Indiana Court decisions – Dec. 16-Dec. 29, 2021
Indiana Court decisions – Dec. 16-Dec. 29, 2021
Indiana Court of Appeals
Articles
Despite ‘problematic’ precedent, COA upholds denial of defendant’s motion to compel police report
Despite having concerns about the continued viability of a 1985 Indiana Supreme Court decision, the Court of Appeals of Indiana upheld the denial of a defendant’s motion to compel evidence of unredacted copies of police reports based on that precedent.
IRT can’t claim coverage for COVID-related losses, appellate court affirms
Despite the “dire” financial downturn caused by COVID-related business closures, the Indiana Repertory Theatre cannot claim loss-of-use coverage under its insurance policy because the theater was not physically damaged, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has affirmed.
High court to hear negligence, drunken driving cases in January arguments
The Indiana Supreme Court is scheduled to kick off the new year with two oral arguments on the schedule.
COA: Murder defendant could not call accomplice to witness stand
The Court of Appeals of Indiana has declined to overturn the conviction of a man who claimed he was denied his constitutional right to present a defense at his murder trial when the trial judge prevented him from calling his accomplice and forcing him to either testify or invoke his Fifth Amendment rights.
COA finds homeowner was one-day late in appealing order to demolish his home
An Indiana man failed to craft an argument to convince the Court of Appeals of Indiana that his complaint against the local town’s order for the demolition of his home was timely filed and the statute mandating a town provide 10-day notification of a demolition order is unconstitutional.
COA splits over liquidated damages award in breach of contract suit
A dentist who was fired from her job just weeks after starting because she refused to lower her compensation could not convince the Court of Appeals of Indiana that she should get to keep more than $45,000 in liquidated damages from her breach of contract suit.
COA: Oral agreement between former couple unenforceable by Statute of Frauds
A man who gave his ex-wife nearly $230,000 was unsuccessful in convincing the Court of Appeals of Indiana that they had previously agreed to use the money for a specific purpose and that their oral agreement wasn’t unenforceable under the Statute of Frauds.
COA affirms denial of motion to suppress evidence due to wrong address listed on search warrant
Neither a Lagro man’s federal nor state constitutional rights were infringed upon when sheriff’s deputies searched his home despite having the wrong address listed on their search warrant.
Former Purdue prof secures partial reversal in dismissed discrimination complaint
A former Purdue University assistant professor who sued her then-supervisor after he allegedly retaliated against her when she rejected what she claimed were his sexual advances has partially secured a reversal from the Court of Appeals of Indiana on the dismissal of her claims.
Do-over eminent domain opinion yields same result
The Court of Appeals of Indiana has released what it is calling a “substitute opinion” in the dispute between a property owner and the Gary Housing Authority, but while the court clarified one of the issues being reviewed, the outcome remained the same.
COA: Moving company failed to exercise ordinary care to evictee for stolen items
A moving company failed to exercise a duty of ordinary care to a woman whose belongings were stolen after she was evicted from her home, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has ruled.
COA: Bedford couple attempted to defraud ex-husband
A man who accused his ex-wife of purchasing a home to defraud him of money she owed him as a result of their dissolution decree has secured a reversal from the Court of Appeals of Indiana.
Supreme Court grants 3 transfer petitions, denies 11
A petition to transfer in a dispute over the removal of highway billboards split the Indiana Supreme Court but did not gain enough votes to be heard by the justices.
Appellate court allows enhanced sentence to stand
An Indianapolis man who described his offenses as “being in a truck with drugs and a gun” was unable to get his sentence reduced after the Court of Appeals of Indiana rejected his argument that his six-year enhancement for being a habitual offender was an impermissible double enhancement.
COA: Injured construction worker was independent contractor, not employee
A construction worker injured in a building collapse was, in fact, an independent contractor, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has concluded, rejecting an earlier finding that the worker was actually an employee of the company he sued.
COA affirms denial of motion to drop unlawful possession of a firearm charge
An Indianapolis man will not have his charge of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon dropped, as the Court of Appeals of Indiana affirmed his constitutional rights weren’t infringed upon when the state applied Indiana Code § 35-47-4-5 to his case.
Anti-SLAPP motion sinks in defamation lawsuit brought by scuba school owners
A man who was hit with a defamation lawsuit after he accused a business and business owner of forging paperwork submitted for his diving certification cannot shield himself with the state’s anti-SLAPP statute after the Court of Appeals of Indiana determined his right to free speech had not been sunk.
COA finds calculation of good time credit is function of accrued time
The Court of Appeals of Indiana has reversed for a Vigo County man who was denied any credit for the time that he was in jail pending the revocation of his probation.
Son not entitled to accounting of mom’s finances from POA daughter, appellate court rules
A Greenwood man will not obtain an accounting of his mother’s finances, as the Court of Appeals of Indiana has affirmed it is in the best interest of the woman that those details stay between her and the daughter she named as her guardian.