Father who moved before divorce retains custody
The Indiana Court of Appeals Friday affirmed a trial court’s custody order in favor of a father who moved to Arizona, then California, before his wife filed for divorce.
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Andy Mohr Truck Center wins $6.5M judgment against Volvo
A federal jury has slapped Volvo Trucks North America with a $6.5 million judgment, a stinging rebuke of its business dealings with Andy Mohr Truck Center, the franchisee the Swedish company signed on in 2010 to grow its market share here.
Opinions Aug. 20, 2015 ILD
Indiana Court of Appeals
Emily Duncan v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
67A01-1503-PC-102
Post conviction. Affirms denial of Duncan’s petition for post-conviction relief.
Demetrius Buntin v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
70A01-1501-CR-20
Criminal. Affirms conviction of dealing in cocaine, a Class A felony. Reverses convictions of possession of cocaine in excess of 3 grams, a Class C felony, and possession of cocaine and a firearm, a Class C felony. Finds the Class C felony convictions violated double jeopardy principles.
Daquion L. Shears v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
02A05-1501-CR-31
Criminal. Affirms revocation of probation.
Emery D. Scruggs v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
48A04-1412-CR-562
Criminal. Affirms revocation of probation.
In re the paternity of T.M. T.M., by next friend, Jeffrey D. Drinkski, Newton County Prosecuting Attorney and L.M. v. D.H. (mem. dec.)
56A03-1409-JP-324
Juvenile paternity. Affirms modification of physical custody of T.M. to his father, D.H.
Eddie Wilkerson v. Robert R. Carr and Lawyer Transport, Inc. (mem. dec.)
29A05-1410-CT-490
Civil tort. Affirms jury verdict in favor of the defendants. Jury concluded Wilkerson was 60 percent at fault for the collision and the defendants were 40 percent at fault.
In Re the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of: E.B. (a Minor Child) and B.H. (Father) v. Ind. Dept. of Child Services (mem. dec.)
21A01-1501-JT-37
Juvenile. Affirms termination of parental rights of B.H. to his daughter, E.B.
Maurice Knight v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
27A02-1411-CR-816
Criminal. Affirms conviction and two-and-a-half-year sentence for attempted obstruction of justice, a Level 6 felony.
Family Dollar Stores of Indiana, L.P., Family Dollar Holdings, Inc., and Baugo Creek Realty, LLC v. Charissa A. Heeter, Anthony P. Heeter et al (mem. dec.)
71A04-1412-CT-569
Civil tort. Affirms denial of summary judgment motion filed by Family Dollar. Heeters filed a negligence complaint after a driver lost control of his car and crashed through the Family Dollar in South Bend, injuring shoppers. COA finds retailer did not meet the initial burden of demonstrating the absence of any genuine issue of fact as to foreseeability.
Opinions Aug. 20, 2015
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
The following opinion was filed after IL deadline Wednesday:
Jeffrey Allen Rowe v. Monica Gibson, et al.
14-3316
Appeal from the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division
Judge Sarah Evans Barker
Civil. Affirms in part, reverses in part and remands. Affirms summary judgment in favor of prison defendants on most claims of deliberate indifference to inmate Rowe’s claim of pain for being denied Zantac to treat esophageal reflux, but reverses as to Dr. William Wolfe, a contract physician at the Department of Correction. Also reverses summary judgment in favor of two defendants on Rowe’s claim of retaliation. Judge Richard Posner wrote for the majority joined in a separate concurrence by Judge Ilana Rovner that the District Court erred in granting summary judgment on those it reversed, finding that Rowe’s claims of pain, the timeline of his inability to obtain Zantac and the limited Internet research the judge undertook substantiated disputes that could not be disposed on summary judgment. Judge David Hamilton would allow Rowe’s retaliation claims to proceed, but not his deliberate indifference claims. The majority’s independent research was “an unprecedented departure from the proper role of an appellate court” that “runs contrary to long-established law and raises a host of practical problems the majority fails to address,” Hamilton wrote.
R.R. Donnelly loses appeal over shipping pallet taxes
A company’s purchase of shipping pallets is subject to Indiana use tax according to a ruling of the Indiana Tax Court issued Thursday.
Prisoner’s Zantac lawsuit gives federal judges heartburn
An Indiana inmate’s lawsuit claiming prison staff showed deliberate indifference in denying him Zantac to treat a known esophageal reflux condition erupted in a war of words between two 7th Circuit Court of Appeals judges.
COA upholds human trafficking conviction
The Indiana Court of Appeals took a plain reading of state statute to counter a defendant’s argument that the state had to prove intent in order to sustain a conviction of attempted promotion of human trafficking.
Doctor who appealed attorney fees award now owes more
A northern Indiana doctor who lost a jury trial after he left a practice and started his own, and was ordered to pay damages and his former practice’s attorney fees, now may be on the hook for even greater costs.
Rehearing upholds drug conviction resulting from traffic stop
An Indianapolis man who got a second bite at the apple could not convince the Indiana Court of Appeals his traffic stop lasted too long.
Identification of defendant via phone calls and texts upheld by COA
A Grant County man argued threatening phone calls could not be linked to him, but he was unable to overcome the testimony by people who knew the sound of his voice.
Justice Boehm gets nod for special redistricting commission
Former Indiana Supreme Court Justice Ted Boehm has been given a seat on the special committee set to examine gerrymandering, a common political manipulation that he once called toxic.
Fogle attorney: Jared taking responsibility for ‘deplorable behavior’
The attorney for Jared Fogle said the former Subway pitchman was accepting responsibility for “his deplorable behavior” as he agreed Wednesday in federal court to plead guilty to paying for sex acts with minors and receiving child pornography.
Opinions Aug. 19, 2015 ILD
Indiana Court of Appeals
In the Matter of the Termination of T.P. & D.P. (Minor children) E.N. (Mother) v. The Ind. Dept. of Child Services (mem. dec.)
49A02-1501-JT-35
Juvenile. Affirms involuntary termination of parent-child relationship between E.N. (mother) and her children, T.P. and D.P.
Opinions Aug. 19, 2015
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Kyle D. Alaura v. Carolyn W. Colvin
15-1727
Appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Fort Wayne Division
Chief Judge Philip P. Simon
Agency action. Reverses denial of application for total disability benefits, which was premature, and remands to the District Court for further consideration of Alaura’s claim.
Unpaid student loan splits 7th Circuit
A 7th Circuit Court of Appeals panel has split with each judge writing a separate opinion about a lawsuit brought by a student who defaulted on her school loans and then sued when the lending agency tacked on collection costs.
Columbus landowner loses appeal of subdivision denial
The city of Columbus Plan Commission did not abdicate its authority to a resident’s neighbors when it denied an application to subdivide a piece of property into three lots of about one acre apiece.
Jailhouse calls to girlfriend urging sex with son properly admitted
A jailed man’s 15 phone calls with his girlfriend urging her to have sex with her learning-disabled son to show he wasn’t gay were properly admitted as evidence that led to his conviction of conspiracy to commit child molesting.
Indiana to get $1.3M slice of Amgen settlement
Biotech drugmaker Amgen will pay $71 million to settle an investigation into illegal marketing of its drugs Aranesp and Enbrel, ending an investigation by 48 states and Washington, D.C.
Fogle to plead guilty to sex acts with minors, child porn
Longtime Subway pitchman Jared Fogle has agreed to plead guilty to allegations that he paid for sex acts with minors and received child pornography that he knew had been secretly produced by the former director of his charitable foundation.
Indiana lawmakers to consider DNA testing felony arrestees
An Indiana legislative study panel heard testimony from a national advocate for DNA sampling who is urging them to expand testing to any person arrested for a felony.