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The Indiana Supreme Court will hold oral arguments Oct. 10 for a case involving a dispute over a used car sale in Porter County and one where the Indiana Court of Appeals vacated a Marion County man’s child molesting conviction.
According to court records, Bernadette O’Malley bought a used car at Valpo Motors “as-is” with no dealer warranty.
The same day, she purchased a service contract from Wynn’s Extended Care.
One month later, her car broke down. When Valpo Motors refused to perform repairs under the service contract, O’Malley sued it for a breach of implied warranty of merchantability.
The Porter Superior Court granted summary judgment to Valpo Motors.
O’Malley appealed, contending Valpo Motors’s disclaimer of the implied warranty of merchantability was ineffective
A split panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed and found Thomas had failed to establish that the language of the car’s buyer’s guide could be harmonized with the relevant language in the sales contract.
The appellate court split in its memorandum decision of Glenn Thomas, as Pers. Representative of the Est. of Bernadette O’Malley v. Valpo Motors, Inc., 24S-PL-886.
The Indiana Supreme Court granted the estate’s petition to transfer and assumed jurisdiction over the case.
Justices will hear oral arguments on the case at 10 a.m. at the Supreme Court Courtroom in the Statehouse.
In Johnny Webster Brown v. State of Indiana, 24S-CR-288, a jury convicted Brown of Class C felony child molesting. Brown moved to correct error, arguing his case fell within a jurisdiction gap between juvenile and adult court.
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed and remanded with instructions for the Marion Superior Court to vacate the conviction.
In its opinion, the appellate court noted, “When Brown turned twenty-one years old, his case fell into the jurisdictional gap our Indiana Supreme Court identified in D.P. and Neukam. While statutes that became effective on July 1, 2023, cured this jurisdictional gap, retroactive application of these statutes to Brown would violate his right under the United States Constitution to be free of ex post facto laws. ”
Oral arguments for the case will begin at 9 a.m. in the Indiana Supreme Court Courtroom in the Indiana Statehouse.
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