Dept of Human Services v. F.T.R.
"Barring exceptional circumstances, the requirement for a question-by-question invocation is necessary for the court to determine whether the privilege applies, by evaluating whether 'the answer to that particular question would subject the witness to a real danger of * * * crimination[,]' as opposed to 'a mere imaginary possibility of increasing the danger of prosecution.'" State v. Rodriguez, 301 Or App 404, 412 (2019) (quoting Rogers v. United States, 340 U.S. 367, 374-75 (1951))
Area(s) of Law:- Juvenile Law
Rowden v. Hogan Woods, LLC
Finding causation under the “major contributing cause standard”—a stricter standard than under common law—does not permit preclusive effect regarding the issue of causation in the course of a negligence action. Smothers v. Gresham Transfer, Inc., 332 Or 83, 134, 23 P3d 333 (2001), overruled on other grounds by Horton v. OSHU, 359 Or 168, 376 P3d 998 (2016).
Area(s) of Law:- Civil Procedure
State v. Setere
Under ORS 161.067(2), when the same conduct or criminal episode, though violating only one statutory provision involves two or more victims, there are as many separately punishable offenses as there are victims.
Area(s) of Law:- Criminal Law
Muthukan and Easterbrook
In distributing property acquired before the marriage on dissolution of the marriage, the court is to consider only what is “just and proper in all the circumstances.” Kunze and Kunze, 337 Or 122, 135, 92 P3d 100 (2004).
Area(s) of Law:- Family Law
OR-OSHA v. Stahlbush Island Farms, Inc.
Under OAR 437-001-0145, a safety violation’s penalty is determined by its “probability” and “severity” ratings. The probability rating is “[t]he probability of an accident that could result in an injury or illness from a violation” and is based on a number of factors listed under OAR 437-001-0135.
Area(s) of Law:- Administrative Law
Running v. Kelly
“[A] petitioner must show more than it is possible that the outcome of the prosecution would have been different if counsel had performed reasonably, but need not show that it is more likely than not that the outcome would have changed.” Stomps v. Persson, 305 Or. App. 47, 56, 469 P.3d 218 (2020).
Area(s) of Law:- Post-Conviction Relief
Warren v. Smart Choice Payments, Inc.
“A partially integrated writing supersedes or discharges all prior agreements, written or oral, to the extent that the prior agreements are inconsistent with the partial integration.” Warren v. Smart Choice Payments, Inc., 306 Or App 634, 640 (2020).
Area(s) of Law:- Contract Law
Rogowski v. Safeco Ins. Co.
An insurer’s duty to defend its insured is determined by comparing the four corners of the complaint to the four corners of the insurance policy. West Hills Development Co. v. Chartis Claims, 360 Or 650, 653, 385 P3d 1053 (2016). Under that so-called “four-corners” or “eight-corners” rule, “[t]he insurer has a duty to defend if the complaint provides any basis for which the insurer provides coverage,” even if the complaint also asserts claims that fall outside the policy’s coverage. Ledford v. Gutoski, 319 Or 397, 403, 877 P2d 80 (1994) (emphasis in original).
Area(s) of Law:- Insurance Law
S.L.S. v. Tippery
“For the imminent-danger requirement to be met, the trial court had to make a finding—supported by evidence—that respondent is reasonably likely to abuse petitioner in the near future.” Hess v. Hess, 305 Or App 801, 806, P3d (2020).
Area(s) of Law:- Family Abuse Prevention Act
State v. M.J.F.
For a person to be found a danger to self under ORS 426.005(1)(f), they must have a mental disorder, and as a result, that disorder causes them to engage in behavior likely to result in harm to self in the near future. A present intent to commit suicide coupled with actions demonstrating that the mental disorder has resulted in harm to self is sufficient to show a danger to self.
Area(s) of Law:- Civil Commitment
State v. Murphy
“[A] proscribable threat is a communication that instills in the addressee a fear of imminent and serious personal violence from the speaker, is unequivocal, and is objectively likely to be followed by unlawful acts.” State v. Rangel, 328 Or 294, 303 (1999).
Area(s) of Law:- Criminal Law
Stokes v. Cain
"[There is no] per se rule. The proper question [for ruling on motions to withdraw] to ask is whether, given the circumstances involved, defense counsel adequately performed 'those functions of professional assistance which an accused relies upon counsel to perform on his behalf.'" State v. Davis, 345 Or 551, 581-82 (2008) (quoting Krummacher v. Gierloff, 290 Or 867, 872 (1981).
Area(s) of Law:- Post-Conviction Relief
Wanting and Wanting
Courts must take into consideration the statutory preference of awarding custody to a child’s primary caregiver. Nice v. Townley, 248 Or App 616, 622-623, 274 P3d 227 (2012); ORS 197.137.
Area(s) of Law:- Family Law
Alvarado-Depineda v. SAIF
When ambiguities are present in medical information regarding a claimant, it is the insurer’s duty to pursue clarification. Walker v. Providence Health Systems Oregon, 267 Or. App. 87, 407-408 P.3d 91 (2014) (Walker I), modified on recons, 269 Or. App. 404, 344 P.3d 1115 (2015) (Walker II).
Area(s) of Law:- Workers Compensation
Easley v. Bowser
To establish a claim for habeas relief, a prisoner must establish that prison officials have not treated the prisoner in a timely manner and “have been deliberately indifferent to the prisoner’s serious medical” needs; deliberate indifference requires something “more than an honest difference of medical opinion about correct diagnosis and necessary treatment.” Billings v. Gates, 323 Or 167, 180-81, 916 P2d 291 (1996).
Area(s) of Law:- Habeas Corpus
Minckler v. Minckler
“Modification of a spousal support award is proper if (1) the original purpose of the award has been fulfilled, or (2) subsequent changes have substantially affected one party’s ability to pay or the other party’s need for support.” Harless and Harless, 276 Or App 49, 53, 366 P3d 403 (2016) and there is consideration of the governing statute, ORS 107.135(4)(a)(A), states that “[t]he court *** shall consider income opportunities and benefits of the respective parties from all sources.”
Area(s) of Law:- Family Law
Snyder v. Amsberry
"ORS chapter 138 contemplates two different courses for resolving post-conviction petitions. On the one hand, a court may appoint counsel, hold a hearing, and, if appropriate, permit amendments to the petition. . . Having followed that course, a court may dismiss the petition with prejudice. . . On the other hand, a trial court may dismiss a meritless petition before appointing counsel and without a hearing but only if it dismisses without prejudice." Ware v. Hall, 342 Or 444, 453 (2007).
Area(s) of Law:- Post-Conviction Relief
Dement Ranch v. Curry County Board of Commissioners
ORS 607.020 was repealed by the legislature in 2019. However, nothing in the text of the 2017 version of ORS 607.020(5) implied a contiguity requirement when annexing into an existing livestock district.
Area(s) of Law:- Land Use
Dept. of Human Services v. K. G. T.
“[W]hen a parent complains that DHS has not provided adequate services, a court making ‘reasonable efforts’ determination must consider not only the burdens that the state would shoulder in providing those services, but also what benefit might reasonably be expected to flow from them.” Dept. of Human Services v. M. K., 257 Or. App. 416, 416, 306 P.3d 763 (2013).
Area(s) of Law:- Juvenile Law
Dept. of Human Services v. R. A. C.-R.
Where there is no feasible way to supply a program to a parent, DHS is not required to provide such a service in an effort to reunify a parent with a child because this would leave a child in limbo. See Dept. of Human Services v. K. G. T., 306 Or. App. 368, 381, _ P.3d _ (2020).
Area(s) of Law:- Juvenile Law
Gillette v. Cain
A waiver hearing transferring a juvenile into adult court is not sufficient consideration of an offender’s youth to constitutionally impose a mandatory sentence of life without parole; the sentencer must consider the offender’s youth. Miller v. Alabama, 567 US 460, 486-89, 132 S Ct 2455, 183 L Ed 2d 407 (2012); State v. Link, 297 Or App 126, 155, 441 P3d 664, rev allowed, 365 Or 556 (2019).
Area(s) of Law:- Post-Conviction Relief
Lowell v. Wright
“The constitutional guarantees require, we think, a federal rule that prohibits a public official from recovering damages for a defamatory falsehood relating to his official conduct unless he proves that the statement was made with ‘actual malice’—that is, with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not.” New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 279-80 (1964).
Area(s) of Law:- First Amendment
Mayfield and Mayfield
Under ORS 109.744(1)(a), to conclude that it does not have continuing jurisdiction in a child-custody case, a trial court must determine: (1) the children do not have “a significant connection with Oregon” and (2) substantial evidence concerning the “care, protection, training and personal relationships” of the children are “no longer available in Oregon.” Under ORS 109.761, an Oregon court may consider “all relevant factors” to determine that “it is an inconvenient forum under the circumstances” and another court “is a more appropriate forum.”
Area(s) of Law:- Family Law
State v. Ankeny
The U.S. Supreme Court has reasoned that although “the officer lawfully stopped defendant for the purposes of investigation reasonably related to the apparent traffic infraction of operating a vehicle without license plates,” upon seeing the temporary permit, “the justification of any investigation was vitiated. Plain and simple, the officer had no statutory authority to proceed further. That authority ended with the officer’s discovery that the traffic infraction he was investigating had not actually occurred.” State v. Farley, 308 Or 91, 94 P2d 835 (1989).
Area(s) of Law:- Criminal Law