Articles

Appeals court reverses adoption petition

The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed an adoption petition after it found the adoptive mother did not participate in a sufficient background check and the court should have combined the adoption proceedings with a paternity hearing that was also occurring at the same time.

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COA: Unreturned warrant doesn’t justify trial delay

A man’s criminal charges will be dismissed after Indiana Court of Appeals found the fact that a warrant for his arrest was not returned to trial court didn’t mean the court was absolved of its responsibility to grant him the speedy trial he asked for.

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Appeals court affirms reinstatement of drug sentence

The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the reinstatement of a woman’s sentence after she was terminated from drug court, finding a request for new counsel she made was too late and a stay of her drug court supervision was meant to help her, not harm her.

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COA dismisses appeal of agreed judgment

The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld long-standing precedent when it dismissed an appeal of an agreed judgment between a law firm and a couple that accused the firm of malpractice.

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COA: Judge’s comments do not require dismissal of charges

The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled a trial court judge’s inappropriate comments during trial did not “goad” the defense into asking for a mistrial and affirmed denial of the defense’s motion to dismiss child molesting, rape and sexual misconduct charges against the defendant.

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COA upholds kidnapper’s sex offender status

A prisoner at the Indiana Department of Correction failed to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that his sex offender classification should be dropped as the COA found it did not violate the ex post facto clause of the Indiana Constitution.

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Statute of limitations bars rate hike claim

The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled the statute of limitations had expired for a member of a power cooperative to challenge its parent company’s change from state to federal regulation and upheld summary judgment for the parent company.

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COA majority: Mayor has power to terminate utility superintendent

The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment in a split decision Wednesday for former city of Lawrence Utilities Board Superintendent Carlton Curry, finding the newly elected mayor had authority to terminate Curry’s employment and therefore Curry can't prevail on a wrongful discharge claim.

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COA affirms $147,000 judgment against smelter manufacturer

The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a $147,000 judgment against a manufacturer of lead smelters, finding the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it entered default judgment against the company when it did not respond properly to a complaint.

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COA: Mother justified in deciding not to work as doctor

In a child support case in which a man challenged the decision by his son’s mother to quit her job as a doctor to stay at home with her children, the Indiana Court of Appeals found she had just cause to do so based on the sons’ special needs.

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Suspended attorney’s UPL convictions upheld

The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a suspended Elkhart attorney’s convictions of practicing law by a non-attorney after ruling there is sufficient evidence he continued to provide legal work after he was disciplined by the Indiana Supreme Court two years ago.

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Although unlicensed in county, contractor still owed for work

The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled a contractor violated the Home Improvement Contracts Act when he misled a family into thinking he was locally licensed and voided the contract between the two. However, the court said he should still be paid for the work he did because the family would be unjustly enriched if he was not paid.

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