Opinions Dec. 21, 2017

The following Indiana Supreme Court opinion was posted after IL deadline Wednesday:
Bellwether Properties, LLC v. Duke Energy Indiana, Inc.
53S04-1703-CT-121
Civil tort. Reverses the dismissal of Bellwether Properties, LLC’s complaint against Duke Energy Indiana, Inc. Finds the dismissal was premature because the face of the complaint did not establish the asserted claim was time-barred. Remands for further proceedings.

Thursday opinions
Indiana Court of Appeals
Kenneth Roberts and Mary Roberts v. The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. d/b/a Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A. and RWLS III, LLC
49A02-1706-OV-1377
Ordinance violation. Affirms the dismissal of Kenneth and Mary Roberts’ second amended complaint against Bank of New York Trust Company and RWLS III, LLC pursuant to Indiana Trial Rule 12(B)(6). Finds the Bank did not breach its contract with the Robertses. Judge Elaine Brown concurs in result without separate opinion.

Diyee Boulangger v. Ohio Valley Eye Institute, P.C.
82A01-1705-CT-992
Civil tort. Affirms the denial of Diyee Boulangger’s motion to quash Ohio Valley Eye Institute, P.C.’s non-party request for production of documents and subpoena duces tecum of her attorney-fee payments. Finds Boulangger’s fee payments are not protected communications. Also finds the Vanderburgh Superior Court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion to quash.

Mary (Jones) Shirey v. Rex Flenar, M.D.
02A03-1704-MI-876
Miscellaneous. Affirms and reverses in part the grant of summary judgment to Dr. Rex Flenar. Finds Mary Shirey failed to prove the General Assembly intended to create a private cause of action for a violation of Indiana Code section 16-39-1-1. Also finds Flenar had a duty to preserve Shirey’s medical records under the circumstances of the case. Remands for further proceedings. Judges John Baker and Terry Crone concur with separate opinions.

Charles M. Cormack v. Keith Butts (mem. dec.)
33A01-1705-MI-1051
Miscellaneous. Affirms Charles Cormack’s parole conditions for child molesting and sexual misconduct. Finds the Henry Circuit Court did not err in dismissing Cormack’s ex post facto claim and denying his habeas claim.

Kevin Campbell v. Irenea George (mem. dec.)
41A05-1708-SC-1766
Small claims. Affirms the Johnson Superior Court’s ruling allowing Irenea George to keep the dog she adopted with Kevin Campbell during their relationship. Finds each of Campbell’s arguments are meritless.

William R. Rothel v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
48A02-1708-CR-1858
Criminal. Affirms William R. Rothel’s convictions for criminal confinement as a Level 3 felony, battery as a Level 5 felony, criminal recklessness as a Level 6 felony and residential entry as a Level 6 felony. Finds Rothel has not overcome the presumption of validity accorded to the Madison Circuit Court’s denial of his motion to withdraw his guilty pleas.

Andy Sosa-Lopez v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
49A02-1704-CR-729
Criminal. Affirms Andy Sosa-Lopez’s conviction for Level 4 felony child molesting. Finds the state presented sufficient evidence to sustain Sosa-Lopez’s conviction.

Daniel Scott Kring v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
71A05-1706-CR-1364
Criminal. Affirms Daniel Kring’s conviction for the robbery of a Speedway store in South Bend. Finds the state’s evidence was sufficient to identify Kring as the robber.

Jerome Harris a/k/a Lawrence Brown v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
48A05-1706-CR-1323
Criminal. Affirms the revocation of Lawrence Tyron Brown’s six-year suspended sentence. Finds the Madison Circuit Court did not abuse its discretion in the imposition of Brown’s full suspended sentence.

In the Matter of the Estate of Margaret S. Jones, Deceased, John A. Jones, Jr., Personal Representative v. Joyce E. Schaefer, Beneficiary, and Suzanne D. VanGombos, et al. (mem. dec.)
29A04-1703-ES-584
Estate, supervised. Affirms and reverses in part the grant of Joyce E. Schaefer’s objection to John A. Jones, Jr.’s Amended Supplemental Report of Distribution and order for the Estate of Margaret S. Jones to pay Schaefer $5,371.42 for property taxes due and payable on land transferred to Schaefer. Finds the Hamilton Superior Court abused its discretion when it denied Jones’ motion to correct error and order the estate to pay $5,371.42. Also finds Schaefer’s claim was not entirely frivolous or lacking in merit. Finally, finds the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it allowed Jones to pay attorney fees totaling $186,417.

Grant Elam v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
49A02-1706-CR-1373
Criminal. Affirms Grant Elam’s convictions for four counts of invasion of privacy as Class A misdemeanors. Finds Elam has waived any claims regarding the propriety of a No Contact Order.

Steve Allen Sherron v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
45A04-1708-CR-1831
Criminal. Affirms Steve Sherron’s sentence to 5 1/2 years after he pleaded guilty to Level 5 felony stalking. Finds the Lake Superior Court did not abuse its discretion in sentencing Sherron. Also finds Sherron’s sentence is not inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense and his character.

Alisa K. Wright v. Greg Menefee and Julie Menefee (mem. dec.)
41A01-1703-CC-603
Civil collection. Affirms the denial of Alisa K. Wright’s motion for attorney fees. Finds sufficient evidence was presented to support the jury verdict. Also finds the Johnson Superior Court did not err when it denied the Greg and Julie Menefee’s motion for judgment on the evidence. Finally, finds the record does not demonstrate the trial court abused its discretion when it denied Wright’s motion for attorney fees. Declines to award appellate attorney fees.

Deion Edmond v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
49A04-1708-CR-1734
Criminal. Affirms Deion Edmond’s conviction for domestic battery as a Class A misdemeanor. Finds the Marion Superior Court as the trier of fact could find beyond a reasonable doubt that Edmond committed the offense of domestic battery.