Opinions

Court of Appeals of Indiana
L.T. Garrett v. Nissan of Lafayette, LLC
22A-CT-2583
Civil tort. Reverses the Bartholomew Circuit Court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Nissan of Lafayette. Orders the trial court to vacate that judgment. Rejects Nissan of Lafayette’s cross-appeal contending that the trial court erred when it declined to rule that a set of requests for admission should be deemed admitted. Finds the designated evidence is insufficient to allow the trial court to conclude that Garrett’s reliance on the verbal representations of the dealership was unreasonable as a matter of law. Remands the case for further proceedings.

7^Th Circuit Court of Appeals
United States of America v. Paul Erlinger
22-1926
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Terre Haute Division. Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson.
Criminal. Affirms Paul Erlinger’s sentence to 15 years for illegally possessing a firearm. Finds there is no basis to hold that the Indiana burglary statute no longer qualifies for an enhanced sentence mandated by the Armed Career Criminal Act. Also finds that a preponderance of the evidence shows Erlinger’s offenses were committed on separate occasions.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
David W. Helvey v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
23A-CR-299
Criminal. Affirms David Helvey’s aggregate 20-month sentence for Level 6 felony intimidation and four counts of Class A misdemeanor intimidation. Finds Helvey’s sentence is not inappropriate in light of the nature of the offenses and his character.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Kurt Russell v. State of Indiana
22A-CR-2299
Criminal. Affirms Kurt Russell’s conviction of Level 1 felony dealing in a controlled substance resulting in death. Finds the Boone Superior Court did not abuse its discretion when it admitted evidence extracted from a phone other than the one found on the counter near Maxwell Timbrook’s body because the content of both phones were the same given that they were linked to the same iCloud account. Also find the state presented sufficient evidence that Russell delivered fentanyl to Timbrook, and he died ingesting the fentanyl.

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals
Anna Kinney v. St. Mary’s Health, Inc., doing business as St. Vincent Evansville
22-2740
Appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Evansville Division.
Senior Judge Richard L. Young.
Civil. Affirms the grant of summary judgment to St. Mary’s Health Inc. on Anna Kinney’s Americans with Disabilities Act and Title VII claims. Finds no reasonable juror could find that Kinney could perform certain essential functions of her job without being present in the radiology department that she oversaw, so she was not a qualified individual for the job under the ADA, and even if she had been, the accommodation she requested was not reasonable. Also finds Kinney’s resignation was not a constructive discharge. Finally, regarding promotions Kinney applied for but did not receive, her claims did not show genuine issues of material fact.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
In the Matter of the Civil Commitment of G.H. v. Richard L. Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center
23A-MH-490
Mental health. Affirms the involuntary commitment of G.H but reverses a special condition and remands with instructions to the Marion Superior Court to strike the special condition prohibiting G.H. from consuming alcohol and drugs during his outpatient treatment Finds clear and convincing evidence supports the involuntary commitment, but insufficient evidence supports the special condition. Judge Elizabeth Tavitas concurs and dissents in part with separate opinion.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Demarcus Nance v. State of Indiana
22A-CR-2581
Criminal. Reverses the Marion Superior Court’s denial of Damarcus Nance’s motion to suppress. Finds the officers had no authority to cross the threshold of Nance’s home without a warrant. Also finds the later searches without a warrant were tainted by the earlier illegal entries. Remands for further proceedings.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Trevor D. Dilk v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
22A-CR-2734
Criminal. Affirms Trevor Dilk’s sentence of six years, with two years suspended to probation, for possession of methamphetamine, a Level 4 felony. Finds that any error in the Jennings Circuit Court’s consideration of aggravating circumstances is harmless. Also finds Dilk’s sentence is not inappropriate.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
In the Matter of the Civil Commitment of: K.K. v. Community Health Network, Inc.
23A-MH-114
Mental health. Affirms K.K.’s involuntary commitment to Community Health Network Inc. Finds the Marion Superior Court did not err in determining that K.K.’s doctor met the qualifications for an expert. Also finds there is sufficient evidence to support the involuntary commitment.

Court of Appeals of Indiana

Michael O. Cain and Linda A. Raymond et al. v. William J. Huff II Revocable Trust Declaration Dated June 28, 2011, and Nicole E. Huff Revocable Trust Declaration, Dated June 28, 2011
22A-PL-1258
Civil plenary.  Affirms partial summary judgment from Monroe Circuit Court for William and Nicole Huff. Finds the Huffs are entitled only to the declaratory judgment and clarifies that the scope of the trial court’s partial summary judgment. Remands the case for further proceedings.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Richard Bojko, Patricia Gadzala, Katie Greenberg, Vernita Johnson-Macklin, Kurt Claussen, and Rachel Richardson v. Anonymous Physician and Anonymous Medical Practice, and Amy Beard, Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Insurance and G. Anthony Bertig, as Chairman of the Medical Review Panels
23A-CT-185
Civil tort. Affirms the Lake Superior Court’s grant of the petition filed by an anonymous physician and an anonymous medical practice asking the court to order plaintiffs Richard Bojko, Patricia Gadzala, Katie Greenberg, Vernita Johnson-Macklin, Kurt Claussen and Rachel Richardson to remove non-evidentiary allegations from their submissions to a medical review panel. Finds the trial court had subject-matter jurisdiction to grant the petition.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Jason Walden v. State of Indiana
22A-CR-2363
Criminal. Affirms Jason Walden’s convictions of three counts of Level 1 felony child molesting and two counts of Level 4 felony child molesting but reverses his aggregate 102-year sentence. Finds the Clinton Circuit Court did not abuse its discretion when it replayed the victim’s entire testimony in response to a jury question. Also finds the trial court’s consideration of Walden’s prior acquittals was improper. Remands for resentencing. Judge Cale Bradford concurs in part and dissents in part with separate opinion.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Mallory Stout v. Tanner Knotts
22A-PL-1216
Civil plenary. Reverses the Putnam Circuit Court’s denial of Mallory Stout’s motion to correct error. Finds the trial court erroneously denied Stout’s motion to correct error and failed to recuse. Remands for further proceedings, including the assignment of a new judge.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Melinda Crowe v. Chris Allen Drenter
22A-CT-2815
Civil tort. Reverses the Jefferson Circuit Court’s preliminary injunction ordering that Melinda Crowe not use an easement to access the property where she resides. Finds Chris Drenter has not met his burden of showing a reasonable likelihood of success at trial as to the allegations in his complaint for trespass. Also finds that Crowe may not unreasonably interfere with Drenter’s use of the easement.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Angela Santos v. Franciscan Health
22A-EX-2611
Agency action. Reverses the dismissal of Angela Santos’ application for adjustment of claim. Finds the full Worker’s Compensation Board of Indiana erred when it dismissed Santos’ claim. Remands for further proceedings.

Court of Appeals of Indiana

Patrick Hinton v. State of Indiana
23A-CR-107
Criminal. Reverses Patrick Hinton’s convictions for Level 6 possession of methamphetamine and Class C possession of paraphernalia in the Cass Superior Court. Finds nothing in the record demonstrates probable cause that an officer had plainly viewed evidence of a crime prior to his entry onto Hinton’s property.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Bryan Priest v. State of Indiana
22A-MI-2845
Miscellaneous. Affirms judgment by the Hendricks Superior Court finding Bryan Priest guilty of operating a commercial vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalent of 0.04 but less than 0.08. Finds evidence admitted at Priest’s bench trial did not constitute hearsay and complied with the Indiana Administrative Code.

Indiana Supreme Court
Hoosier Contractors, LLC v. Sean Gardner
22S-CT-381
Civil tort. Reverses the denial of Hoosier Contractors LLC’s motion for summary judgment but affirms the denial of Sean Gardner’s motion for partial summary judgment. Finds Gardner did not prove he sustained any injury that would afford him standing to pursue his counterclaim against Hoosier Contractors. Remands with instructions to dismiss the counterclaim for lack of standing. Justice Christopher Goff concurs in the judgment with separate opinion, joined by Chief Justice Loretta Rush.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
U.S. Bank National Association as Trustee for Manufactured Housing Contract Senior/Subordinate Pass-Through Certificate Trust 1998-7 v. Mary Sue Spencer and Phillip L. Spencer
22A-MF-2184
Mortgage foreclosure. Reverses the Martin Circuit Court’s denial of U.S. Bank’s motion for summary judgment in a foreclosure action against Mary and Phillip Spencer. Finds the trial court erroneously denied U.S. Bank’s motion for summary judgment. Remands with instructions to vacate the judgment, enter partial summary judgment in favor of U.S. Bank and conduct further proceedings consistent with the opinion.

Court of Appeals of Indiana

Billy Gene Luke v. State of Indiana
23A-CR-50
Criminal. Affirms the Dearborn Circuit Court’s order prohibiting Billy Luke from proceeding pro se. Finds the trial court’s conclusion is supported by the record.