient force proof
The Utah Court of Appeals vacated an aggravated-assault conviction for insufficient evidence but affirmed sexual-abuse and object-rape convictions.
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State v. Hall — Court rejects unanimity claim but warns against unbalanced Allen charge
The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed child-sex-abuse convictions while a concurrence criticized an unbalanced verdict-urging instruction.
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State v. Cassidy — Ambiguous lawyer reference did not invoke Miranda right
The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed rape and forcible-sodomy convictions, holding that an ambiguous reference to counsel did not end police questioning.
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Sevier County v. Kummer — FERPA viewing satisfies school-video request
The Utah Court of Appeals held that FERPA governed disclosure of a school video and that allowing parents to view it satisfied the district’s duty.
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In re E.D. — Estrangement alone cannot support dependency finding
The Utah Court of Appeals reversed a dependency adjudication because a noncustodial father’s lack of a prior relationship did not establish inability to care for his child.
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Hutchings v. Cedar Pointe Homes — Unjust-enrichment claim survives failed land deal
The Utah Court of Appeals found no enforceable contract for a custom-home lot but revived an unjust-enrichment claim based on design work.
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Gallegos v. Brewskis — Court revives negligence claims after bar ejection
The Utah Court of Appeals revived negligence claims arising from a bar ejection while affirming sanctions over lost video and an aborted expert deposition.
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State v. Lyman — Court affirms fatal DUI conviction despite medical-event defense
The Utah Court of Appeals held that sufficient evidence supported a fatal negligent-driving conviction and that any speeding-instruction error was harmless.
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State v. Black — Court preserves Heath definition of genital opening
The Utah Court of Appeals declined to overrule State v. Heath and affirmed object-rape and sexual-abuse convictions against evidentiary and due-process challenges.