Oakland v. Bowman, 2013 ND 217

Oakland is the biological child of John T. Gassmann; Bowman is a friend of Gassmann; the Del Vals are Bowman's children.
Gassmann executed a revocable living trust before death that devised farm and other property to a trust for Bowman and the Del Vals.
Notice of the trust's existence was sent to Oakland by the trustee on March 13, 2012, triggering a 120-day contest period.
The 120-day period under N.D.C.C. § 59-14-04(1) expired July 11, 2012; Oakland filed on October 18, 2012 and did not timely serve Bell State Bank and Trust.
Oakland also objected to probate of Gassmann's will on April 10, 2012; the district court held this did not preserve a trust claim and denied tolling or relief.
The district court granted summary judgment for Bowman, Del Val, and the Del Val, determining the claim was time-barred and not equitably tolled; Oakland appeals.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Is Oakland's claim time-barred under §59-14-04(1)?	Oakland contends tolling or timely filing should preserve her claim.	Defendants argue the 120-day deadline expired and filing after does not toll.	Claim commenced after the statute expired; tolling not applied.
Should equitable tolling apply to prevent time-bar in ND trust contest?	Equitable tolling should apply due to handling of notices and procedures.	ND does not recognize equitable tolling; awareness of deadline not enough.	Equitable tolling not applicable; statute clearly bars claim.

Grand Forks Homes, Inc. v. State ex rel. State Bd. of Equalization, 2011 ND 65 (ND 2011) (equitable tolling not adopted; tolling requires recognized doctrine)
Estate of Christeson v. Gilstad, 2013 ND 50 (ND 2013) (statutory interpretation; legislature's plain meaning governs)
Johnson v. Bronson, 2013 ND 78 (ND 2013) (summary judgment standard; de novo review)
Barbie v. Minko Const. Inc., 2009 ND 99 (ND 2009) (summary judgment burden; no genuine issues of material fact)