Utah Law Developments

• Publication year: 2016
• Pages: 45
• Citation: Vol. 29 No. 1 Pg. 45

Utah Law Developments Vol. 29 No. 1 Pg. 45 Utah Bar Journal February, 2016

January, 2016

Appellate Highlights

Rodney R. Parker, Dani N. Cepernich, Nathanael J. Mitchell, Adam M. Pace, and Taymour B. Semnani, J.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The following appellate cases of interest were recently decided by the United States Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, Utah Supreme Court, and Utah Court of Appeals

United States v. Rodella, No. 15-2023, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 19275 (10th Cir. Nov. 4, 2015)

Former county sheriff appealed criminal conviction for violating victim's constitutional rights. On appeal, the Tenth Circuit considered whether the sheriff used unreasonable force or conducted a lawful arrest when the sheriff, who was not in uniform, chased the victim in an unmarked vehicle, brandished a firearm, pulled the victim from his vehicle, threw him to the ground, and slammed a badge into the victim's cheek. As a matter of first impression, the Tenth Circuit held that the sheriff lacked probable cause for the stop, notwithstanding the victim's flight and ensuing traffic violations, where the sheriff not only provoked the flight but also placed the victim in reasonable fear of harm. The Tenth Circuit went on to clarify that language in prior cases requiring more than a de minimis injury to establish excessive force applied narrowly to handcuffing claims.

Grynberg v. Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P., No. 14-1465, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 19132 (10th Cir. Nov. 2, 2015)

The Tenth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the lawsuit for lack of diversity jurisdiction, holding as a matter of first impression that a master limited partnership's citizenship is the citizenship of all of its unit holders, and not its state of incorporation or principal place of business.

United States v. Burns, 800 F.3d 1258, 1261 (10th Cir. Sept. 10, 2015)

The court held, as a matter of first impression, that Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S. Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed. 2d 435 (2000), does not require the jury to make factual determination underlying a restitution order beyond a reasonable doubt.

Osguthorpe v. ASC Utah, Inc., 2015 UT 89 (Oct. 13, 2015)

This appeal arose out of a longstanding dispute between the Osguthorpe family and ASC Utah, Inc., which operated the Canyons ski resort on land adjacent to that owned by the Osguthorpes. The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to consider several of the Osguthorpes' arguments relating to the jury trial in the underlying matter - including the...