Latest News - The Indiana Lawyer

Back to the border: Notre Dame law legal aid team sees increased hardship for asylum seekers

February 19, 2020 | Katie Stancombe

Instead of spending his holiday season surrounded by all things merry and bright, immigration attorney Rudy Monterrosa spent days at what he described as an ominous place akin to a concentration camp. For the second year in a row, Monterrosa took a team to the Texas-Mexico border to offer free legal services to women and children seeking asylum in the United States. His experience this time, however, was quite different.

Law schools, firms watch coronavirus outbreak

February 19, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

Law firms with offices and law schools with programs in China have been proactive in response to the deadly coronavirus outbreak. For example, Dentons has temporarily closed its office in Wuhan and Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP told Indiana Lawyer it has closed some offices in China. Law schools in the state have suspended all staff and faculty travel to China.

Medicaid changes could have big state consequences

February 19, 2020 | John Russell and Indianapolis Business Journal Staff

Nearly one in five Hoosiers is on Medicaid, a program that pays for medical care, hospitalization, drugs, skilled nursing and other services for low-income and disabled people. But the future of the program is now up in the air after the Trump administration announced in January it would allow states to add eligibility requirements, benefit changes and drug-coverage limits.

Start Page: Want a fresh perspective in 2020? Try changing your Outlook

February 19, 2020 | Seth Wilson

Many lawyers are already familiar with Outlook on their desktop computer and have it set up to help them manage their emails. The problem is that emails come in at all times of the day (and night), and having a device that is connected outside of the office means you are constantly connected to email. There are times when that is a good and necessary thing, but there are other times when it interferes with what you are trying to get done. So, what do you do to keep email under control? Change your perspective by using a different version of Outlook.

Indiana pregnancy accommodation proposal unlikely to advance

February 18, 2020 | Associated Press

Indiana legislators aren’t likely to revive a proposal aimed at requiring more businesses to provide workplace accommodations for pregnant women. Gov. Eric Holcomb urged lawmakers to support the proposal, but it was rebuffed in the state Senate by his fellow Republicans earlier this month.

Edinburgh antique store can stay put as COA dismisses realty fight

February 18, 2020 | Katie Stancombe

The Indiana Court of Appeals has vacated an order requiring an Edinburgh antique store to leave its place of business, finding an agreement between the store and the real estate’s owner was a land sale contract and not a lease subject to an eviction proceeding.

Expungement wait-time case set for Thursday oral arguments

February 18, 2020 | IL Staff

The Indiana Supreme Court will hear oral argument this week in a criminal expungement case that has previously divided the Indiana Court of Appeals about when the trigger date for five-year expungement waiting periods should begin.

Appellate judges rule for hospital in medical malpractice case

February 18, 2020 | Katie Stancombe

A man who filed a medical malpractice claim against a doctor and hospital following his surgery for a herniated disc could not convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that he should be permitted to amend his complaint and add a federal claim.

Barnes & Thornburg launches new office in the Big Apple

February 18, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

On the heels of luring some key lateral hires and opening three new locations in December, Barnes & Thornburg is again expanding with the opening of its first office in New York.

Property owned by husband’s parents are not marital assets, COA affirms

February 18, 2020 | Katie Stancombe

The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed the exclusion of real estate and an internet service provider company from the marital assets of a couple in their divorce proceedings, agreeing with a trial court that the challenged assets were actually the property of the husband’s parents.

Ruling in Arkansas case creates hurdle for Indiana’s Medicaid work mandates

February 18, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

Indiana’s attempt to impose work requirements on some Medicaid recipients likely suffered a setback Feb. 14 when an appellate court ruled that similar mandates in Arkansas fell outside the core objective of the federal health care program.

Homeland Security waives contracting laws for border wall

February 18, 2020 | Associated Press

The Trump administration said Tuesday it will waive federal contracting laws to speed construction of a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border. The Department of Homeland Security said waiving procurement regulations will allow 177 miles of wall to be built more quickly in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

Boy Scouts file for bankruptcy due to sex-abuse lawsuits

February 18, 2020 | Associated Press

Barraged by hundreds of sex-abuse lawsuits, the Boy Scouts of America filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday in hopes of working out a potentially mammoth victim compensation plan that will allow the 110-year-old organization to carry on.

Justice Thomas: Judges must uphold law, even when unpopular

February 18, 2020 | Associated Press

Judges must resist the temptation to bend their rulings to personal racial, religious or partisan preferences and instead uphold the rule of law, even when that leads to unpopular decisions, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said in a recent speech.

Reversal: Lender can assert claim for missed promissory note payments

February 17, 2020 | Katie Stancombe

The Indiana Supreme Court on Monday reversed the dismissal of a complaint brought for missed payments on a promissory note, finding the lender’s claim is timely.

Justices affirm trial court in mortgage acceleration clause case

February 17, 2020 | Katie Stancombe

The Indiana Supreme Court has affirmed a trial court’s order that foreclosed a couple’s interest in two mortgaged properties, concluding that the lender filed suit against the borrowers within the applicable statutes of limitations.

Southern Indiana District Court serves breakfast thanks to pro bono attorneys

February 17, 2020 | Marilyn Odendahl

Lawyers who volunteered to handle pro se cases brought by inmates last year took the time Thursday to attend a special thank you event hosted by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.

COA reverses for state against ex-Crawford County payroll clerk

February 17, 2020 | Katie Stancombe

A panel of appellate judges has reversed and remanded the grant of a former Crawford County employee’s untimely motion for extension in a lawsuit alleging that she failed to withhold employee insurance contributions from her own paycheck.

Suspension recommendation casts further uncertainty on AG Hill’s future

February 17, 2020 | Olivia Covington

The hearing officer presiding over the attorney discipline case against Attorney General Curtis Hill is recommending a 60-day suspension of Hill’s law license, without automatic reinstatement. But how that recommendation might affect Hill’s status as AG or his re-election campaign remains to be seen.

Noblesville lawyer suspended, ordered to JLAP probation

February 17, 2020 | Katie Stancombe

A Noblesville attorney has been suspended from the practice of law with two years of probation monitored by the Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program after failing to inform and refund several clients, among other things.

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