Summary judgment inappropriate in light of pending discovery
Noting a pending discovery may still turn up answers, the Indiana Court of Appeals overturned a summary judgment and allowed a feud between former business partners to continue.
Court opinions
Articles
Treatment facility that released patient information not entitled to summary judgment
A man who says he is suffering negative repercussions after a mental health facility released his medical information to a family member will be able to move forward with his case in court.
COA: Insurance agent did not have duty to advise
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment in favor of an agent and an insurance company after the owner of a pub sued them believing they owed a duty to advise that the policy the pub chose would be insufficient to cover the replacement cost of the building.
Judges affirm county commissioners can sue attorney for legal malpractice
The trial court did not err in denying an attorney’s motion to dismiss a legal malpractice claim brought against him by Clark County’s Board of Commissioners and Aviation Board, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.
Trial court lacked authority to order dad to pay for child’s college
Tackling an issue of first impression involving a request for payment of post-secondary education expenses, the Indiana Court of Appeals held that a child support order under I.C. 31-16-6-6 refers to the parties’ most recent order concerning support.
COA dismisses appeal as moot since inmate has been released
Because a man who was sent to the Department of Correction after his community corrections placement was revoked has been released from prison, his appeal is moot, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
Judges dismiss appeal of small claims judgment as untimely
Finding an auto dealer untimely appealed the denial of his motion to correct error regarding a judgment in favor of a buyer, the Indiana Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal.
Judges reverse teen’s adjudication for resisting law enforcement
Citing lack of evidence, the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed an Indianapolis teen’s adjudication as a juvenile delinquent for committing what would be Class A misdemeanor resisting law enforcement if committed by an adult. None of his actions suggested any criminal activity was afoot.
Man didn’t prove ineffective assistance of counsel
The Indiana Supreme Court affirmed the denial of post-conviction relief for a man who charged his attorney was ineffective for not doing a better job arguing the sufficiency of the evidence to prove the defendant conspired to commit dealing cocaine.
Justices: Pattern Jury Instruction 9.05 is correct statement of law
Clearing up confusion among the courts as to whether a jury instruction regarding the definition of “intentionally” can include that the defendant intended to “cause the result” of his conduct, the Indiana Supreme Court affirmed Pattern Jury Instruction 9.05 represents a correct statement of the law.
Court orders more proceedings on injured subcontractor’s negligence lawsuit
Finding genuine issues of material fact exist in a negligence lawsuit as to the general contractor’s role in a subcontractor’s injury, the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment and ordered further proceedings.
Justices reverse judgment for defendants in suit involving student’s death
The Indiana Supreme Court has ordered further proceedings in a negligence lawsuit filed by the parents of a special needs student who died after choking on her lunch at school. The justices found there are questions as to whether the parents complied with tort claim notice requirements, so judgment in favor of the defendants is not proper.
Court affirms dismissal of lawsuit alleging malicious prosecution
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the decision to dismiss a man’s Section 1983 lawsuit claiming malicious prosecution by a police officer and bank, finding the man never presented a viable constitutional violation to support the claim.
Owner not entitled to more cash for building destroyed by fire
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed that the owner of a building leased to a Bloomington pet shop that was destroyed by a fire in 2008 is only entitled to the actual cash value of the building and not the replacement cost.
Court adopts case-by-case approach in subrogation issue
The Indiana Court of Appeals, after skirting around the issue in 2012, decided that Indiana should use the case-by-case approach to address subrogation claims of landlords’ insurers against negligent tenants.
Children should remain in home despite grandmother’s felony conviction
The Indiana Court of Appeals found I.C. 31-19-11-1(c) to be unconstitutional as applied and upheld the adoption of two boys by their maternal grandmother. The judges held that her 1997 felony conviction for neglect of a dependent should not automatically bar her from adopting the children.
Police had probable cause to arrest man at library for child porn possession
Even though a man’s possession of child pornography charge was eventually dismissed, his arrest on the matter at a Bloomington library led to other charges. The Court of Appeals Tuesday affirmed the denial of Paul Allen Decker’s motion to suppress, in which he claimed any evidence stemming from that arrest must be suppressed.
Defense counsel’s move to prosecutor’s side doesn’t require special prosecutor
The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a man’s 60-year sentence for shooting and killing his girlfriend after an argument, rejecting his claim that a special prosecutor should have been appointed in his case after his defense counsel took a job with the prosecutor’s office.
COA dismisses appeal that gave man ‘second bite at apple’
The Indiana Court of Appeals dismissed a case in which the trial court set aside a previous judgment in order to have a chance to get a new appeal. When doing so, the trial court noted, “hopefully the Court of Appeals wouldn’t frown upon” the judge who did that.
7th Circuit reverses 2 special conditions with bank fraud conviction
The government conceded that a man convicted for using fraudulently produced credit cards should not be subjected to suspicionless searches and seizures by authorities, so the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that condition of his supervised release.