COA affirms default judgment for mortgagor, finding appeal untimely
A request to reconsider a default judgment on a voided mortgage was denied after the Court of Appeals of Indiana concluded the appeal was untimely.
Court opinions
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Opinions April 1, 2022
Court of Appeals of Indiana
In the Matter of the Marriage of: Andrew J. Hoesli v. Jamie L. Hoesli (mem. dec.)
21A-DC-2001
Domestic relations with children. Reverses the Perry Circuit Court’s division of property in the dissolution of the marriage of Andrew Hoesli and Jamie Hoesli. Finds the trial court erred by issuing a retroactive possession of property and excluding the Huber Funeral Home distributions from the marital estate. Remands for the trial court to include the distributions in the marital estate and either divide the marital property pursuant to the rebuttable presumption of an equal division or set forth its rationale for an unequal division of the marital estate.
School district loses summary judgment on former sub’s discrimination, retaliation claims
A southeastern Indiana school district must face a former female employee’s discrimination and retaliation claims after a federal judge denied the school’s summary judgment motion.
COA: Open door lawsuit requires a bond to continue
Residents of Cass County who challenged the local government’s actions to lure a zinc oxide manufacturing facility to their community will have to put more skin in the game to continue their fight after the Court of Appeals of Indiana found they filed a public lawsuit that requires the setting of a bond.
Unchanged situation justifies custody reversal, COA rules
Divorced parents who feuded so much they were described as having “drawn their swords” battled over custody of their child such that two trial court judges differed on which parent should have primary custody, but the Court of Appeals of Indiana determined the considerations of the case “make it rather straightforward” that the father should be the primary custodial parent.
Interest exclusion in foreclosure case based on pandemic emergency orders reversed
A bank seeking to foreclose on an Indiana property can collect interest accrued during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic despite emergency court orders tolling interest, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has ruled.
Split COA affirms dismissal of adult charge against man for alleged acts as teen
Determining the heart of the issue was “a lack of clarity in the Indiana Code,” a split Court of Appeals of Indiana panel ruled an adult criminal court rightly dismissed, for lack of jurisdiction, a child molesting charge against a man who allegedly forced a preteen to have sex with him when he was 16.
COA allows students’ COVID breach complaints against IU, Purdue to proceed
Lawsuits filed by students at Indiana and Purdue universities alleging breaches of contract when the schools moved to online learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic will proceed, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has ruled.
Tax Court: Racetrack’s 2020 tax assessment upheld after failure to appear
A man who failed to appear at two telephonic hearings for the appeal of his racetrack’s 2020 property tax assessment did not convince the Indiana Tax Court that a final determination against him should be overturned.
IN justices: Forfeited funds can’t be released for defense, but summary judgment for state was inappropriate
A trial court cannot release money seized from a defendant back to the defendant for the purpose of funding his or her defense, the Indiana Supreme Court has ruled. However, the forfeiture action in question will continue after the high court reversed summary judgment for the state.
DTCI: Admitting past medical expense evidence when plaintiff’s counsel does not: An update
In August 2019, this writer co-authored in these pages a discussion of admitting past medical expense evidence when plaintiff’s counsel elects not to do so. Two years later, the Indiana Court of Appeals has spoken on the issue.
Indiana Court Decisions – March 10-23, 2022
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
The new frontier: Indiana attorneys navigating name, image, likeness ‘Wild, Wild West’
On June 21, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously ruled the National Collegiate Athletic Association couldn’t prohibit athletes on teams at member schools from receiving certain education-related compensation. In affirming the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ opinion in NCAA, et al. v. Alston, et al., college athletes were given the green light to get paid for their names, images and likenesses. By June 30, the NCAA had released an interim NIL policy, providing general guidelines as to how universities and athletes could approach NIL business ventures while also complying with existing NCAA bylaws prohibiting “pay-for-play” arrangements.
IMPD officers lose appeal at 7th Circuit in officer-involved shooting case
With the disputed facts of an officer-involved shooting not yet resolved, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has dismissed a request by multiple Indianapolis Metro Police Department officers for summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds.
Judge: Trump ‘more likely than not’ committed crimes related to election
A federal judge on Monday asserted it is “more likely than not” that former President Donald Trump committed crimes in his attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 election, ruling to order the release of more than 100 emails from Trump adviser John Eastman to the committee investigating the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Opinions March 25, 2022
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Cyrille J. Catellier v. Tim K. Catellier, Eli Catellier, Allie Grigsby, and Bobbie Baldwin (mem. dec.)
21A-CP-1243
Civil plenary. Affirms the denial of Cyrille J. Catellier’s motion to correct error, filed following the Hendricks Circuit Court’s denial of his motion for relief from judgment, which challenged the order enforcing a mutual release, covenant not to sue and settlement agreement between Cyrille, Tim Catellier and Bobbie Baldwin. Finds the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it denied Cyrille’s motion for relief from judgment because he did not raise a meritorious claim or defense, and thus the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it denied Cyrille’s motion to correct error. Judge Elaine Brown dissents with separate opinion.
Teen who got life sentence for murdering younger brother didn’t receive ineffective assistance, IN Supreme Court rules
A man sentenced to life in prison after he was convicted of killing his younger brother as a teenager did not receive ineffective assistance of counsel during sentencing, Indiana Supreme Court justices concluded Wednesday.
Ex-band director’s texts to student splits COA on ‘harmful to minors’ debate
The Court of Appeals of Indiana has split on an internet-related issue in a case involving harmful content for minors after an ex-band director was handed a felony charge for text messages he sent to a former student.
COA affirms convictions of man who attempted to rape granddaughter, but remands for clarification
While the Court of Appeals of Indiana didn’t overturn a Logansport man’s convictions for attempting to rape his granddaughter, the Cass Circuit Court will need to go back and clarify the record on his judgment and sentencing.
Notable opinions by high court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson
Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, worked for seven years as a judge on the federal trial court in Washington, D.C., before Biden appointed her to the appeals court that meets in the same courthouse.