A defendant’s request to disqualify the entire LaPorte County Prosecutor’s Office from his voluntary manslaughter case because several in the office viewed his conversation with his attorney recorded during a police interrogation is moot because there is a new prosecutor in office, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled.
A man’s conviction in Whitley County for dealing in methamphetamine by manufacturing was upheld by the Court of Appeals Wednesday. There is evidence that the man knowingly or intentionally aided an acquaintance in making methamphetamine in the home the defendant shared with his girlfriend.
Indiana Court of Appeals
James A. Lynn v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
70A01-1412-PC-534
Post conviction. Affirms denial of petition for post-conviction relief.
Tiffany Smith v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
49A02-1503-CR-144
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class D felony theft.
Joseph Merriman, III v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
30A01-1503-CR-119
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class D felony residential entry.
Elsor Matthews v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
27A05-1503-PC-116
Post conviction. Affirms denial of petition for post-conviction relief.
William A. Russell v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
41A04-1504-CR-155
Criminal. Affirms order denying Russell’s fourth motion to correct erroneous sentence.
Jerell Owens v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
48A02-1501-PC-60
Post conviction. Affirms denial of petition for post-conviction relief.
In the Matter of the Term. of the Parent-Child Relationship of S.R., and D.R., and H.A.R., H.G.R., H.O.R., and N.R., Children: S.R. and D.R. v. Ind. Dept. of Child Services (mem. dec.)
42A01-1501-JT-34
Juvenile. Affirms termination of parental rights.
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Defender Security Company v. First Mercury Insurance Company
14-1805
U.S. District court, Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division, Judge Sarah Evans Barker.
Civil. Affirms First Mercury Insurance Co.’s motion to dismiss Defender Security Co.’s lawsuit alleging breach of contract and bad faith, which sought a declaratory judgment that First Mercury owed it a duty to defend. Based on Indiana’s definition of “publication” in the defamation context, the term “publication” in the insurance policy was not susceptible to Defender’s interpretation that its recording and storing of customers’ information constitutes “publication” so as to trigger defense by First Mercury in a lawsuit.
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the decision to terminate the parental rights of a mother to her twin daughters based on insufficient evidence, although one judge believed the termination should have been upheld. The court unanimously affirmed the decision to end her parental rights to her son.
An Indiana company sued for recording customers’ personal information over the phone without their knowledge did not publish that information as required to trigger a duty to defend by its insurer in a California lawsuit, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Tuesday.
It’s like going back to school. Before they begin to work, new lawyers at many big firms complete lengthy orientation programs that provide instruction on topics like basic accounting and finance.
The former mayor of Lake Station and his wife have asked for a delay in their second criminal trial and for a federal judge to recuse himself.
A credit union that holds loans on thousands of prospective college students is suing an Indianapolis-based college test preparation company, alleging that it owes it more than $12 million.
Longtime Indiana state Rep. William Crawford will lie in state in the Indiana Statehouse Rotunda ahead of his funeral this week.
Indiana’s largest cemetery illegally made direct solicitations to people in hospitals, mental health facilities and other care settings, alleges a class-action lawsuit filed Monday in Indianapolis.
The state’s legal profession welcomed 312 new lawyers to its ranks Monday during an admission ceremony hosted by the Indiana Supreme Court.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Jon A. Zima v. Eric A. Kazmierzak (mem. dec.)
71A04-1502-PL-71
Civil plenary. Reverses denial of Zima’s motion to correct error, which challenged the order he pay damages and attorney fees entered upon forfeiture for the breach of a land sales contract. Remands for the consideration of the evidence of actual damages to include fair market value incurred by Kazmierzak.
Brandon Eubank v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
15A01-1502-CR-69
Criminal. Affirms sentences for Level 6 neglect of a dependent and Class A misdemeanor resisting law enforcement but remands the sentencing order with instructions to enter an order that complies with the terms of the plea agreement and reflects that the sentences were to be served concurrently.
In advance of lower-risk offenders staying in local jails instead of going to state prisons, counties across Indiana have requested more than $17 million from the state. However, for the first round of appropriations this fiscal year, the Department of Correction only has $5 million to give.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Michael R. Pike, and Chassidy L. Pike v. Conestoga Title Insurance Co.
16A05-1501-CT-27
Civil tort. Affirms summary judgment in favor of Conestoga Title Insurance Co. The Pikes failed to promptly notify Conestoga about legal notices that their property was being placed in a tax sale.
The Allen County Bar Association will recognize 13 attorneys Tuesday at its annual meeting for their outstanding professional and civic accomplishments in the local community, including 10 who have a total of 500 years of legal service among them.
A Greensburg couple who received two legal notices that their home was going into a tax sale never notified their title insurance company about the issue, which doomed their lawsuit. The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld summary judgment in favor of the title insurer.
Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert's attorneys are talking with prosecutors about a possible plea deal in the Republican's hush-money case, both sides told a federal judge Monday.
Mortgage giant Quicken Loans overly restricts employees' free speech and should rewrite its rules for workers and educate employees about their rights, according to a National Labor Relations Board complaint.
A tenant at the Gary/Chicago International Airport is suing the airport authority and its private operator, alleging that they "unilaterally" quadrupled its rent.