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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Indiana Supreme Court has accepted a case asking whether a construction subcontractor on a public school project can be held liable for attorney fees under the state’s public records access laws applying to public agencies.
At its private conference last week, the justices considered a total of 24 cases. View the full transfer disposition list.
The court granted transfer in one case, Shepard Properties Co. d/b/a Shepco Commercial Finishes v. International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, District Council 91, No. 49A04-1010-PL-676. In June, the Court of Appeals reversed a lower judge’s denial of Shepco’s motion to correct error challenging an order that awarded attorney fees to the painters union as the prevailing party in an action brought under the Indiana Access to Public Records Act. The appellate judges found the trial court erroneously imposed joint and several liabilities for statutory attorney fees under the APRA, as there’s no provision for the assessment of attorney fees against a private party in the event of improper nondisclosure under the act.
The justices dismissed Shonk Electric v. Siemens Medical Solutions USA, No. 55A05-1009-CC-554, by a unanimous vote and denied transfer in 22 other suits. One of those included Murat Temple Association v. Live Nation Worldwide and Old National Bancorp, No. 49A02-1008-PL-952, in which the Court of Appeals in August affirmed the trial court’s dismissal of Murat’s claim that the event promoter violated the terms of its lease agreement.
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