A trial court erred in finding a mother in contempt for not changing the middle name of her child, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled today. The appellate court remanded the case for consideration of whether the name change would be in the best interest of the child.
Two Indiana Supreme Court justices dissented from the majority today in two medical malpractice suits because they believed the majority's reasoning behind the decisions that both plaintiffs' claims are time-barred would foster suspicion and doubt between health-care providers and their patients.
The Indiana Supreme Court has appointed three judges to serve as masters in an Allen Superior judge's disciplinary misconduct action following an incident in another judge's courtroom.
The Indiana Supreme Court will hear arguments on two cases Thursday to determine whether a health services provider is entitled to interest on payment owed for services and if a city had missed the statute of limitations to bring contamination-related claims against a company.At 9 a.m., the high court will hear arguments on Cooper Industries, LLC, et al. v. City of South Bend and The South Bend Redevelopment Commission, No. 49A04-0511-CV-637, in which the Court of Appeals reversed the Marion Superior Court’s…
The Indiana Supreme Court and the Division of State Court Administration have announced three grants available for court reform studies and education.
The Indiana Supreme Court granted transfer Thursday to determine who would be considered the “prevailing party” when a settlement lacks a judicial resolution. In Kirk Reuille v. E.E. Brandenberger Construction, Inc., No. 02A04-0704-CV-186, Reuille appealed the trial court’s judgment in favor of E.E. Brandenberger when the court decided Reuille was not the prevailing party in the contract between him and Brandenberger and said the trial court erred in characterizing his motion for attorney fees as one for summary judgment. Reuille and…
The Indiana Supreme Court issued an order to show cause today seeking to determine whether a trial court- approved confidentiality stipulation and order should be vacated in a case involving insurance coverage for bodily injury claims caused by exposure to silica. The parties in Travelers Casualty and Surety Company, et al. v. United States Filter Corporation, et al., No. 49S02-0712-CV-596, asked the trial court to approve a confidentiality stipulation and order while the litigation was pending in Marion Superior Court in…
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment in favor of prison employees in an inmate's Eighth Amendment violations suit, finding the inmate's lack of cooperation in providing details of threats against him prohibited the officials from protecting him from an attack by another inmate.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a District Court’s decision to toss out a case because the plaintiffs were not entitled to minimum wage and overtime under the “ministerial exception,” although the Circuit Court modified the reason for dismissing the case. In Steve and Lorrie Schleicher v. The Salvation Army, No. 07-1333, the Schleichers appealed the decision of U.S. District Judge Richard Young of the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division, to dismiss the case for lack of federal jurisdiction. The…
The U.S. Supreme Court has limited the ability of companies to collect royalties after the first sale of a patented product. The case tackled an issue of patent exhaustion that hasn’t been ruled on in 66 years.In a unanimous opinion this morning in Quanta Computer, et al. v. LG Electronics, No. 06-937, the nation’s highest court said that longstanding patent law precedent extends to method patents that are often part of high-technology components and products. “For over 150 years this Court…
The Indiana Court of Appeals was forced to choose between the lesser of two evils in a case in which an ex-husband appealed a trial court’s nunc pro tunc order granting his ex-wife’s motion to correct error regarding their marriage dissolution decree. In James E. Johnson Jr. v. Marcia Johnson, No. 02A03-0710-CV-496, the appellate court had to decide whether the trial court erred in granting the nunc pro tunc order. James argued the trial court didn’t rule on Marcia’s motion to correct…
Faced with a question the U. S. Supreme Court declined to address more than 35 years ago, the Indiana Supreme Court affirmed a trial court's decision to dismiss a criminal charge against a committed woman who may never be able to stand trial because of incompetence.
In a matter of first impression, the Indiana Tax Court has ruled that a bank didn't need to have a physical presence in the state to be subject to Indiana's Financial Institutions Tax.
The Indiana Court of Appeals agreed with a father that his due process rights were violated when a trial court ordered grandparent visitation over his objection. The majority reversed the petition for grandparent visitation filed by the children’s maternal grandparents, with one judge dissenting and writing the ruling would give parents a carte blanche to deny visitation for any reason. In James M. Hicks v. Gary Larson and Judy Larson, No. 26A01-0707-CV-302, Hicks had two children with Geri Hicks, the daughter of…
A trial court should assume that when a divorcing couple divides part of their marital assets on its own, that division is done justly and reasonably and the court should divvy up the remainder of their estate as the entire balance.The Indiana Court of Appeals made that holding in today’s ruling on Thelma M. Nornes v. Raymond M. Nornes, No. 46A03-0712-CV-564, a divorce case out of LaPorte County. The two were married in 1998 and started the dissolution process in 2006.Prior…
The Indiana Supreme Court may be asked to determine whether an Evansville judge correctly decided to uphold a death sentence after a jury’s indecision regarding the penalty.Attorneys for death row inmate Daniel Ray Wilkes aren’t taking issue with how Vanderburgh Circuit Judge Carl Heldt applied the law but rather the nature and constitutionality of the statute itself.Judge Heldt in late January decided on the death sentence for Wilkes, who was convicted in December on three murder counts for the April 2006…
The Indiana Supreme Court held in a case of first impression in worker’s compensation that when a settlement with a third-party ends an employer’s liability, the liability of the Second Injury Fund will also be terminated. However, when the Indiana Worker’s Compensation Board approves an agreement by the employer to continue paying worker’s comp benefits after the settlement, the injured employee may make a claim to the Second Injury Fund. In Ronald Mayes v. Second Injury Fund, No. 93S02-0802-EX-0107, Ronald Mayes…
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a juvenile court’s termination of parental rights of both parents of an infant, finding evidence presented to support the termination wasn’t clear or convincing. In In the matter of the termination of the parent-child relationship of A.B., and Angela B. and Brian J. v. Lake County Department of Child Services, No. 45A03-0712-JV-567, the appellate court ruled the court’s judgment terminating the parental rights of Angela and Brian over A.B. was erroneous because the Lake County Department…
In a decision that may affect child support modification orders, the Indiana Court of Appeals held today an earlier Indiana Supreme Court decision also applies to a request for a modification because of incarceration. In Todd Allen Clark v. Michelle D. Clark, No. 35A05-0801-CV-26, the appellate court used the Indiana Supreme Court’s decision in Lambert v. Lambert, 861 N.E.2d 1176 (Ind. 2007), to determine whether Todd Clark’s verified petition for abatement and/or modification of child support order should have been granted. …
The Indiana Agricultural Law Foundation will receive $500,000 in funds made available through a class action settlement of a case in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana.