Justices add 4 cases

A long-running dispute between the owners and former owners of a home with electrical and structural issues will return to the Indiana Supreme Court, one of four cases justices added last week.

Justices agreed to review the issue of whether plaintiffs who won a fraudulent misrepresentation judgment against former homeowners may be entitled to attorney fees and other costs under the Indiana Crime Victims Relief Act.

The Court of Appeals affirmed a Lake Superior ruling that the plaintiffs were not entitled to recover fees under the Act. The case is Joseph and M. Carmen Wysocki v. Barbara A. and William T. Johnson, both individually and as Trustees of the Barbara A. Johnson Living Trust, 45S03-1407-CT-459.

Justices also added two criminal cases decided in memorandum decisions by the Court of Appeals.

In Daniel Lee Pierce v. State of Indiana, 78S05-1407-CR-460, an appeals panel reversed multiple child molesting convictions and remanded for a new trial in Switzerland Circuit Court. The panel ruled the trial court abused its discretion by denying Daniel Lee Pierce’s motion to sever the charges against him.

In John Orville Study v. State of Indiana,  06S04-1407-CR-461, the Court of Appeals affirmed convictions of four counts of Class B felony robbery, six counts of Class D felony confinement, and one Class D felony count each of resisting law enforcement and auto theft. John Orville Study also argues the court erred in denying his request to sever charges and contests the admission of certain evidence.

The transfer list also includes a case in which justices rendered an opinion Friday, vacating the termination of parental rights for a mother who was in jail. That case is In re the Involuntary Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of K.W., a Minor Child, and His Mother, C.C. K.W. v. Indiana Department of Child Services and Child Advocates, Inc., 49S02-1407-JT-458.

Justices denied transfer in 23 cases. Supreme Court transfer dispositions may be viewed here.