Supreme Court sends dispute over Fosamax back to lower court
The Supreme Court is sending a dispute between drugmaker Merck and patients who used its bone-strengthening drug Fosamax back to a lower court.
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State argues more lawyers not needed in CHINS, TPR cases
In response to a lawsuit seeking to require the state appoint attorneys to represent children in termination of parental rights or children in need of services proceedings, Indiana is arguing that adding more lawyers would only flatter the legal professionals and not mollify tragic circumstances.
Amended rule broadens judges’ discretion with pro se litigants
The Indiana Supreme Court has amended Code of Judicial Conduct Rule 2.2 dealing with the impartiality and fairness of Indiana judges.
Suit: Indiana’s absentee voter verification system unconstitutional
Common Cause Indiana and a group of registered voters in St. Joseph County are challenging the process Indiana uses to validate absentee ballots, calling it constitutionally flawed and asking a federal court to prohibit the state from rejecting absentee ballots based solely on perceived signature mismatches.
Court of Appeals won’t rehear Lake Monroe logging case
The Indiana Court of Appeals has declined to rehear a couple’s lawsuit seeking to stop a neighbor’s logging of his property along Lake Monroe.
Web Exclusive: Supported decision making makes strides
After three years of collaboration and research, efforts to create more options of independence for Hoosiers who face the confines of a guardianship have come to fruition. Those new options include legal recognition of supported decision making.
Fired whistleblower’s case against IDEM reinstated, remanded
A long-running dispute between the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and a terminated employee has been partially revived after a panel of appellate judges agreed the former worker could have been held personally liable for misuse of state funds.
Family sues Indiana pediatrician accused of sexual abuse
The family of a 12-year-old boy who alleges he was sexually abused by a Boone County pediatrician has filed a civil lawsuit against the doctor who is accused of multiple criminal counts.
Ex-Indiana high school dive coach enters plea in sex case
A former assistant dive coach at a northwest Indiana high school faces four years in prison after reaching a plea agreement in a sexual misconduct case involving two female students.
Debt collectors to use email, texts under new Trump rules
Debt collectors will be able to start contacting borrowers via text and email under new regulations proposed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Majority justices won’t hear more commitment appeals lacking judge’s signature
Indiana Supreme Court justices split over whether to grant transfer in two civil commitment order cases last week but granted transfer in two similar cases in a per curiam opinion that disapproved of a Marion County judge’s practice of permitting a presiding commissioner to sign the orders in his place.
Hill seeking $183K after ex-Whiteland fire official’s theft
Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill is seeking more than $180,000 in restitution from the former secretary-treasurer of the Whiteland Volunteer Fire Department after she pleaded guilty to misappropriating public funds for personal use.
ACLU sues to block latest Indiana abortion law
The American Civil Liberties Union has once again filed a federal lawsuit challenging an Indiana abortion law, this time filing a complaint against recently signed legislation that would place new restrictions on second-trimester abortions.
AG Hill using tax dollars for groping legal woes?
The Office of the Indiana Attorney General has paid more than $29,000 for outside legal ethics counsel, and public records indicate thousands of dollars in tax money may have paid for legal services related to the fallout from the sexual misconduct accusations against Attorney General Curtis Hill.
Reversal reinstates wrongful arrest suit against conservation officer
Summary judgment for a conservation officer was reversed Thursday after the Indiana Court of Appeals found, among other things, that his actions in procuring the prosecution of a woman who killed his dog were not noncriminal.
Supreme Court backs businesses, curbs class arbitration
An ideologically divided U.S. Supreme Court gave businesses more power to channel disputes into individual arbitration proceedings, siding with a lighting retailer trying to prevent its employees from pressing group claims stemming from a phishing attack.
COA affirms civil suit rulings against ex-insurer convicted of theft
A formerly licensed insurer investigated and convicted of felony theft failed to convince an appellate panel that judgment was erroneously granted to the Indiana State Department of Insurance and a Putnam County prosecutor on the pleadings of his suit against them.
Federal judge hears South Bend abortion clinic arguments
A federal judge Monday considered arguments stemming from a nonprofit’s lengthy legal battle to open an abortion clinic in South Bend, which was characterized by the judge as a potential legal stalemate that could be considered a “moving target.”
Neighbors’ Right-to Farm Act constitutional challenge fails
A constitutional challenge to Indiana’s Right To Farm Act was tossed by the Indiana Court of Appeals, rejecting neighbors’ claims that an 8,000-hog concentrated animal feeding operation has deprived them of their long-vested property rights.
Supreme Court to take up LGBT job discrimination cases
The Supreme Court is taking on a major test of LGBT rights in cases that look at whether federal civil rights law bans job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.