Supreme Court dismisses challenge to Obama era health law
The Supreme Court has dismissed a challenge to the Obama era health care law, preserving insurance coverage for millions of Americans.
Court opinions
Articles
Corruption dispute between Marion, financial adviser headed to trial
A dispute between a city administration and a financial advising group that allegedly contributed to corruption in the city is headed to trial after the Indiana Supreme Court reversed the award of summary judgment for the adviser.
High court sides with Catholic agency in foster care dispute
The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously sided with a Catholic foster care agency that says its religious views prevent it from working with same-sex couples as foster parents. The justices said the city of Philadelphia wrongly limited its relationship with the group as a result of the agency’s policy.
Opinions June 16, 2021
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Design Basics, LLC, et al. v. Kerstiens Homes & Designs, Inc, et al.
18-3202, 19-3118 & 20-1515
Appeals from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. Chief Judge Tanya Walton Pratt.
Civil. Affirms the Indiana Southern District Court’s award of $518,457.80 in attorney fees to Kerstiens Homes & Designs Inc. and the dismissal of Design Basics LLC’s copyright infringement suit against Kerstiens. Finds the allegedly infringing floor plans consist largely of standard features found in homes across America.
$518K attorney fee award affirmed for Jasper homebuilder, against copyright ‘troll’
A Jasper homebuilder awarded more than $518,000 in attorney fees in a dispute with an “intellectual property troll” over the use of certain floor plans gets to keep that money, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in a Wednesday decision.
Opinions June 15, 2021
Indiana Court of Appeals
Michael Bousum v. Amber Bousum
20A-DR-1834
Domestic relations. Affirms the Clinton Superior Court’s order awarding appellate attorney fees to Amber Bousum from the father of her child, Michael Bousum. Finds Amber’s request for appellate attorney fees is not barred by res judicata or by the law of the case doctrine.
Indiana Lawyer, IBJ Media earn top honors at 2020 Best of Indiana Journalism awards
Indiana Lawyer reporters and designers brought home 12 awards from the Indiana Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists’ annual Best of Indiana Journalism Contest, including four top honors. The awards were announced Monday in a virtual ceremony.
COA affirms $15K attorney fee award in parents’ custody dispute
An order awarding $15,000 in attorney fees to a mother after her ex-husband sought to modify custody and child support will stand, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled. It found the fees weren’t barred by res judicata or the law of the case doctrine.
I-469 worker struck in traffic loses appeal against insurance company
A construction worker struck by a driver while placing barriers on Interstate 469 could not convince the Indiana Court of Appeals on Monday that his bad faith claim against his employer’s insurer was wrongly ruled upon.
Opinions June 14, 2021
Indiana Court of Appeals
Pradeep Kumar Toppo v. State of Indiana
20A-CR-2099
Criminal. Affirms Pradeep Toppo’s conviction for Level 6 felony operating a vehicle while intoxicated and Class C infraction driving left of center. Holds that the traffic stop was lawful based on Toppo’s traffic violation and that the trial court did not err when it admitted evidence that law enforcement had obtained following a traffic stop.
COA: Greenwood man who ‘disparaged’ trial judge must pay for settlement negotiations
The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed an order requiring a Johnson County man to pay his public adjuster for negotiating a settlement on his damaged home. The court found appellate review of his issues were waived, also noting with distaste his words about the trial judge in his case.
COVID restrictions didn’t lead to violation of public trial in robbery case, COA rules
A man who stole a Jeep after threatening the vehicle’s owner with a hatchet did not have his right to a public trial violated due to restrictions imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Monday.
COA upholds admission of drunken driving evidence after motorist stopped for crossing center line
A request to suppress evidence in a Tippecanoe County man’s drunken driving case did not succeed at the Indiana Court of Appeals, which upheld the denial of the suppression motion and found that the stop of the man’s vehicle was lawful.
Opinions June 11, 2021
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
United States of America v. Jeffrey Esposito
20-1124
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. Judge Jane E. Magnus-Stinson.
Criminal. Affirms Jeffrey Esposito’s sentence to 200 years in prison, a de facto life sentence, for his convictions of multiple counts of sexually exploiting a child as well as possession of child pornography. Finds the district court did not err when sentencing Esposito.
COA reaffirms trial court lacked jurisdiction in Florida suit between IU professor, Russian bank
The Indiana Court of Appeals has reaffirmed its prior holding that a Monroe County trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction in a Florida case between a Bloomington professor and a Russian bank centered on an alleged 2016 political hacking scandal.
Divided justices reverse suppression order in custodial interrogation dispute
A split Indiana Supreme Court has reversed the suppression of a man’s statements made during a police interrogation, finding that the limited curtailment of his freedom of movement wasn’t akin to formal arrest. But one justice dissented, arguing that the suspect’s language barrier could have kept him from knowing he was free to leave.
Opinions June 10, 2021
Indiana Supreme Court
State of Indiana v. Tyson Timbs
20S-MI-289
Miscellaneous. Affirms the order for the return of Tyson Timbs’ Land Rover, seized in 2013 after Timbs pleaded guilty to dealing and theft charges. Finds that under the proportionality framework set forth in State v. Timbs, 134 N.E.3d 12, (Ind. 2019), Timbs met his high burden to show that the harshness of his Land Rover’s forfeiture was grossly disproportionate to the gravity of the underlying dealing offense and his culpability for the vehicle’s misuse. Justice Geoffrey Slaughter concurs in the judgment with separate opinion. Justice Mark Massa dissents with separate opinion.
Opinions June 9, 2021
Indiana Court of Appeals Hicks & Sons, LLC v. Carewell International, LLC 20A-PL-1874 Civil plenary. Affirms the determination that Carewell International Inc. could continue displaying a Holiday Inn hotel sign within a driveway easement over Hicks and Sons LLC’s real estate. Finds the evidence presented at trial supports the Putnam Superior Court’s determination that the […]
Indiana Court Decisions – May 20-June 2, 2021
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
Pendleton inmate represents himself in lengthy court battle
An inmate at the Pendleton Correctional Facility represented himself against a former guard for use of excessive force in a legal battle that lasted for nearly six years before culminating in March in an in-person bench trial and an award of $35,000.