SCOTUS: Booking.com can trademark its name
The Supreme Court says travel website Booking.com can trademark its name, a ruling that also impacts other companies whose name is a generic word followed by “.com.”
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Supreme Court lifts ban on state aid to religious schooling
The Supreme Court on Tuesday made it easier for religious schools to obtain public funds, upholding a Montana scholarship program that allows state tax credits for private schooling.
SCOTUS upholds prostitution pledge for groups getting AIDS funding
The US Supreme Court has upheld a provision of federal law that requires foreign affiliates of U.S.-based health organizations to denounce prostitution as a condition of receiving taxpayer money to fight AIDS around the world.
Divided appeals panel finds for restaurant in slip-and-fall case
An Indianapolis restaurant that appealed the denial of summary judgment in a woman’s slip-and-fall case won a divided ruling Monday when two of three members of an Indiana Court of Appeals panel sided with the eatery.
Supreme Court strikes down Louisiana abortion clinic law
A divided Supreme Court on Monday struck down a Louisiana law regulating abortion clinics, reasserting a commitment to abortion rights over fierce opposition from dissenting conservative justices in the first big abortion case of the Trump era.
Police-trainee’s blood-draw suppression in 2015 crash case reversed
A former police trainee accused of causing a drunken-driving crash on Interstate 465 five summers ago will go back to court with more evidence against him. The Indiana Supreme Court on Monday ruled that results of a blood draw after he refused a breath test were wrongly suppressed in Marion Superior Court.
7th Circuit halts deportation of crime victim, allows immigration judges to close cases
An Indianapolis man who came to the United States as a child and subsequently qualified for a limited visa as a victim of crime who cooperated with law enforcement was wrongly ordered deported, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday. The decision also rejected caselaw that limited immigration judges’ ability to administratively close cases when warranted.
Legal malpractice claim was far beyond statute of limitations, 7th Circuit affirms
A woman who filed a legal malpractice claim in a matter that began more than 20 years ago failed to convince the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that her complaint over the distribution of a trust was timely.
Justices order new attempted murder trial after jury instruction ‘dilutes’ self-defense standard
The Indiana Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for a man convicted of attempted murder and handgun charges, finding an erroneous jury instruction diluted the standard for claiming self-defense.
Robb named to Supreme Court rules committee, 3 reappointed
Indiana Court of Appeals Judge Margret Robb has been appointed to a five-year term on the Indiana Supreme Court Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure, effective July 1. Robb succeeds COA Judge L. Mark Bailey, whose term on the committee will expire June 30.
Justices boost Trump administration’s power in asylum cases
The Supreme Court on Thursday strengthened the Trump administration’s ability to deport people seeking asylum without allowing them to make their case to a federal judge.
$479K judgment against Crown Point grocer in slip-and-fall case upheld
A jury verdict for a woman who was seriously injured in a fall on a snow-covered sidewalk outside a Crown Point grocery store was upheld Friday by the Indiana Court of Appeals.
Appeals court puts Indiana Grand horseman’s negligence case out to pasture
A horseman who claims he was injured after another rider’s horse got loose during training exercises at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino didn’t win, place or show Friday at the Indiana Court of Appeals.
COA rules trial court erred in grandparent visitation case
The Indiana Court of Appeals overturned a ruling that had prevented a couple from seeing their grandchild, finding the trial court’s grant of the mother’s petition to dismiss the paternity cause after the grandparents had intervened would likely extinguish their right to visitation.
Divided COA panel finds for woman wrongly told hepatitis test was negative
A woman who learned years after she had been told that a hepatitis test was negative that in fact the test had come back positive had her case reinstated Friday by the majority of an Indiana Court of Appeals panel. Two of three judges found a clinic fraudulently concealed the woman’s positive test result.
COA dismisses long-running suit from deaf litigant denied sign interpreter
A deaf man’s lawsuit that challenged the denial of a request for a sign language interpreter in a court-ordered family law modest means mediation was dismissed on appeal Friday.
Insurer owes no coverage in $50M Elkhart damages ruling, 7th Circuit affirms
A federal court ruling in favor of the insurer of a wood processing facility in Elkhart that was the subject of years of environmental litigation brought by neighbors was affirmed Thursday. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals held Westfield Insurance owed no duty to cover its insured against an environmental damages award of more than $50 million.
Appeals court tosses battery with deadly weapon conviction
A man’s confession to police was ruled insufficient without other evidence of a crime to support his conviction of battery with a deadly weapon, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday, vacating a conviction in a domestic violence case.
COA upholds escape conviction but encourages Legislature to reconsider statute
Even while the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld the two escape convictions of a Shelby County man, the appellate panel noted it was concerned that the defendant who was ultimately found not guilty still has a pair of felonies on his record for “relatively minor violations” of pretrial home detention rules.
Seeking a safe harbor: Manufacturers call for liability protections amid COVID-19 efforts
As the novel coronavirus began its spread across the United States, virtually every industry adjusted operations. That includes the manufacturing industry, which was faced with the dichotomy of the need for layoffs and the need for additional output. But as these businesses have aided in the effort to slow the spread of the virus, industry experts say there’s a shadow over their work: the fear of liability lawsuits.