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Bont: White collar update — Walmart pharmacy defense plays offense

| Jonathan Bont

Walmart took issue with the government’s assertion that national pharmacy chains are required to analyze and share prescribing data across its stores and with line pharmacists. After waiting four years for the government to initiate legal proceedings, Walmart took the offensive and filed a declaratory judgment action in the Eastern District of Texas. In essence, Walmart alleged to the court that the government was creating and enforcing laws that did not exist.

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Start Page: Digital evidence pilot program clears preflight checklist

| Seth Wilson

The Hamilton County courts have been piloting, in select family law cases, a program for the online submission of trial exhibits through a website called CaseLines, part of Thomson Reuters. Attorneys and their teams can log in to a website, upload their digital exhibits for a hearing and the participants have access to those files for the hearing. The website is one place where the exhibits are stored and all participants can access at the hearing.

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Young: Commencement message resounds after speaker’s passing

| Ahmed Young

May 2011 was a magical time for me, personally and professionally. I completed all course work and passed exams required to participate in the annual commencement at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. The words from the speaker a decade ago — and his legacy — reverberate to this day.

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Trimble: COVID shows firms need to engage in succession planning

| John Trimble

As the pandemic forced attorneys to work from remote locations, they have seen how well they could do it. They and their spouses have had a glimpse of a different, slower lifestyle, and it has appealed to them. For many, retirement, which was previously just a distant concept, has grown more realistic. At a minimum, a significant number of my lawyer friends have decided to work fewer hours, and they are confident that they are ready to slow down.

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Adams and Engel: Planning considerations for IRC Section 1031 exchanges

Many commercial real estate owners, even those who previously did not intend to sell, are considering selling their real estate to take advantage of current market conditions. With transactions seemingly becoming quicker each year, it is important for owners to consider many factors when preparing to sell their real estate, including executing an Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 1031 exchange.

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McDermott: Lake, St. Joseph judiciary bill raises questions

| Marissa McDermott

The undeniable truth is that there is a long legislative history in this nation of powerful majorities diminishing and silencing the voices of minorities. While I have no reason to believe the motive of the current judicial selection legislation for Lake and St. Joseph counties is racial, this law will undoubtedly have a disproportionally negative effect on citizens who happen to be racial minorities.

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Sugarman and Thomas: Can plaintiffs ‘squeeze’ restoration damages out of ELA?

On April 20, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian, No. 17-1498, 140 S.Ct. 1335. The Court’s holding was relatively simple: plaintiffs (Montana landowners) could bring state court claims pursuing cleanup of additional contamination from the “Anaconda Smelter,” but they were first required under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) to seek the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) approval for additional cleanup. While on its face this decision addresses the interplay between CERCLA and Montana state law claims, the ramifications of Atlantic Richfield may be felt in Indiana.

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Kelln and Harrell: Hoosier McCabe’s EPA nomination elevates climate change policies

A little more than four years ago, Hoosier Janet McCabe ended her service as assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. Since then, the most significant aspects of the Obama-era climate change regulations, namely the Clean Power Plan, have been unwound. Biden’s selection of McCabe signals a doubling down on regulating greenhouse gas emissions.

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Doehrmann, List and Hagerty: Coal combustion residual regulation outlook under Biden

It has been just over one month since President Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States, and he is delivering on his promise to move quickly. Biden has signed more executive orders in his first 30 days than any president in U.S. history. Perhaps another record-breaking instance is the proportion of these actions that relate to energy and environmental policies.

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Betz: Lawmakers propose ‘radical’ bid to reshape judicial selection

| Kevin Betz

By initiating a constitutional amendment based on misinformation, three Indiana Republican state senators, now joined by multiple others, have proposed a radical resolution to eliminate citizen involvement in the retention vote of appellate judges, changing the current selection process that has been in place for 50 years. This proposal also severely decreases judicial independence and increases the political pressure on our state’s appellate judiciary. Indeed, if successful, the proposal would give the legislative branch far greater control over the Indiana state appellate judges and justices. It would also further embed in Indiana’s Constitution more systemic racism.

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Plews and Gotwald: Contra proferentem — A bedrock of insurance coverage law

For more than 100 years, the principle that if a policy term is ambiguous it is construed against the insurer and in favor of the policyholder and coverage — known as “contra proferentem”—has been a foundation of Indiana’s insurance-coverage jurisprudence. The reasons supporting this rule are still as strong as ever.

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