Sanderson v. Myrdal et al.

Citations

• 2024 ND 202

Syllabus

A district court's grant of summary judgment for defendant is affirmed. A plaintiff may not challenge the court's jurisdiction over a defendant who admitted personal jurisdiction on the basis of defects in the plaintiff's service of process on the defendant. Generally, a plaintiff may not obtain a default judgment after being served with defendant's answer. Under Lindke v. Freed, 601 U.S. 187 (2024), a state official's social-media activity constitutes state action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 only if the official (1) possessed actual authority to speak on the state's behalf, and (2) purported to exercise that authority when he spoke on social media. A district court has discretion under N.D.C.C. § 28-26-01(2) to determine whether a claim is frivolous and how much to award, but the district court must award costs and attorney's fees if it finds the claim is frivolous.