Back pain, fear for son no basis for unemployment benefits
An employee who voluntarily left employment was not wrongly denied unemployment benefits by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
Court opinions
Articles
Justices strip adoption, reinstate statute COA struck down
An adoptive maternal grandmother who the Court of Appeals ruled provided care in her grandchildren’s best interests despite a 1997 neglect conviction is legally barred from adopting them, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled. Justices also rebuked a COA determination that the statute was unconstitutional as applied.
Judges split over whether to reinstate jury verdict
The Indiana Court of Appeals ordered a jury verdict, tossed out by the trial court in a negligence case stemming from a car accident, reinstated because the judge did not follow Trial Rule 59(J). The dissenting judge believed the trial court should have the opportunity to supplement its order first.
COA finds homeowners association committed slander of title
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled in favor of an Iowa couple, finding the homeowners association where the couple lived and subsequently rented out their home committed slander of title. The homeowners association recorded a lien against their home after finding the couple did not comply with the covenant’s requirements when leasing their home.
COA reverses blanket exclusion for testimony of eavesdropping officers
In a split decision, the Indiana Court of Appeals decided on interlocutory appeal that a trial court should not have issued a blanket exclusion order preventing all of the officers who eavesdropped on a defendant’s conversation with his attorney from testifying in any matter in the case.
Wife loses appeal of custody arrangement, contempt finding
A trial court did not abuse its discretion when it found a wife in contempt of the court’s preliminary order regarding parenting time and visitation and when it entered a custody arrangement not requested by the parties, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.
Court ruling against gay marriage could cause legal ‘chaos’
Gay and lesbian couples could face legal chaos if the Supreme Court of the United States rules against same-sex marriage in the next few weeks.
COA: Accomplice liability instruction is harmless error
Although the trial court erred in instructing the jury during a man’s murder and attempted murder trial regarding accomplice liability as it applied to attempted murder, the error was harmless, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Wednesday.
INDOT not entitled to immunity in wrongful death action
The Indiana Department of Transportation failed to convince the Court of Appeals that it is entitled to discretionary function immunity under the Indiana Tort Claims Act in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the estate of a construction worker killed while working on an interstate project.
COA reverses probation revocation of man unable to fully pay restitution
A trial court should not have revoked the probation of a man who was ordered to pay more than $100,000 in restitution as a condition of his probation, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled. The man was able to prove that he could not fully pay off the balance owed because he was unable to obtain a reverse mortgage on his home.
Care facility’s petition for judicial review barred by res judicata
A Merrillville nursing facility’s third petition seeking judicial review of the state Department of Health’s decision to deny a full license to the facility was barred by a previous petition for judicial review of the matter, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.
7th Circuit: No evidence officer was victim of racial discrimination
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the grant of defendants’ motion for summary judgment on a St. Joseph County Police sergeant’s lawsuit claiming discrimination because he is African-American. The judges held the man was unable to prove discrimination after he was passed over for promotions or began working in the department’s property room.
Evidence seized from probationer’s roommate violated 4th Amendment
The Indiana Supreme Court on Tuesday reversed the partial denial of a man’s request to suppress drug evidence found during a routine warrantless search of the residence he shared with a man on probation. The probationer only consented to searches based on reasonable suspicion.
Suing wrong man over Indy skyline photo costs lawyer $34K
A lawyer and photographer who sued hundreds of people claiming copyright infringement of his Indianapolis skyline picture must pay almost $34,000 in legal fees to a defendant who never used the image.
Justices decline to make bright-line rule on admission of coverage limits
The Indiana Supreme Court affirmed the admission of a couple’s uninsured motorist policy limits at a trial in which the couple sued its insurer to recover under that provision. But in doing so, the justices declined requests by the Indiana Trial Lawyers Association and the Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana to adopt a bright-line rule on the admission of coverage limits.
Judicial candidate serving as juror was not fundamental error
A man convicted of child molesting argued that an attorney and judicial candidate should not have been allowed to serve as a juror on his trial. But he failed to object to her placement on the jury at the time of the trial, and the Indiana Court of Appeals rejected his claim of fundamental error.
COA orders foreclosed Golden Corral to be in sheriff’s sale
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the holding of a Lake County court that allowed the mortgage holder of a restaurant in Merrillville to immediately take possession of the parcel of land. Under Indiana law, the parcel should go into a sheriff’s sale, the majority held.
Justices split, deny grandparent visitation appeal
Divided 3-2, the Indiana Supreme Court last week declined to hear the appeal of a grandparent stripped of visitation rights in a Court of Appeals ruling.
Humane Society ‘disappointed’ justices won’t hear canned-hunt suit
A deadlocked Indiana Supreme Court declined to hear the state’s appeal of a ruling allowing captive-hunting preserves to operate in the state without regulation. The Humane Society condemned the decision on the controversial hunting practice.
High court to weigh three-judge rule for redistricting cases
The Supreme Court of the United States will decide whether it was proper for a single federal judge to throw out a lawsuit challenging Maryland’s 2011 congressional redistricting plan.