Nauenburg v. Lewis, 265 Neb. 89

Summary

The Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed judgments for Sharon Lewis in consolidated false-imprisonment actions brought by Chris M. Nauenburg, Jeremy McCloud, and Logan McCloud. The court held that the jury instructions concerning warrantless arrests and informer liability correctly stated Nebraska law and were supported by the evidence. The court declined to consider an inadequately briefed evidentiary assignment and did not reach Lewis's cross-appeal.

Holdings

1. The district court did not err in instructing the jury concerning when a peace officer may make a warrantless arrest. The instruction correctly stated Nebraska law, was supported by the evidence, and did not prejudice the appellants.
2. The court would not consider the claimed evidentiary error because appellants assigned it but failed to discuss it in their briefs.
3. The court did not address Lewis's cross-appeal because its resolution of the appellants' assignments of error made consideration unnecessary.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the district court erred by instructing the jury regarding when a peace officer may arrest a person without a warrant.
2. Whether the district court erred by refusing to allow appellants to ask a State Patrol trooper whether he agreed with the county attorney's decision to dismiss the traffic citations.
3. Whether Lewis was entitled to summary judgment on the false-imprisonment claims and whether the information she supplied was privileged, as raised in her cross-appeal.

Disposition

affirmed