Court Summaries
Anna Reeves Olson
Park Street Law Offices
Casper, Wyoming
TEP Rocky Mountain, LLC v. Record TJ Ranch, LP
S-21-0288
2022 WY 105
August 25, 2022
Record TJ Ranch LP (TJ Ranch) sued TEP Rocky Mountain LLC (TEP RM) for payment under a surface use and damage agreement (SUA) governing oil and gas development and production on the ranch lands. TEP RM actually became involved in the suit after it purchased WPX RM, the original party to the SUA. The district court denied TEP RM's motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction and, following a bench trial, found TEP RM had breached the agreements and TJ Ranch was entitled to payment.
On appeal, the Supreme Court affirmed and noted that "[p]ersonal jurisdiction refers to the power of a court to make an adjudication applicable to a [defendant]." Wyoming's long-arm statute allows courts to exercise jurisdiction over a non-resident defendant "on any basis not inconsistent with the Wyoming or United States constitution." "Due process requires that the defendant have certain" 'minimum contacts' with the forum state such that the exercise of jurisdiction over [it] does not offend 'traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.'" A state court acquires personal jurisdiction if the defendant ""purposely avails itself of the privilege of conducting activities within the forum state, thus invoking the benefits and protections of its laws."'
In this case, TEP RM conceded that WPX RM's contacts with Wyoming met the test for personal jurisdiction. Furthermore, a corporation's contacts with a forum may be imputed to a successor corporation, which TEP RM was. The Court held that because TEP RM's purchase of WPX RM was not only an asset sale, Wyoming had personal jurisdiction over TEP RM even though it was not an original party to the SUA. Therefore, TEP RM remained obligated for WPX RM's debts and contractual responsibilities in Wyoming, including performance under the SUA.
Anthony Rodriguez v. State
S-22-0013
2022 WY 109
September 9, 2022
Anthony Rodriguez walked into the El Paso County Sheriff's Department in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to confess to the murder of his mother-in-law, Fogle. Essentially, he stated that he and his wife were living with Fogle until she told Rodriguez that he needed to move out or start paying rent. An argument ensued and Rodriguez reacted by punching her about 20 times, slitting her throat and sexually assaulting her.
Rodriguez was interviewed for about two hours. During the interview, he did not claim Fogle attacked him or that he acted in self-defense. Rodriguez was charged with one count of felony murder, one count of first-degree murder and one count of domestic battery.
Rodriguez was found guilty by the jury. On appeal, he argued that the prosecutor committed misconduct in his opening arguments. Specifically, the prosecutor stated in his opening that the jury would hear evidence that Rodriguez would claim that he acted in self-defense, but that when he left Fogle's house, he locked the doors, took her purse, and took her cell phone and that was not the "acts of a man who killed somebody in self-defense." Rodriguez maintained that it was impermissible to make arguments in opening statements and that the comment was improper.
The Supreme Court affirmed and noted that while arguments in opening statements are...
