Court opinions

United States of America v. Charles House 

23-1950

Criminal. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis division. Judge Sarah Evans Barker. Affirms the district court’s reliance on United States v. Tuggle in its denial of Charles House’s motion to suppress. Finds House did not present any reasons to reconsider Tuggle.

Appellee’s attorneys: Lindsay Karwoski and Bob Wood of the U.S. Attorney’s Office

Appellant’s attorneys: Vanessa Eisenmann and Michelle Jacobs with Biskupic & Jacobs S.C.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Casimir R. Starsiak, Jr., and Diane L. Hahn v. Janette T. Starsiak
24A-PL-724
Civil plenary. Affirms Marion Circuit Court Judge Amber Collins-Gebrehiwet’s order denying Casimir Starsiak and Diane Hahn’s motion to correct error. Finds Starsiak and Hahn have no present claim to their sister’s share of their mother’s estate and their request for relief is premature and based on speculation. Also finds the issue of the legal ownership of Janette Starsiak’s share of their mother’s estate has already been determined by a court of competent jurisdiction and the motion to correct error was correctly denied because it sought relief which was unavailable after final judgment and alleged no legal error. Attorney for appellant:  J. Alex Bruggenschmidt. No attorney for appellee listed in the opinion.

Indiana Supreme Court
State of Indiana v. Franciscan Alliance, Inc. f/k/a Sisters of St. Francis Health Services, Inc., et.al.
24S-PL-118
Civil plenary. Reverses a Johnson Superior Court jury verdict awarding $680,000 plus interest to Franciscan Alliance and $1,500,000 plus interest to SCP. Finds the trial court committed reversible error in admitting Franciscan’s and SCP’s evidence of damages related to the Fairview Road intersection closure, as that evidence led to the jury awarding both parties non-compensable damages.  Also finds that because each appraiser provided a different amount owed to Franciscan for its 0.632-acre strip of land, the court remands for proceedings to determine the just compensation owed to Franciscan for the land taken. Attorneys for appellant, State of Indiana: Attorney General Todd Rokita, Deputy Attorneys General Frances Barrow, Benjamin Jones. Attorneys for Appellee, Franciscan Alliance , Inc. Paul Vink, Seema Shah. Attorneys for Appellee SCP 2010 – C36 – 018 , LLC: Andrielle Metzel, Ryan Simatic.

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals
James Walters, on behalf of himself and others similarly situated, v. Professional Labor Group LLC
23-3346
Civil. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. Judge James Sweeney. Affirms the district court’s granting of summary judgment to James Walters and similarly situated employees of Professional Labor Group LLC in their liability complaint against the company. Finds there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact that PLG violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to compensate its employees for their time spent traveling to overnight assignments during normal working hours.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Taliyah Brooks v. USA Track & Field, Inc.
23A-PL-1685
Civil plenary. Affirms the Marion Superior Court’s June 2023 orders on summary judgment. Finds that Taliyah Brooks has not met her burden of showing that the trial court’s grant or denial of summary judgment was erroneous on the basis of her unconscionability and public policy argument. Reverses the trial court’s July 2023 order denying Brooks’ motion to amend her complaint. Finds the trial court abused its discretion by denying her motion to amend her complaint under Trial Rule 15(A). Remands for further proceedings.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Autovest LLC v. Julie Abner
24A-CC-1113
Civil collection. Reverses the Marion Superior Court’s dismissal of Autovest, LLC’s complaint to renew a judgment against Julie Abner. Finds Autovest acted not only within its rights but prudently by filing its December 2023 renewal complaint against Abner under a new cause number.  Also finds the trial court therefore erred as a matter of law when it dismissed Autovest’s renewal complaint

Indiana Supreme Court
Regina Geels v. Lindsay Flottemesch, Mackenzi Hatfield, and Stephanie Malinowski as Guardian for Marley Malinowski
24S-PL-362
Civil plenary. Grants transfer, vacating the Court of Appeals opinion and remands for the Allen Superior Court to apply the clear-and-convincing standard to the evidence. Finds Regina Geels’s burden-of-proof argument persuasive. Also finds creating a constructive trust requires a higher showing.

Indiana Court of Appeals
T.W. (Minor Child) v. Indiana Department of Child Services
24A-JC-780
Juvenile CHINS. Affirms the Delaware Circuit Court’s termination of the Indiana Department of Child Services’ wardship of T.W. and the court’s closure of T.W.’s CHINS case. Finds the court’s closure of the CHINS case is a proper dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Also finds the court has statutory authority to reinstate its jurisdiction after the child’s release from the Indiana Department of Correction.

Indiana Court of Appeals
In the Matter of J.B. (Minor Child) K.C. and S.C. v. Indiana Department of Child Services
24A-JC-1124
Juvenile CHINS. Affirms the Wayne Superior Court’s denial of foster parents K.C. and S.C’s motion to intervene and petition for a preliminary injunction barring the placement of J.B. for adoption. Finds the trial court correctly determined that the foster parents had no right to participate in the CHINS proceeding as a party and were not entitled to a preliminary injunction.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Correct Roofing, Inc. v. Alfredo Vasquez
23A-CT-2535
Civil tort. Affirms the Elkhart Superior Court’s order granting Alfredo Vasquez’s motion for summary judgment and entering a judgment in favor of Vasquez for $23,040. Finds Correct Roofing waived its challenge on appeal to the trial court’s order granting Vasquez’s motion to strike by failing to provide a cogent argument as required by Indiana Appellate Rule 46. Also finds there is no dispute of material fact that Vasquez performed his obligations under the contract and Correct Roofing did not, that Vazquez’s damages were as the trial court determined, or that Correct Roofing violated the Home Improvement Contracts Act

Indiana Court of Appeals
Ivan Hernandez-Vargas v. State of Indiana
24A-CR-1306
Criminal. Reverses the Hamilton Superior Court’s order upon revocation of Ivan Hernandez-Vargas’s probation which included a civil judgment for probation user fees assessed at the time of original sentencing. Finds that trial courts are not statutorily constrained to leave in place probation fees such as the ones at issue here. Remands with instructions to reduce the amount of fees by $660.

Indiana Court of Appeals
State of Indiana v. Shianne Brooks-Brown
24A-CR-627
Criminal. Affirms the Carroll Circuit Court’s denial of the state’s motion to exclude Shianne Brooks-Brown’s proffered evidence with respect to her subjective state of mind at the time of the alleged offenses of being an accomplice to robbery and murder. Finds that as long as Brooks-Brown’s proffered evidence is admissible under the Indiana Rules of Evidence, her evidence is entirely consistent with Indiana law. Judge L. Mark Bailey concurs with separate opinion. Chief Judge Robert Altice dissents with separate opinion.

Indiana Court of Appeals
In the Matter of J.M. and K.M., Children in Need of Services, K.R. v. J.M., Sr., and Indiana Department of Child Services, and Kids’ Voice of Indiana
24A-JC-202
Juvenile CHINS. Affirms the Marion Superior Court’s decision to modify the custody of two of K.R.’s children, J.M. and K.M, in lieu of adjudicating the children as children in need of services. Finds the order modifying custody of the children, rather than adjudicating them as CHINS, was supported by the record and reflects adherence to applicable law. Also finds to the extent the mother argues that modifying child custody deprived her of a meaningful opportunity to engage in services, this argument is better directed toward the Legislature, which has authorized modification in these scenarios.

No opinions today. The courts are closed in observance of Columbus Day.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Vince Caccavale v. Ranger Team Building, LLC
23A-PL-1556
Civil plenary. Reverses the Lake Superior Court’s summary judgment order in favor of Ranger Team Building LLC in its breach of contract complaint against Vince Caccavale. Finds the trial court erred by granting summary judgment in favor of Ranger, and the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Ranger’s motion for sanctions. Declines to reconsider the appellate court motions panel’s denial of Ranger’s motion to dismiss this appeal. Remands for trial and affirms the trial court’s denial of Ranger’s sanctions motion.

Indiana Court of Appeals
In the Matter of the Civil Commitment of: F.L. v. Community Fairbanks Behavioral Health
24A-MH-2216
Mental health. Affirms F.L.’s involuntary temporary commitment to Community Fairbanks Behavioral Health following a hearing in the Marion Superior Court. Finds Community presented sufficient evidence to show that F.L. is gravely disabled, and the trial court did not err when it ordered F.L.’s temporary commitment under Indiana Code section 12-26-2-5(e)(2).

Indiana Court of Appeals
Jacob Balash and Jonathan Balash v. Steve Mader
24A-SC-792
Small claims. Reverses the Owen Circuit Court’s s judgment entered in favor of contractor Steve Mader in a home improvement case against Jacob and Jonathan Balash. Finds that Mader’s dealings with the Balashes were governed by the Home Improvement Contracts Act and that the damage award entered for Mader must be set aside.

Indiana Court of Appeals
State of Indiana v. B.H.
24A-JV-1247
Juvenile. Reverses the Cass Circuit Court’s denial of the state’s request for authorization to file a delinquency petition against 18-year-old B.H. based on an act he allegedly committed when he was 17. Finds that an order rejecting a delinquency petition for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction is comparable to the dismissal of an indictment or information and therefore, the state is entitled to appeal the juvenile court’s ruling. Also finds the state did meet the deadlines for seeking an interlocutory appeal and while this is not actually an interlocutory appeal, both the juvenile court and the Court of Appeals treated it as an interlocutory appeal and allowed the state to bring such an appeal.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Frank Grecco III v. State of Indiana
24A-CR-560
Criminal. Reverses the Hendricks Superior Court’s order denying Frank Grecco III’s motion to dismiss two charges of possession of child pornography as level 6 felonies. Finds In light of the precedent from the United States Supreme Court and under these circumstances in which the state conceded before the trial court that the materials Grecco was charged with possessing did not depict actual children, as well as the state’s agreement on appeal that Grecco’s motion to dismiss should have been granted, the appellate court should reverse.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Roger Dewayne Redding v. State of Indiana
23A-CR-3068
Criminal. Affirms Roger Redding’s conviction in Madison Circuit Court for murder. Finds that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in restricting Redding’s right to cross-examine the coroner. Also finds that any error was at most harmless.