Lawsuits - The Indiana Lawyer

7th Circuit ruling expands ministerial exception, potentially impacting Indiana high school cases

July 21, 2021 | Marilyn Odendahl

Shelly Fitzgerald and Lynn Starkey, former guidance counselors at Roncalli High School, and Joshua Payne-Elliott, a former foreign language and social studies teacher at Cathedral High School, all filed separate lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis after they were all terminated from their jobs because they are in same-sex marriages. This month’s decision from the 7th Circuit in Demkovich v. St. Andrew the Apostle Parish, 19-2142, could change the trajectory of each of those cases.

Trial court rejects AG’s motion in fight with governor

July 20, 2021 | Marilyn Odendahl

The Marion Superior Court has denied Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita’s attempt to stop Gov. Eric Holcomb from continuing his lawsuit against the Legislature in the dispute over who can call the General Assembly into a special session.

AG Rokita sues firms for dangerous conditions at two Indy apartment complexes

July 20, 2021 | Leslie Bonilla Muñiz, Indianapolis Business Journal and Mason King, Indianapolis Business Journal

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita filed suit Tuesday against a New Jersey-based affordable housing not-for-profit and a New York-based property manager for poor conditions at two Indianapolis apartment complexes.

4 companies on verge of settling US opioid lawsuits

July 20, 2021 | Associated Press

The three biggest U.S. drug distribution companies and the drugmaker Johnson & Johnson are on the verge of a $26 billion settlement covering thousands of government lawsuits over the toll of opioids across the U.S., a group of lawyers for local governments said Tuesday.

Ex-Charlestown wildlife center auctioned off after court ruling

July 19, 2021 | Associated Press and IL Staff

Hundreds of people turned out for an auction at a former Charlestown wildlife center where the ex-proprietor and his ex-wife were found to have violated the Endangered Species Act by taking and wounding animals, including tigers and lions.

Indiana restarts federal unemployment payments while court battle plays out

July 16, 2021 | Emily Ketterer and Indianapolis Business Journal Staff

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development resumed processing federal unemployment benefits this week — amid ongoing legal battles — and more than 25,000 claimants have received payments in the past day, the agency said Friday.

Indy lawyers argue they should not be penalized for representing Trump in Wisconsin election challenge

July 13, 2021 | Marilyn Odendahl

In its fight to fend off $145,000 in sanctions for filing a lawsuit challenging the November 2020 election results in Wisconsin, the Indianapolis law firm of Kroger Gardis & Regas is arguing that Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ motion to recover attorney fees and costs is “deeply flawed” and an attempt to score “political points by making unsupported claims.”

Trump lawyers might be penalized over Michigan election case

July 13, 2021 | Associated Press

A federal judge considering whether to order sanctions against some of former President Donald Trump’s lawyers spent hours Monday drilling deeply into details about an unsuccessful lawsuit that challenged Michigan’s 2020 election results.

State seeking $154M from former charter schools accused of enrollment fraud

July 12, 2021 | Olivia Covington

The state of Indiana is suing to recover more than $154 million from two now-defunct charter schools accused of padding their enrollment numbers to receive extra state funds, then misappropriating those funds to benefit school associates and their private businesses.

Inmates claim Indiana prison kept them in cruel conditions

July 12, 2021 | Associated Press

The lawsuits filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana claim the conditions at the maximum-security Miami Correctional Facility near Peru amounted to cruel and unusual punishment.

State reports slight increase in Indiana abortions for 2020

July 12, 2021 | Associated Press

The number of abortions performed in Indiana grew slightly last year, with a new state report showing that drug-induced abortions made up a majority of the procedures for the first time.

State: Ex-owner of defunct Charlestown zoo auctioning potentially misappropriated items

July 8, 2021 | Olivia Covington

The legal battle over a now-defunct roadside zoo in Charlestown is continuing with allegations that the zoo’s embattled owner is attempting to auction possibly misappropriated items.

3 women ask 7th Circuit to revive Title VII claims against state in Curtis Hill harassment case

July 8, 2021 | Olivia Covington

Three of the four women who in 2018 accused former Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill of sexual misconduct are asking the 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate their federal claims for Title VII violations against the state of Indiana.

Indiana delays unemployment benefits despite judge’s ruling

July 8, 2021 | Associated Press

Indiana’s Department of Workforce Development said Wednesday that it still hasn’t decided how to continue payment of federal unemployment benefits, more than a week after a judge ruled that the state must restart the extra $300 weekly payments to unemployed workers.

More states agree to settlement plan for opioid-maker Purdue Pharma

July 8, 2021 | Associated Press and IL Staff

More than a dozen states have dropped their longstanding objections to OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s reorganization plan, edging the company closer to resolving its bankruptcy case and transforming itself into a new entity that helps combat the U.S. opioid epidemic through its own profits.

Dozens of states including Indiana target Google’s app store in antitrust suit

July 8, 2021 | Associated Press and IL Staff

Dozens of states including Indiana are taking aim at Google in an escalating legal offensive on Big Tech. This time, attorneys general for 36 states and the District of Columbia have filed a lawsuit targeting Google’s Play store, where consumers download apps designed for the Android software that powers most of the world’s smartphones.

Trump announces suits against Facebook, Twitter and Google

July 7, 2021 | Associated Press and IL Staff

Former President Donald Trump announced Wednesday he is filing suits against three of the country’s biggest tech companies: Facebook, Twitter and Google, as well as their CEOs.

Web Exclusive: Could more conservative SCOTUS change abortion landscape? Experts aren’t convinced

July 7, 2021 | Olivia Covington

A more conservative Supreme Court could mean changes to abortion law — or not.

Rokita seeks appeal of order allowing governor’s lawsuit against General Assembly to proceed

July 6, 2021 | IL Staff

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has filed an appeal just days after a Marion County judge denied his request to do away with a complaint filed by Gov. Eric Holcomb against the Indiana General Assembly.

Judge letting Indiana’s governor sue to block emergency law

July 6, 2021 | IL Staff and Associated Press

Attorneys for Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb and Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita faced off last month during oral arguments about whether the governor could hire his own legal counsel to represent him in a lawsuit he filed against the state’s legislative body. A Marion County Superior Court judge, in an order posted Saturday, ruled that he could.

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