⚖️ North Dakota Supreme Court

The party presentation principle requires courts refrain from deciding constitutional questions not submitted by the litigants....

North Dakota law forbids sex bias in custody determinations. Between the mother and father, whether married or unmarried, there is no presumption as to which parent will better promote the best intere...

A district court judgment denying an application for postconviction relief is affirmed. The district court did not err by considering evidence outside the record when it followed the procedure of Rule...

A temporary restraining order is a type of injunction that is brief in duration and meant to maintain the status quo until the district court can make a determination on the merits of a petition. Afte...

The district court does not abuse its discretion in denying a request for additional discovery where the party requesting fails to identify what information is sought, why they were unable to obtain t...

The obligation to pay royalties under an oil and gas lease is a contract contained in a conveyance or instrument affecting title to real property within the meaning of N.D.C.C. § 28-01-15(2). This ten...

Reopening the record is an evidentiary issue subject to the abuse of discretion standard. If the obligor fails to provide reliable information regarding his gross income, and that information cannot b...

When a defendant pleads guilty on open and unconditional plea, the defendant waives his right to challenge the rejection of a plea agreement. During sentencing, failure to preserve an objection preclu...

A district court has broad discretion to exclude extrinsic evidence of prior inconsistent statements at trial, even if a proper foundation has been laid....

This Court's review of a sentence is generally confined to whether the district court acted within the statutory sentencing limits or substantially relied on an impermissible factor. This Court does n...

To establish a new boundary line by the doctrine of acquiescence, it must be shown by clear and convincing evidence that both parties recognized the line as a boundary, and not a mere barrier, for at ...

An order dismissing a complaint without prejudice is generally not appealable. The district court is required to make a pre-filing determination prior to ruling on a motion filed by a vexatious litiga...

A party to a divorce action who accepts benefits pursuant to a divorce judgment does not waive the right to appeal from the judgment, overruling prior case law applying the general rule that acceptanc...

The Court does not issue advisory opinions and will ordinarily dismiss a moot appeal. An appeal is moot when there is no actual controversy left to be determined because events have occurred that make...