Opinions

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Thomas J. Herr v. State of Indiana
22A-PL-142
Civil plenary. Affirms the Tippecanoe Superior Court’s grant of summary judgment to the state and the denial of summary judgment to Thomas Herr on his claim that the Tippecanoe County closed primary election system is unconstitutional. Finds Herr has failed to show that Tippecanoe County’s closed primary system for electing judges violates the First or 14^th Amendments, so the trial court did not err in denying his motion for summary judgment and granting the state’s. Also finds the trial court did not err in determining Tippecanoe County’s closed primary election system does not violate Herr’s right to vote under the Indiana Constitution. Finally, finds the trial court did not err in determining the closed primary system does not violate Herr’s rights under the privileges and immunities clause of the Indiana Constitution.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
In the Matter of: R.G. (Minor Child) v. The State of Indiana
23A-JV-00011
Juvenile. Affirms the Lake Superior Court’s award of guardianship of R.G. to the Indiana Department of Correction following his violation of the probation he was serving after his adjudication as a delinquent. Finds the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it placed R.G. in DOC when he failed to abide by probation requirements, engaged in physical altercations in detention, and the only residential placement facility that accepted him didn’t have an opening for six to eight weeks.

Indiana Supreme Court
State of Indiana v. Bryan D. Lyons
23S-CR-163
Criminal. Grants transfer and affirms the suppression of incriminating statements Bryan D. Lyons made immediately after a polygraph that was changed to a “non-stipulated,” inadmissible investigatory examination without disclosure to the state. Finds that before excluding evidence as a Trial Rule 37 discovery sanction, a trial court must find that the exclusion is the sole remedy available to avoid substantial prejudice or that the sanctioned party’s culpability reflects an egregious discovery violation. Also finds the Lawrence Superior Court’s order in Lyons’ case enforced Trial Rule 37 within those limits.

Indiana Supreme Court
S.D. v. G.D.
23S-PO-89
Protective order. Affirms the issuance of a two-year protective order against father S.D., with the Starke Circuit Court finding that mother G.D. had established that “domestic or family violence” occurred and that father “represents a credible threat to the safety” of G.D. and child H.D. Finds the trial court’s evidence-based findings support its judgment issuing a protective order against S.D.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
In re the Supervised Estate of Gene D. Bricker, Deceased Ann Bricker v. The Estate of Gene D. Bricker and Dennis Bricker
23A-ES-3
Estate supervised. Affirms the Hancock Superior Court’s denial of Ann Bricker’s petition to have real estate and a farm account included in Gene Bricker’s estate. Finds there is some similarity between transfer-on-death transfers and a trust designed to defeat a surviving spouse’s share, but concludes the TOD transfers in this case cannot be included in Gene Bricker’s estate. Also finds TOD transfers cannot be found to be “testamentary in nature” for purposes of the state’s spousal inheritance statute.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
In The Matter of L.S., a Child in Need of Services, J.C. v. Indiana Department of Child Services
22A-JC-2822
Juvenile CHINS. Dismisses father J.C.’s appeal of the Vanderburgh Superior Court’s denial of his motion to modify the placement of his child, L.S. Finds father’s notice of appeal indicates that the order denying the modification is a final appealable order, but it is not. Also finds father did not seek an interlocutory appeal. Finally, finds the Court of Appeals lacks appellate jurisdiction.

Indiana Supreme Court
Kathryn Davidson v. State of Indiana, et al.
22S-CT-318
Civil tort. Affirms the Monroe Circuit Court’s judgment dismissing Kathryn Davidson’s lawsuit with prejudice and denying Davidson’s motions to correct error and to amend her complaint. Finds claim preclusion does not apply but issue preclusion does, and the trial court was correct in dismissing Davidson’s action on the latter ground. Also finds the trial court was not obliged to review the Rule 12 motions as motions under Rule 56. Finally, finds the trial court was entitled to dismiss the action with prejudice, so it did not violate Davidson’s due process rights.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Andrea Moore and William Moore v. Jocelyn Negrelli (mem. dec.)
22A-CT-3056
Civil tort. Affirms the jury verdict in favor of Jocelyn Negrelli on a complaint filed by Andrea Moore. Finds the LaPorte Superior Court did not err by denying Moore’s motion for a directed verdict. Also finds the trial court did not err in instructing the jury, and even if it did, Moore was not prejudiced.

United States of America v. John Holden
22-3160
Appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division. Judge Robert L. Miller Jr.
Criminal. Reversed the district court’s judgment and reinstated the criminal charge against John Holden. Finds a truthful answer to the question “are you under indictment?” can be material to the propriety of a firearms sale, whether or not all possible applications of §922(n) comport with the Second Amendment.

United States of America v. James E. Snyder
21‐2986
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Hammond Division. Judge Matthew Kennelly.
Criminal. Affirms James Snyder’s convictions of bribery and obstructing federal revenue laws. Finds Snyder’s Fourth and Sixth Amendment rights weren’t violated when the government got access to his email accounts. Also finds prosecution of the obstruction charge wasn’t barred by the statute of limitations and that there was sufficient evidence. Finally, finds Snyder’s rights to a speedy trial weren’t violated by the delay between the first and second trials for bribery, that 18 U.S.C. § 666 doesn’t require evidence of a prior quid pro quo agreement, and that there was sufficient evidence for conviction.

United States of America ex rel. Michelle Calderon v. Carrington Mortgage Services LLC
22-1553
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. Judge Richard Young.
Civil. Affirms the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Carrington Mortgage Services. Finds Michelle Calderon did not proffer evidence that would permit a reasonable trier of fact to find that Carrington’s violations of the False Claims Act caused any harm to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Also finds the district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding portions of Calderon’s expert testimony.

Linda Gierek, et al. v. Anonymous 1, et al.
22A-CT-01225
Civil tort. Affirms the Elkhart Superior Court’s ruling that the Indiana Medical Malpractice Act applies to the plaintiffs’ claims. Finds the alleged torts are based on health care provided by the hospital. Reverses the trial court’s ruling that it didn’t have subject matter jurisdiction. Finds granting a motion for class certification would not exceed the scope of the trial court’s subject matter jurisdiction. Remands for a consideration of the plaintiffs’ motions for class certification.

Court of Appeals of Indiana

Netflix Inc., Disney DTC LLC, Hulu LLC, DIRECTTV LLC, Dish Network Corp., and Dish Network L.L.C. v. City of Fishers, Indiana, City of Indianapolis, Indiana, City of Evansville, Indiana, and City of Valparaiso, Indiana on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated
22A-PL-1630
Civil plenary. Affirms the Marion Superior Court’s authority to hear the case pursuant to Indiana Declaratory Judgment Act. Finds the streaming services meet the requirements of the IDJA and the trial court properly exercised jurisdiction. Remands with instructions to vacate the denials of the streaming services’ motions to dismiss.

The following 7th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion was posted after IL’s deadline Friday:

United State of America v. Derrick Granger, Clifford R. King Jr., and Eric Walker
21-2874, 21-3056 and 21-3382
Appeals from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. Judge James Sweeney.
Criminal. Affirms convictions of conspiring to distribute heroin and methamphetamine, and firearms offenses, for Derrick Granger, Clifford King and Eric Walker. Finds the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendants’ objections to the seating of a juror. Vacates Walker’s sentence. Remands for resentencing.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Erie Insurance Exchange v. Myron Corporation
22A-CT-2699
Civil tort. Affirms the Montgomery Superior Court’s denial of Erie Insurance Exchange’s motion to consider Myron Corporation as the manufacturer of a power bank charger in order to apply strict liability, and the trial court’s grant of Myron’s motion to dismiss Erie’s strict liability claim. Finds Erie failed to establish a genuine issue of the material fact that Myron is to be considered the domestic distributor of a power bank charger pursuant to the Indiana Products Liability Act.

Indiana Supreme Court

Donald R. Owen, Jr. v. State of Indiana
21S-LW-333
Life without parole. Affirms Donald Owen’s sentence of life without parole for his conviction of murder. Finds there was sufficient evidence in the Elkhart Circuit Court to find Owen was a major participant and to support two of the statutory aggravators. Also finds the trial court did not abuse its discretion in declining Owen’s proposed jury instructions. Finally, finds the record supports other aggravators.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
IBYH, LLC v. Masiongale Electrical-Mechanical, Inc. (mem. dec.)
22A-PL-2945
Civil plenary. Affirms the denial of IBYH LLC’s motion to correct error, which challenged a grant of summary judgment in favor of Masiongale Electrical-Mechanical Inc. Finds the Delaware Circuit Court did not improvidently grant summary judgment to Masiongale.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
H.P. and S.P. v. G.F.
22A-AD-2674
Adoption. Reverses the Hendricks Superior Court’s judgment granting G.F. grandparent visitation with K.F. Finds G.F. no longer has standing to seek grandparent visitation and his attempt to regain standing by attacking the adoption decree is fruitless given the applicable statute of limitations. Also finds the trial court erred by addressing the merits of the grandfather’s claim for grandparent visitation under the Grandparent Visitation Act.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Indiana Department of Insurance and Indiana Patient’s Compensation Fund v. Jane Doe and John Doe I, individually and as next friends and legal guardians of John Doe II, an unmarried minor, and Johnathan Cavins and Board of Trustees of Anonymous Hospital
22A-CT-1276
Civil tort. Reverses the denial of the Indiana Department of Insurance and the Patient Compensation Fund’s motion for summary judgment on a claim for excess damages under the Medical Malpractice Act brought by Jane Doe and John Doe I, individually and on behalf of John Doe II. Finds there are no genuine issues of material fact. Also finds the fund is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Remands with instructions. Judge Margret Robb concurs in part and dissents in part with separate opinion.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
In re: The Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of: Na.R. (Minor Child) and N.R. (Father) v. Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.)
22A-JT-2539
Juvenile termination of parental rights. Affirms the involuntary termination of father N.R.’s parental rights to his daughter, Na.R. Finds the Floyd Circuit Court’s findings support its conclusion that the conditions under which the child was removed from N.R.’s care would not be remedied.