The North Dakota Business Corporation Act, N. D. C. C. ch. 10- 19.1, provides requirements foreign corporations must comply with to conduct business in the state, including obtaining a certificate of authority from the secretary of state. North Dakota’ s business registration provisions do not give foreign corporations notice that registering to do business constitutes consent to the jurisdiction of our courts. The business registration statutes instead operate to ensure there is a means for effectuating service on foreign corporations doing business in the state. The Court explained they do not displace the N. D. R. Civ. P. 4( b) requirements governing the jurisdiction of North Dakota courts. The Court concluded registration to conduct business in the state, on its own, does not constitute the type of continuous and systematic contact required for North Dakota courts to acquire general personal jurisdiction over a foreign corporation.
In rejecting Egan’ s waiver argument regarding Union Carbide’ s failure to assert the defense in the prior litigation, the Court held this case was a new lawsuit and Union Carbide was free to raise any and all defenses it wished. The Court also held that Union Carbide’ s act of negotiating dismissal of the previous lawsuit did not constitute the purposeful availment necessary to satisfy the two-part test for the courts of our state to have personal jurisdiction over them.
State v. Rademacher, 2026 ND 107. Filed on 5 / 27 / 26.
Rademacher was originally charged with criminal vehicular homicide after the vehicle he was driving left the roadway, entered a river, and his passenger drowned. After the district court suppressed Rademacher’ s blood test results, the state amended the charge to negligent homicide, a Class C felony. Rademacher pleaded guilty.
further held that application of the presumptive probation statute presents a mixed question of law and fact. While the district court’ s factual findings are reviewed for clear error, whether those facts satisfy a statutory aggravating factor is a question of law fully reviewable on appeal.
Because neither aggravating factor was established, the Court vacated the sentence of imprisonment, remanded for resentencing, and ordered Rademacher’ s immediate release pending resentencing.
Justice Tufte, joined by Justice Jensen, dissented. The dissent concluded the district court’ s findings were supported by the record and would have affirmed the sentence, reasoning the majority failed to give appropriate deference to the district court’ s findings regarding the victim’ s vulnerability and Rademacher’ s responsibility as the driver.
White Star Royalty Co. v. McGahey Oil LLC, 2026 ND 132. Filed on 7 / 9 / 26.
The Supreme Court summarily affirmed the pre-filing order designating McGahey a vexatious litigant under N. D. R. App. P. 35.1( a)( 4) and( 7), and concluded her appeal was frivolous. In awarding costs and the full amount of attorney’ s fees requested by White Star under N. D. R. App. P. 38, the Court noted that appellees’ counsel submitted an affidavit of costs and attorney’ s fees, and an itemized statement documenting the $ 22,999.50 in attorney’ s fees for defending against McGahey’ s frivolous appeal.
Because negligent homicide is a Class C felony, Rademacher argued he was entitled to presumptive probation under N. D. C. C. § 12.1-32-07.4. The state argued the district court could depart from presumptive probation because two statutory aggravating factors existed: Rademacher occupied a position of responsibility or trust over the victim because he was driving the vehicle, and the victim was vulnerable due to alcohol consumption. The district court agreed and sentenced Rademacher to five years with one year to serve, followed by three years of supervised probation.
In a 3-2 decision, the Supreme Court reversed. The majority concluded neither aggravating factor applied. The Court held that merely driving a vehicle does not, by itself, place a driver in a position of responsibility or trust over a passenger within the meaning of the statute. The Court also concluded that the record did not support a finding that the victim’ s alcohol consumption rendered him sufficiently vulnerable to justify departure from presumptive probation.
SCOTT D. JENSEN sjensen @ camrudlaw. com
MARK A. GRAINGER mgrainger @ camrudlaw. com
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The Court explained that although a sentencing court may consider the facts surrounding the offense, those facts must establish one of the aggravating factors identified by the legislature. The Court
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