Verdict . News

•Idaho Supreme Court reversed trial court dismissals and ordered complete case remand

Dec 23, 2025•4 min read

Idaho Supreme Court

Idaho Supreme Court Reverses Family Business Dispute Dismissals

The Idaho Supreme Court vacated lower court judgments and ordered a complete remand in a sibling dispute over their father's business interests and estate administration. The December 23, 2025 ruling reversed dismissals of claims brought by Ryan Monson against his sister Nancy J. Monson and the family business Tautphaus Park Storage LLC.

•Dispute involves siblings fighting over father's business ownership and estate administration

•Idaho Supreme Court reversed district court's summary judgment denying specific performance in real estate contract dispute

Dec 23, 2025•2 min read

Idaho Supreme Court

Idaho Supreme Court Reverses Summary Judgment in Real Estate Contract Case

The Idaho Supreme Court reversed a district court's summary judgment ruling in McLaughlin v. Moore, a real estate contract dispute involving a condominium sale. The sellers attempted to withdraw from the deal after signing the purchase agreement.

•Court affirmed dismissal of statute of frauds defense, finding property description adequate under Idaho Code 55-1526

•Steve Smith's application for the 2026 Republican primary ballot was rejected for lacking fifty valid signatures from each of Texas's fifteen courts of appeals districts

Texas Supreme Court

Texas Supreme Court Denies Ballot Access Challenge by Chief Justice Candidate

The Supreme Court of Texas denied a mandamus petition filed by Steve Smith, who sought to appear on the 2026 Republican primary ballot for chief justice after his application was rejected for failing to meet signature requirements. The court declined to rule on the constitutionality of the Election Code's signature requirements.

•The Supreme Court of Texas denied Smith's mandamus petition seeking to declare the signature requirements unconstitutional

Supreme Court of South Dakota

South Dakota Supreme Court Affirms Summary Judgment in Energy LLC Dispute

The South Dakota Supreme Court affirmed a circuit court's summary judgment ruling in favor of TCU Holdings, LLC in a complex energy sector dispute. Trigger Energy Holdings and Gulf Coast Investments had sued to reform a purchase agreement involving Blueprint Energy Partners membership interests, claiming economic duress and various tort violations.

•South Dakota Supreme Court affirmed summary judgment against energy companies claiming economic duress in membership interest sale

•Trigger Energy Holdings and Gulf Coast Investments failed to establish genuine issues of material fact for their claims against TCU Holdings

•Texas Supreme Court granted relief after appeals court failed to properly evaluate merits before issuing stay

Texas Supreme Court

Texas Supreme Court Rules on Paxton Prosecutor Reporting Case

The Texas Supreme Court granted relief in a case challenging Attorney General Ken Paxton's rules requiring local prosecutors to submit detailed reports to his office. The high court found that a lower appeals court erred by not properly evaluating the merits before issuing a stay.

•Dispute involves AG rules requiring prosecutors to submit twelve categories of information including privileged materials

•Texas Supreme Court conditionally granted mandamus relief to Attorney General Ken Paxton in dispute over prosecutor reporting requirements

Texas Supreme Court

Texas Supreme Court Backs AG Paxton in Local Prosecutor Dispute

The Texas Supreme Court conditionally granted mandamus relief to Attorney General Ken Paxton in a dispute over reporting requirements imposed on local prosecutors. The court found that special procedural provisions for the state were improperly disregarded in lower court proceedings.

•Court found special procedural protections for the state were improperly disregarded by lower courts

Supreme Court of South Dakota

South Dakota Supreme Court Reinstates DUI Defendant's False Report Conviction

The South Dakota Supreme Court reversed a circuit court decision and reinstated Amanda Biteler's conviction for making a false report to law enforcement after she allegedly had someone else submit a breath test sample during court-ordered alcohol monitoring. The high court ruled that breath test submissions under the state's 24/7 monitoring program constitute reports to law enforcement.

•Supreme Court ruled breath test submissions under 24/7 monitoring constitute reports to law enforcement

•Defendant allegedly had another person provide breath sample during remote testing

•Todd Marshall Frandsen received two concurrent life sentences with 20-year fixed terms for lewd conduct with a minor

Dec 19, 2025•4 min read

Idaho Supreme Court

Idaho Supreme Court Affirms Life Sentences in Child Sex Crime Case

The Idaho Supreme Court has affirmed the conviction and life sentences of Todd Marshall Frandsen, who was found guilty in 2023 of two counts of lewd conduct with a minor under sixteen. The state's highest court rejected Frandsen's appeal challenging four alleged trial court errors.

•The Idaho Supreme Court rejected four challenges including jury selection, evidence admission, and expert witness testimony issues

•Robert J. Kardasz was convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in Macomb Circuit Court and sentenced to 25-40 years in prison

Dec 19, 2025•4 min read

Michigan Supreme Court

Michigan Supreme Court Rules on Lifetime Electronic Monitoring in Sex Crime Case

The Michigan Supreme Court decided People v Kardasz, a case involving Robert J. Kardasz who was convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and sentenced to 25-40 years in prison with lifetime electronic monitoring. The case addresses significant issues related to sentencing and monitoring provisions under Michigan's criminal sexual conduct statutes.

•The case was remanded for resentencing after the Court of Appeals found the original 30-year sentence was not properly justified