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2011 MT 93

PacifiCorp v. State

Montana Supreme Court

Decided May 4, 2011

Montana Supreme Court · decided 2011-05-04

Cited by 19 later decisions — most recently August 2025

19 state decisions

Relies on State v. Talavera · State v. Bagley

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 2011-05-04

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JUSTICE NELSON,

¶1specially concurring.

¶2¶70 I join Justice Rice’s Concurrence. His comments at ¶¶ 65 to 67 are correct. Unfortunately, this is not the first time in recent experience that this Court has taken a case and reframed the issues, arguments, and theories on appeal to achieve a particular disposition-in the process, blindsiding the losing party with an issue it never raised or briefed. This is exactly what happened in Western Sec. Bank and Glacier Bancorp, Inc. v. Eide Bailly LLP, 2010 MT 291, 359 Mont. 34, 249 P.3d 35. In that case, appellant Glacier Bancorp alleged, litigated, and argued a professional negligence claim, not the negligent misrepresentation claim this Court decided on appeal. Western Sec. Bank, ¶¶ 72-82 (Nelson, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part). As I observed there, “ti]t will surely come as a surprise to Glacier . . . when it learns that it has lost this case because it failed to adequately support a claim that it never even raised!” Western Sec. Bank, ¶ 73.1 have no doubt that Pacificorp will be equally astonished.

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