Split COA reverses denial of habitual traffic violator rulings
A divided panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled against five Lake County motorists who a trial court determined could not be judged habitual traffic violators.
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Judge issues $50M judgment against Elkhart environmental nuisance
Residents who live near a waste dump and wood-waste processing facility in Elkhart won a default judgment of more than $50 million against the former owners. The sum appears largely a symbolic figure, however.
COA: Court properly denied father’s motions in termination case
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the termination of a father’s rights over his young son Monday, finding the trial court acted within its discretion when it denied his motions for a continuance and order to transport from where he was incarcerated to the Indianapolis court.
COA reverses sentence imposed after failed drug program completion
A man who was ordered to serve 20 years – the maximum sentence for a Class B felony – after not completing a drug court program due to smoking Spice will be resentenced. The Indiana Court of Appeals found the trial court selected his sentence based on his failure to complete the program.
Ex-jewelry store operators lose tax appeal
The operators of a former jewelry store in central Indiana were unable to convince the Indiana Tax Court they are entitled to more than $160,000 in sales tax refunds.
COA: Man’s threat to officers not intimidation
The Indiana Court of Appeals held Friday that a man who threatened to shoot officers dispatched to his home did not commit intimidation as defined by the statute.
HIP payments not negotiated; Stanley not applicable
Medical payments made by the Healthy Indiana Plan for a woman involved in a car accident to reimburse her medical providers in full satisfaction of hospital bills were properly excluded at trial, the Court of Appeals held Thursday. The trial court correctly ruled that those payments are barred by the collateral source statute and that Stanley v. Walker does not apply.
Court orders man’s probation period reduced
The Indiana Court of Appeals found a man’s due process rights were violated because the state couldn’t prove he was advised of his constitutional rights at his probation revocation hearing. The appeals court ordered further proceedings on the matter, including reducing his period of probation to comply with statute.
FSSA incorrectly imposed transfer penalty on Medicaid recipient
Based on evidence presented that a Medicaid recipient’s home sold for $75,000 – the fair market value – and proceeds went back to the irrevocable trust that held legal title of the home, the Family and Social Services Administration incorrectly imposed a transfer penalty against the woman after it found the fair market value was $91,900, the Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.
Farmer with wandering cattle will have to build fence himself
A Starke County farmer who wanted to keep his cattle from roaming onto neighboring farms will have to pay for the entire fence to be built, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled.
Temporary tag in rear window gets conviction tossed
A Hendricks County Sheriff’s deputy’s ignorance of where a temporary license plate can be displayed on a car led the Indiana Court of Appeals to overturn a drunken-driving conviction.
Split COA orders refund of $12K in foreclosure deficiency payments
A Court of Appeals panel wrote Friday that justice demands an attack on an improper 2009 garnishment order and a refund to a couple that paid $50 a week in deficiency payments after losing their home to foreclosure.
Appeals court rules for teachers on pay issues
Jay Classroom Teachers Association prevailed Friday in an appeal contesting terms of a teachers’ contract adopted as the last best offer from Jay School Corporation.
Lack of evidence leads COA to reverse probation violation
A Franklin County man who was ordered to spend five months in the Department of Correction after an alleged probation violation won a reversal of the trial court order Friday for lack of evidence.
Judge calls out DLGF ‘infirmities’ in ruling for township, fire district
Indiana Tax Court Judge Martha Blood Wentworth had a few choice words for the Department of Local Government Finance in finding the state hadn’t answered the key question in a township’s tax appeal.
COA leaves arbitrator’s award in place
The Indiana Court of Appeals on Thursday declined Madison County’s request that it correct or vacate an arbitrator’s award in favor of two county highway department employees. The appeals court concluded the county circumvented the collective bargaining agreement when it discharged the two employees.
Man loses appeal to revoke spousal maintenance
An ex-husband who sought “all-or-nothing” relief when he asked the court to terminate his ex-wife’s incapacity support instead of reducing it after she remarried lost his appeal before the Indiana Supreme Court.
Justices: Jury should hear defense of necessity instruction
The Indiana Supreme Court ordered a new trial for a man convicted of a misdemeanor gun charge after finding he presented sufficient evidence to have the jury instructed on his defense of necessity.
New York conviction doesn’t support Indiana charges
A man’s 2014 conviction of operating a vehicle while impaired in New York cannot serve as the basis to bring enhanced drunken-driving charges against him because the New York statute is not substantially similar to the elements of a crime described in Indiana Code, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Tuesday.
Court: Girl should be with mother, not great aunt
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the award of custody of a young girl to her great aunt, finding the woman did not overcome the presumption in favor of placement with the girl’s biological mother.