Opinions

Indiana Court of Appeals
Gabriel Cabrera v. State of Indiana
21A-CR-446
Criminal. Affirms Gabriel Cabrera’s convictions of child molestation and sexual misconduct with a minor after a bench trial. Finds Cabrera has failed to demonstrate that the Marion Superior Court committed fundamental error.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Sarah D. Nicholson v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
21A-CR-693
Criminal. Affirms the Dubois Superior Court’s order sentencing Sarah Nicholson to serve 730 days in the Department of Correction following the revocation of her probation. Finds the terms of Nicholson’s plea were agreement unambiguous, so the trial court did not err in ordering her to serve the sentence she agreed to. Also finds the trial court didn’t err in denying her petition for sentence modification.

Indiana Court of Appeals

Dexter Eastridge v. Estate of Richard Rayles
21A-PL-673
Civil plenary. Affirms Crawford Circuit Court’s denial of a motion to set aside default judgment. Finds Dexter Eastridge waived his right to arbitration after failing to respond to the estate’s motion to compel arbitration. Finds the trial court didn’t abuse its discretion by entering default judgment.

Indiana Court of Appeals
John Patrick Michaels v. Huntington County, IN Advisory Board of Zoning Appeals (mem. dec.)
21A-PL-00565
Civil plenary. Affirms the denial of John Michaels’ petition to the Huntington County Advisory Board of Zoning Appeals for a special exception that he be permitted to establish and operate an outdoor shooting range on property not zoned for that use. Finds Michaels failed to properly preserve any Second Amendment argument for review and failed to establish an abuse of discretion.

The following Indiana Supreme Court opinion was posted after IL deadline on Friday:
Roger D. Rotert v. Connie S. Stiles
21S-TR-00452
Trust. Affirms the Jackson Circuit Court’s entry of summary judgment for Connie Stiles and against her brother, Robert Rotert. Finds that because Rotert’s due-process claim fails on the record, he is not entitled to relief. Also finds that because the probate code’s bar against restraints on marriage does not apply to trusts or gifts to children, Marcille Borcherding’s disposition by a revocable trust to her son is valid. Justice Christopher Goff concurs in result with separate opinion.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Lamar Bush v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
21A-CR-00842
Criminal. Affirms Lamar Bush’s convictions for Level 2 felony dealing in a narcotic substance and Level 2 felony dealing in methamphetamine. Finds sufficient evidence to support the dealing convictions.

Indiana Supreme Court
Betty Miller, Individually and as Personal Representative of the Estate of John Allen Miller v. Laxeshkumar Patel, M.D., John Schiltz, M.D., Benjamin Coplan, M.D., Joseph Hill, M.D., Erik Fossum, M.D., Bradford Hale, M.D., Christine Tran, M.D., James Blickendorf, M.D., Robert McAllister, M.D., Sara Koerwitz, M.D., Timothy Held, PA, Community Health Network, Inc., d/b/a Community Howard Regional Health Hospital and Community Howard Behavioral Health, Community Physicians of Indiana, Inc., d/b/a Community Physician Network, Community Howard Regional Health, Inc., St. Joseph Hospital & Health Center, Inc., St. Vincent Health, Inc., Ascension Health, Inc., and Medical Associates, LLP
21S-CT-455
Civil tort. Reverses the denial of Betty Miller’s request to amend her complaint against several hospitals that treated her grandson under Indiana Trial Rule 15(C) to allege a violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1395dd, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. Finds EMTALA’s statute of limitations does not preempt an amendment under Trial Rule 15(C). Finding the trial court must now consider whether the EMTALA claim arose out of the same conduct set forth or attempted to be set forth in the original complaint, remands for reconsideration of Miller’s motion. 

Indiana Court of Appeals
Steven Michael Fougerousse v. Dawn M. (Fougerousse) Dardeen (mem. dec.)
21A-DC-00599
Domestic relations, with children. Affirms an order restricting Steven Fougerousse’s parenting time with his daughters. Finds the record provides a rational basis for the trial court’s parenting-time determination that Father’s parenting time would endanger his children’s physical health or significantly impair their emotional development due to his abuse of alcohol. Thus, finds no abuse of discretion and that Father has failed to establish prima facie error

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals
United States of America v. Gilberto Vizcarra-Millan, et al.
19-3476, 19-3481, 19-3484, 19-3537, 20-1113 and 20-1266

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson.

Criminal. Affirms in a consolidated appeal the convictions of Richard Grundy III, Gilberto Vizcarra-Millan, Undrae Moseby, Derek Atwater and Ezell Neville for a drug trafficking conspiracy. Also affirms the conviction of James Beasley on one count but reverses his convictions on two others. Finds the evidence at trial necessarily left a reasonable doubt as to whether Beasley committed the two crimes in question and therefore his case is remanded to the district court for resentencing on the one remaining count.

Indiana Court of Appeals 

Zachary Fix v. State of Indiana
20A-CR-1566
Criminal. Affirms and reverses in part Zachary Fix’s convictions of Level 2 felony burglary while armed with a deadly weapon, Level 5 felony robbery and Level 6 felony theft. Finds the state did not present sufficient evidence to prove Fix committed Level 2 felony burglary while armed with a deadly weapon because Fix was not armed when he broke and entered the burglarized building. Also finds that Fix can be convicted of both burglary and robbery without violating the Indiana Constitution’s prohibition against double jeopardy. Remands with instructions for the Madison Circuit Court to vacate Fix’s conviction of Level 2 felony burglary and enter convictions of Level 3 felony armed robbery and a lower-level burglary offense and to resentence him.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Steak N Shake Operations, Inc. v. National Waste Associates, LLC, et al.
21A-CP-00213
Civil plenary. Reverses the Marion Superior Court’s grant of National Waste Associates’ motion for summary judgment and its denial of Steak ’n Shake’s motion for summary judgment. Holds there are genuine issues of material fact concerning the terms and conditions under which National employed Aspen Waste Systems of Missouri as its subcontractor. Holds that National is not entitled to judgment as a matter of law, but Steak ’n Shake is entitled to judgment as a matter of law on both its complaint and on National’s counterclaim. Remands with instructions for the court to enter summary judgment for Steak ’n Shake and to determine Steak ’n Shake’s damages.