Opinions Oct. 29, 2020

Indiana Court of Appeals
Jerome W. Gibbs v. State of Indiana
20A-CR-770
Criminal. Reverses Jerome Gibbs’ Level 5 felony conviction and remands the matter to the Marion Superior Court with instructions to enter a conviction and sentence for Class A misdemeanor domestic battery. Finds that the evidence that Gibbs was Tonja Smith’s boyfriend and that he was with her while she was on her scooter was an insufficient basis on which to conclude Gibbs voluntarily assumed care of Smith.

B&S of Fort Wayne Inc., et al. v. City of Fort Wayne
20A-MI-466
Miscellaneous. Affirms the denial of B&S of Fort Wayne Inc., d/b/a Showgirl I; Showgirl III Inc., d/b/a Showgirl III; and JCF Inc., d/b/a Brandy’s Lounge’s motion for a preliminary injunction alleging that a Fort Wayne ordinance violated their constitutional rights to free speech and posed “irreparable harm” to them if it were enforced. Finds the Allen Superior Court did not err when it denied the nightclubs’ motion for a preliminary injunction against the city.

Quantavious Jones v. State of Indiana
20A-CR-202
Criminal. Vacates Quantavious Jones’ convictions for Level 2 felony criminal confinement and Level 5 felony kidnapping. Finds that convicting Jones of both kidnapping and criminal confinement violated the prohibition on substantive double jeopardy. Remands with instructions for the Marion Superior Court to resentence him accordingly. Judge Nancy Vaidik concurs with separate opinion.

In the Matter of the Paternity of T.G.; Terrance Gray, Jr. v. Devika Naicker (mem. dec.)
20A-JP-1143
Juvenile paternity. Reverses the denial of Terrance Gray Jr.’s second motion to correct error regarding the custody of his child. Finds the Marion Circuit Court erred when it denied Gray’s second motion to correct error as untimely, and when it sua sponte dismissed Devika Naicker’s petition to modify custody. Remands with instructions for the trial court either to set a hearing date on its intent to dismiss Naicker’s petition and serve Naicker with notice of that date or, alternatively, the court on remand may consider Gray’s argument to deny Naicker’s petition on its merits.

Ralph S. Francois v. NextGear Capital, Inc. (mem. dec.)
20A-CC-583
Civil collection. Affirms the denial of Ralph Francois’s motion to dismiss NextGear Capital Inc.’s complaint and the Hamilton Superior Court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of NextGear. Finds Francois did not carry his burden of demonstrating a lack of facts supporting personal jurisdiction, and the trial court did not err in denying his motion to dismiss. Also finds Francois failed to designate evidence establishing a genuine issue of material fact, and the trial court did not err in granting NextGear’s motion for summary judgment.

In Re:The Unsupervised Estate of Susan Rissman Dawn M. Robertson v. Robert C. Thompson, Jr., as Limited Guardian of Heir Matthew Rissman and Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (mem.dec)
20A-EU-740
Estate, unsupervised. Affirms the probate courts order that Dawn Robertson pay a surcharge to Matthew Rissman’s estate in the amount of $47,937.10. Finds the probate court’s determination is not clearly erroneous and that neither the Marion County local rules nor the four corners doctrine support Robertson’s position.

In Re: The Marriage of Manjit S. Gill v. Harmandeep Kaur (mem. dec.)
20A-DC-100
Domestic relations with children. Affirms the Hendricks Superior Court’s order setting aside its decree of dissolution regarding Manjit Gill’s marriage to Harmandeep Kaur. Finds the trial court did not abuse its discretion in setting aside the dissolution decree or in revising the property valuation to $175,000.

Kapri U. White v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
20A-CR-1029
Criminal. Affirms Kapri White’s conviction for Level 3 felony armed robbery. Finds that given the evidence, the record conclusively identifies White as the person who robbed R.H. Also finds White’s claims merely amount to an improper request to reweigh the evidence.

Brandan J. Franze v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
20A-CR-523
Criminal. Affirms Brandan Franze’s conviction of Class A misdemeanor battery and Level 6 felony criminal recklessness, and his aggregate 910-day sentence. Finds the Blackford Superior Court did not abuse its discretion by denying Franze’s motion for a competency evaluation. Also finds the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it denied trial counsel’s motion to withdraw his appearance or his motion to continue. Finally, finds Franze has not shown that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel.

Thomas Henson v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
20A-CR-948
Criminal. Affirms Thomas Henson’s 12-year sentence for conviction of Level 4 felony child molesting. Finds his sentence is not inappropriate in light of his character.

Megan A. Heyne a/k/a Megan A. Wygant v. State of Indiana (mem.dec.)
20A-CR-389
Criminal. Affirms Megan Heyne’s four-year sentence for conviction of possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony; unlawful possession of a syringe, a Level 6 felony; and failure to appear in connection with a felony charge, a Level 6 felony. Finds Heyne’s has failed to carry her burden of demonstrating that her sentence is an outlier in need of revision.

In the Matter of the Civil Commitment of: T.B. v. Neuro Diagnostic Institute (mem. dec.)
20A-MH-1085
Mental health. Affirms the probate court’s order granting the Neuro Diagnostic Institute’s petition to extend T.B.’s temporary commitment to a regular commitment. Finds that NDI proved by clear and convincing evidence that T.B. was gravely disabled at the time of the hearing. Thus, finds the probate court did not err when it granted the regular commitment order.