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A couple suing Ford Motor Company, alleging their 2003 Mercury Mountaineer was defective because the air bags did not deploy in an accident, lost their case because they failed to designate expert testimony to support their claim.
While the three judges on the Indiana Court of Appeals panel agreed summary judgment was proper for an Indianapolis attorney being sued for defamation and other claims because the statute of limitations had expired, each judge interpreted the interplay between Trial Rules 15(C) and 17(F) differently.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the grant of an insurance adjuster’s motion to dismiss it from an injured man’s lawsuit alleging negligence in how it handled his case. The judges pointed out that the Indiana Court of Appeals has held that an insurance adjuster owes no legal duty to the insured and the plaintiff didn’t show that the Indiana Supreme Court would disagree with that decision.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Jason C. Burkett v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
09A02-1404-PC-233
Post conviction. Affirms denial of petition for post-conviction relief.
Terry Sowell v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
49A05-1407-CR-298
Criminal. Affirms two convictions of Class A misdemeanor battery.
Daniel Cummings v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
29A02-1407-CR-509
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class C misdemeanor operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Howard Piltch, et al. v. Ford Motor Company, et al.
14-1965
U.S. District court, Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division. Judge James T. Moody.
Civil. Affirms summary judgment for Ford on the Piltches’ claim that their 2003 Mercury Mountaineer was defective because the airbags didn’t deploy in an accident. Without expert testimony provided by the Piltches, a jury would only be able to speculate as to the viability of their Indiana Products Liability Act claims.
It is not a requirement that one party in a marriage must initiate divorce proceedings in order for the parties to later enter into a valid and enforceable reconciliation agreement, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Wednesday.
Because a trial court did not look at whether fees requested by a man’s former guardians were necessary, the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the order they receive more than $15,000 from his estate.
A divided Indiana Supreme Court decided last week that it will no longer take an insurance case involving a landlord and tenant that also divided the Indiana Court of Appeals.
To reduce the number of people locked up in local jails around the U.S., the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced it plans to give $75 million to local jail officials working on ways to remove nonviolent offenders, people too poor to afford bail and the mentally ill from behind bars.
Texas lived up to its reputation for swift justice by taking just three days to seat a jury for the trial of the man charged with killing the former Navy SEAL depicted in "American Sniper." But jury selection in two other major U.S. cases is taking much longer.
Indiana Court of Appeals
John D. May v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
28A01-1406-CR-241
Criminal. Affirms convictions for intimidation, as a Class D felony; criminal mischief, as a Class B misdemeanor; battery with a deadly weapon, as a Class B misdemeanor; and adjudication as a habitual offender.
In Re the Paternity of V.A., A Minor Child Robert Anderson (Father), v. Billy Jo Youngblood (Mother) (mem. dec.)
39A04-1408-JP-375
Juvenile. Affirms the trial court’s decision to not sanction Youngblood for contempt and to recalculate Anderson’s child support obligation. Remands with instructions to make explicit and distinct determinations of the child’s legal and physical custody. Judge John Baker dissents, arguing the trial court clearly intended for Youngblood to have full physical and legal custody.
Thomas Drnek v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
46A03-1406-CR-206
Criminal. Affirms 10-year sentence after Drnek’s conviction of operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death, a Class B felony.
Randall E. Reynolds, II v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
02A03-1408-CR-271
Criminal. Affirms sentence of two years and 183 days with one year executed for invasion of privacy as a Class D felony.
In Re: the Matter of the Commitment of T.S., T.S. v. Logansport State Hospital (mem. dec.)
79A05-1406-MH-260
Mental health. Affirms order of regular commitment ordering T.S.’ continued involuntary commitment at Logansport State Hospital.
Jose Eduardo Vazquez-Paz v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
06A01-1407-CR-279
Criminal. Affirms convictions for operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration of at least 0.15, a Class D felony, and resisting law enforcement, a Class A misdemeanor.
Joseph D. Haskins, III v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
18A02-1408-CR-555
Criminal. Affirms conviction for Class C felony carrying a handgun without a license.
James Lee v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
69A05-1409-CR-439
Criminal. Affirms conviction for Class D felony domestic battery and sentence of two-and-a-half years.
Danny Ramsey v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
14A05-1403-CR-100
Criminal. Affirms denial of Ramsey’s motion for the return of bond money he posted in July 2003. Finds cash bond was returned in February 2004 as evidence by the clerk’s record of release.
Richard R. Hogshire v. Ursula Hoover (mem. dec.)
06A01-1312-DR-513
Domestic relation. Grants Hogshire’s petition for rehearing for the limited purpose of clarifying the basis for utilizing Trial Rule 52(A) as the standard of review. Affirms the Court of Appeals’ previous memorandum decision that found contempt and remanded the case to the trial court with instructions to recalculate Hogshire’s obligations.
Martin E. Rogness v. Roberta L. Rogness (mem. dec.)
91A04-1405-DR-211
Domestic relation. Reverses trial court’s division of the marital estate and remands with instructions for the lower court to either execute a property division that is consistent with its findings or to enter additional findings that justify its current distribution. Affirms the valuation of the couple's lake house in Monticello.
Tyler Technologies Inc., which contracts with the Indiana judiciary to provide the Odyssey case management system to courts around the state, has been selected as the vendor that will manage statewide e-filing in trial courts.
Indiana Supreme Court
In the Matter of the Honorable Dianna L. Bennington, Judge of the Muncie City Court
18S00-1412-JD-733
Judicial discipline. Formalizes the conditional agreement for discipline jointly submitted by Bennington and the Commission on Judicial Qualifications in which the former Muncie City Court judge admitted to 10 of 13 alleged violations of the Rules of Judicial Conduct.
The Muncie City Court judge removed from office last month abused her authority by wrongly jailing defendants and attempting to silence critics in her courtroom, and disgraced the judiciary by using a racial slur in the streets, according to the Indiana Supreme Court order issued Tuesday.
An Indiana House committee has backed a state ethics law overhaul requiring greater financial disclosure by lawmakers and expressly prohibiting elected officials from using state resources for political purposes.
As I have worked my way through the chairs of the IndyBar to become the 2015 president, I have had the good fortune to meet other bar leaders at American Bar Association meetings. I have learned time and again that bar leaders around the country view the IndyBar as the “Gold Standard” of metropolitan bar associations.
The Racing Attorney Conference (TRAC), an annual motorsports legal conference planned and presented by the Indianapolis Bar Association and the North Carolina Bar Association Sports and Entertainment Law Section, returns to Indianapolis on April 14 and 15, 2015.
The 2015 Indianapolis Bar Association and Foundation Boards of Directors were installed at the Installation Luncheon at the Hyatt Indianapolis on Jan. 29.
Released inmates in Indianapolis are subjected to a “standard operating procedure” of re-arrest and being held behind bars – sometimes for days – after being acquitted, freed by a judge or posting bond, alleges an amended federal complaint filed against the Marion County Sheriff’s Department.