Flaten v. Couture’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

12 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 14 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “A district court's decision ... on a motion for relief from judgment under N.D.R.Civ.P. 60(b) will not be reversed on appeal unless the court abused its discretion. Werven v. Werven , 2016 ND 60 , ¶ 24, 877 N.W.2d 9 . A court abuses its discretion when it acts in an arbitrary, unreasonable, or unconscionable manner, or when it misinterprets or misapplies the law, or when its decision is not the product of a rational mental process leading to a reasoned determination. Id. .... Rule 60(b)(1), N.D.R.Civ.P., may be used to relieve a party from a judgment for mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. Rule 60(b)(6), N.D.R.Civ.P., is the "catchall provision" that allows a court to grant relief for "any other reason that justifies relief" and should be invoked only when extraordinary circumstances are present. Kautzman v. Doll , 2018 ND 23 , ¶ 14, 905 N.W.2d 744 . Rule 60(b), N.D.R.Civ.P., is not to be used as a substitute for an appeal or to relieve parties from calculated and deliberate choices they have made, and parties are obligated to take legal steps to protect their own interests. Kautzman , at ¶ 14 ; State v. White , 2018 ND 58 , ¶ 14, 907 N.W.2d 765 . The moving party has the burden to establish sufficient grounds for disturbing the finality of the judgment. Kukla v. Kukla , 2013 ND 192 , ¶ 24, 838 N.W.2d 434 .”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. Watford City Lodging LLC v. Miskin · Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd. v. Johnson

2. “Summary judgment is a procedural device under N.D.R.Civ.P. 56(c) for promptly resolving a controversy on the merits without a trial if there are no genuine issues of material fact or inferences that can reasonably be drawn from undisputed facts, or if the only issues to be resolved are questions of law. The party seeking summary judgment must demonstrate there are no genuine issues of material fact and the case is appropriate for judgment as a matter of law. In deciding whether the district court appropriately granted summary judgment, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the opposing party, giving that party the benefit of all favorable inferences which can reasonably be drawn from the record. A party opposing a motion for summary judgment cannot simply rely on the pleadings or on unsupported conclusory allegations. Rather, a party opposing a summary judgment motion must present competent admissible evidence by affidavit or other comparable means that raises an issue of material fact and must, if appropriate, draw the court's attention to relevant evidence in the record raising an issue of material fact. When reasonable persons can reach only one conclusion from the evidence, a question of fact may become a matter of law for the court to decide. A district court's decision on summary judgment is a question of law that we review de novo on the record.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd. v. Johnson

3. “Summary judgment is a procedural device for the prompt resolution of a controversy on the merits without a trial if there are no genuine issues of material fact or inferences that can reasonably be drawn from undisputed facts, or if the only issues to be resolved are questions of law. A party moving for summary judgment has the burden of showing there are no genuine issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law .... Whether the district court properly granted summary judgment is a question of law which we review de novo on the entire record.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Heitkamp v. Kabella