Opinions

The following Supreme Court opinion was posted after IL deadline on Tuesday.
Brian J. Allen v. State of Indiana
20S-XP-506
Expungement. Reverses the Dearborn Superior Court’s order denying Brian Allen’s petition for expungement and remands with instructions for the court to reconsider its decision consistent with the Supreme Court’s opinion. Finds Allen was eligible for an expungement and that the trial court didn’t indicate why it denied Allen’s petition for expungement. 

Indiana Court of Appeals
Michael Wisdom v. State of Indiana
20A-CR-931
Criminal. Affirms Michael Wisdom’s 16-year sentence for his conviction of Level 4 possession of a schedule II narcotic drug and a gang-related sentencing enhancement. Finds Wisdom was not twice prosecuted for the same offense in violation of the Indiana Constitution. Also finds the Vanderburgh Circuit Court did not abuse its discretion by admitting into evidence posts from Facebook and Instagram.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Julianne Solomon, Personal Representative of The Estate of Paul J. Martin v. Lia Lindsey  
20A-PL-822
Civil plenary. Affirms the Marion Superior Court’s grant of summary judgment to Lia Lindsey concerning the rightful owner of the proceeds from an investment account held by Paul Martin and Lindsey as joint tenants with rights of survivorship. Finds the proceeds belong to Lindsey as the surviving joint account owner as a matter of law.

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals
United States of America v. Tanisha A. Banks
19-3245
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Hammond Division. Judge Theresa L. Springmann.
Criminal. Vacates the judgment against Tanisha Banks after presuming that the risk of juror coercion was clear and obvious and that it prejudiced Banks and seriously affected the fairness of the proceedings. Finds the totality of the circumstances created a clear and obvious risk of juror coercion. Remands for a new trial.

Indiana Court of Appeals
State of Indiana v. Emmanuel Torres, et al.
20A-CR-943
Criminal. Reverses the grant of Ramon Sanchez’s and Emmanuel Torres’ motions to suppress evidence in Clinton Superior Court obtained after their vehicles were stopped for failing to use their turn signals for at least 200 feet before turning at a stop sign. Finds that Sanchez’s and Torres’ failure to signal a turn until they reached a stop sign was enough for Frankfort officer Kaleb Thompson to establish a reasonable belief that Indiana Code § 9-21-8-25 had been violated. Remands for further proceedings. Judge Paul Mathias concurs with separate opinion.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Nathan C. Albrecht v. State of Indiana
20A-CR-945
Criminal. Affirms the denial of Nathan Albrecht’s motion to suppress evidence found that led to the state of Indiana filing 10 counts of child pornography against him. Finds that the issuing judge had a substantial basis for finding that probable cause existed for the second search warrant and that the second search warrant was particularized in terms of the items to be seized and in terms of the scope of the search to be performed.

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals
Linda Gunn and Christopher Gunn v. Thrasher, Buschmann & Voelkel, P.C.
19-3514
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. Chief Judge Jane Magnus Stinson.
Civil. Vacates the Indiana Southern District Court’s judgment dismissing a complaint brought by Linda and Christopher Gunn and remands the case with instructions to dismiss for want of subject matter jurisdiction. Finds that the Gunns do not contend that the contested sentence in the defendant’s dunning letter caused them any concrete harm.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Willard G. Merkel v. State of Indiana
20A-CR-1475
Criminal. Affirms the denial of Willard G. Merkel’s petition to modify his 12-year sentence for conviction of Level 4 felony possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon. Finds the Carroll Circuit Court did not abuse its discretion and Merkel’s reliance on Supreme Court orders directing trial courts to review sentences of nonviolent inmates due to COVID-19 is misplaced.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Evan D. Wilford v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
20A-CR-1305
Criminal. Affirms the Vigo Superior Court’s order that Evan Wilford serve the balance of his previously suspended sentence following the court’s revocation of his probation. Finds the trial court did not abuse its discretion in making its order.

The following Indiana Supreme Court opinion was posted after IL deadline on Wednesday:
Clinton Loehrlein v. State of Indiana
20S-CR-376
Criminal. Affirms Clinton Loehrlein’s murder and attempted murder convictions and the the Vanderburgh Circuit Court’s finding that he was not insane at the time he murdered his wife and attempted to kill his daughters. Finds that the attorney juror in his trial did commit gross misconduct by falsely answering a juror questionnaire, but that given the facts and circumstances of the case, including the strong evidence of Loehrlein’s sanity, it is not likely he was harmed.

Indiana Supreme Court
In the Matter of Michael A. Blickman
18S-DI-553
Attorney discipline. Issues a public reprimand to attorney Michael A. Blickman. Finds Blickman violated Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1 and 8.4(d) through efforts to “silence” a child solicitation victim and her family. Also finds the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission failed to sustain its burden of proof on the remaining charges. Justice Geoffrey Slaughter concurs in part and dissents in part with separate opinion.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Lora Brenner and Shawn Brenner v. Ignacio Chavez, et al. (mem. dec.)
20A-CC-538
Civil collection. Affirms the Delaware Circuit Court’s dismissal of Lora and Shawn Brenner’s claims against Ignacio Chavez. Finds that although Chavez failed to establish that he was an employee of the LLC, the trial court lacked jurisdiction over the Brenners’ claims. Thus, finds that the trial court properly granted Chavez’s amended motion to dismiss Counts II, IV and VI of the Brenners’ second amended complaint.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Dennis Millikan and Vicki Millikan v. City of Noblesville and KACE, LLC
20A-PL-1061
Civil plenary. Reverses the denial of Dennis and Vicki Millikan’s motion for summary judgment regarding the Millikans’ action to quiet title in property they claimed to have adversely possessed. Finds the Hamilton Circuit Court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of the city of Noblesville. Also finds the Millikans had a reasonable and good faith belief that they were paying taxes on the disputed property. Remands for the trial court to enter summary judgment in favor of Millikans.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Warsaw Orthopedic, Inc., Medtronic, Inc., and Medtronic Sofamor Danek, Inc. v. Rick C. Sasso, M.D. (mem. dec.)
19A-PL-378
Civil plenary. Affirms the $112,452,269 verdict in favor of Dr. Rick Sasso on his complaint for breach of two contracts against Medtronic Inc., Medtronic Sofamor Danek Inc. and Warsaw Orthopedic Inc. Finds the Marshall Circuit Court did not err by denying Medtronic’s motion to dismiss over a jurisdictional challenge or by denying Medtronic’s claims that it was entitled to judgment as a matter of law regarding a screw agreement. Also finds the court did not err in granting summary judgment in favor of Medtronic on Sasso’s claim for punitive damages.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Matthew Powell v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
20A-CR-1371
Criminal. Affirms Matthew Powell’s aggregate 15-year sentence for conviction in Fayette Superior Court of Level 4 felony dealing in methamphetamine and his habitual offender status. Finds Powell’s sentence was not inappropriate considering his character. Also finds Powell is not entitled to a sentence reduction pursuant to Indiana Appellate Rule 7(B).

Indiana Court of Appeals
Brandon McFadden v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
20A-CR-1221
Criminal. Affirms Brandon McFadden’s 4½-year sentence with one year suspended for conviction of Level 5 felony domestic battery by means of a deadly weapon. Finds that the Lake Superior Court did not abuse its discretion in its consideration of aggravating circumstances.

The following 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion was posted after IL deadline Monday.
USA v. Travis Barrett
19-2254
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Hammond Division. Judge Joseph S. Van Bokkelen.
Criminal. Affirms Travis Barrett’s 97-month imprisonment followed by 10 years of supervised release. Finds that Barrett waived his challenge to Condition 31 of his proposed conditions of supervised release by not presenting it to the district court.

The following 7th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion was posted after IL deadline Wednesday.
Dennis Troyer v. National Futures Association
20-1422
Appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Fort Wayne Division. Magistrate Judge Susan L. Collins.
Civil. Affirms summary judgment in favor of National Futures Association and denial of Dennis Troyer’s motion for summary judgment. Finds that NFA Bylaw 301 is not applicable in this case.

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals
BRC Rubber & Plastics, Inc. v. Continental Carbon Company 
20-1011
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Fort Wayne Division. Magistrate Judge Susan L. Collins.
Civil. Affirms the district court’s order for seller Continental Carbon Company to pay damages to buyer BRC Rubber & Plastics Inc. and the award of prejudgment interest to BRC for the cost of replacing lost supply at higher prices. Finds the district court properly applied Section 2-609 of the Uniform Commercial Code to find that the seller gave the buyer reasonable grounds for doubting that it would perform and that the seller repudiated by failing to provide adequate assurance that it would continue to perform. Also finds the court properly applied Section 2-712 to find that the buyer’s cover was commercially reasonable. Finally, finds the court did not err in awarding prejudgment interest.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Timothy Marcus Mayberry v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
20A-CR-158
Criminal. Affirms Timothy Mayberry’s murder conviction and an enhancement for the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Finds that because Mayberry has not shown any deliberate conduct of bad faith by the state or substantial prejudice to his rights, his argument fails. Thus, finds that the St. Joseph Superior Court was well within its discretion in allowing Officer Ray Wolfenbarger’s testimony.