Court of Appeals of Indiana
Connie Davis-Brumley, as Mother of Decedent v. Fair Oaks Farms LLC; Fair Oaks Hospitality LLC and Farmhouse Restaurant LLC
23A-CT-1610
Civil tort. Affirms Lake Superior Court’s order granting Fair Oaks Farms’s motion to dismiss and denying the motion to substitute. Finds the trial court did not err by dismissing the wrongful death complaint, nor did it err by denying the motion to substitute.
Wednesday opinions
Court of Appeals of Indiana
M.W. v. H.Y.
23A-PO-879
Protection order. Affirms the Lake Circuit Court’s grant of a protection order against M.W. Finds the trial court was not required to announce the cause number of the PO Cause at the beginning of the hearing, nor was it required to announce at some point during the hearing, when the evidence being presented was directed toward the PO Cause as opposed to the dissolution proceedings. Also finds M.W. has failed to meet his burden to show that the trial court failed to hold a hearing as required by Indiana Code section 34-26-5-9(h) and to receive evidence to support H.Y.’s petition for a protection order.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Elpers Bros. Construction & Supply, Inc., et al. v. Deane L. Smith, II, M.D., et al.
23A-PL-437
Civil plenary. Affirms and reverses in part the grant of summary judgment in favor of Deane L. and Lori A. Smith. Finds the Vanderburgh Circuit Court properly granted summary judgment for the Smiths on their claim that Elpers Bros. Construction & Supply Inc. owed a non-delegable duty to properly design and construct a subdivision’s drainage system. Also finds the trial court erred in granting only partial summary judgment for the homeowners association and in denying Elpers Development’s motion for summary judgment. Finally, finds the trial court properly denied Elpers Construction’s motion for summary judgment on the Smiths’ fraud claim. Remands for further proceedings.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Starr Indemnity & Liability Co. et al. v. NIBCO INC.
23A-PL-1343
Civil plenary. Reverses the Elkhart Superior Court’s judgment reinstating NIBCO’s declaratory judgment action against Starr Indemnity & Liability Co., et.al.. Finds the trial court erred by reinstating the action. Also finds that relief from the judgment was only available to NIBCO under Indiana Trial Rule 60 (B) and because the company failed to act within the time permitted by the rule, it was not entitled to reinstatement.
Friday opinions
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Fernando Marroquin v. Christina Reagle
23A-MI-2545
Miscellaneous. Reverses Elkhart Superior Court’s grant of summary judgment to the Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Correction Christina Reagle. Finds Indiana Code Section 11-8-8-19(f) doesn’t apply to Fernando Marroquin and that Indiana doesn’t require registration for Class D felony sexual misconduct with a minor. Remands for the entry of summary judgment for Marroquin.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Billy Ray Barker v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
23A-PC-1751
Post-conviction relief. Affirms the Madison Circuit Court’s summary denial of Billy Ray Barker’s successive petition for post-conviction relief challenging the revocation of his parole after he was convicted of new criminal charges. Finds the trial court properly granted the state’s motion for summary disposition, denying Barker’s unauthorized successive petition.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Jacquelyn Ivankovic v. Milan Ivankovic
23A-DC-1954
Domestic relations with children. Affirms the Lake Superior Court’s denial of Jacquelyn Ivankovic’s request for a temporary restraining order and a permanent injunction, asking that Milan Ivankovic be enjoined from contacting Jacquelyn’s employer to make allegations that she had engaged in wrongdoing. Finds the trial court does not have the statutory authority to issue the requested injunction. Also finds the husband’s communications with third parties involved allegations that wife committed illegal conduct, which is speech protected under the First Amendment.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
J.M. v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
23A-JV-1400
Juvenile. Affirms the Delaware Circuit Court adjudication of J.M. as a delinquent. Finds the state presented evidence of a probative nature from which a reasonable trier of fact could find that J.M. committed an act which would constitute child molesting as a Level 4 felony if committed by an adult.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
In the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of: R.S. and N.S., and M.Y. (Mother) and T.S. (Father) v. Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.)
23A-JT-1192
Juvenile termination of parental rights. Affirms the Clark Circuit Court’s termination of mother M.Y. and father T.S.’s parental rights to R.S. and N.S. Finds neither M.Y. nor T.S. have shown that the trial court committed clear error in terminating their parental rights to the child or at any point during the TPR proceedings. Also finds neither demonstrated a due process violation.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
In the Matter of A.M.J. and A.L.J., Minor Children Alleged to be Children in Need of Services; S.J. (Father) v. Indiana Department of Child Services
23A-JC-2241
Juvenile CHINS. Affirms the Allen Superior Court’s order modifying custody of father S.J.’s sons in favor of their maternal grandmother. Finds the trial court did not abuse its discretion by modifying custody of the children in favor of the maternal grandmother.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Automotive Finance Corporation d/b/a AFC v. Meng Liu
23A-CC-1468
Civil collections. Affirms the grant of Meng Liu’s motion to set aside a summary judgment order in favor of Automotive Finance Corporation. Finds the Marion Superior Court did not abuse its discretion. Judge Elaine Brown dissents with separate opinion.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Tum Uk v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
23A-CR-616
Criminal. Affirms Tum Uk’s conviction for Level 1 felony child molesting. Finds no fundamental error. Also finds sufficient evidence supports Uk’s conviction.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Desmond Banks v. State of Indiana
23A-CR-896
Criminal. Affirms and reverses in part Desmond Banks’ convictions in a quadruple murder and his de facto life sentence. Finds the Marion Superior Court properly denied Banks’ motion for mistrial based on Critical Emergency Response Team members approaching and standing behind him as jurors filed out of the courtroom. Also finds three of the four robbery convictions should be vacated due to insufficient evidence. Finally, finds Desmond’s convictions for the murder and Level 2 felony robbery of Marcel Wills constitute double jeopardy, and his 220-year sentence is inappropriate. Reduces his sentence to 135 years. Remands with instructions for the trial court to enter conviction for Level 5 felony robbery. Judge Cale Bradford concurs in part and dissents in part with separate opinion.
Monday opinions
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Lela Jo Boucher v. Dennis J. Doyle
23A-DN-1534
Domestic relations without children. Affirms the Delaware Circuit Court’s order dividing the marital estate in favor of Dennis Doyle. Finds Lela Jo Boucher failed to demonstrate that the trial court’s deviation from the presumptive equal split of the marital estate was clearly erroneous.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
James T. Morgan v. State of Indiana
23A-CR-1489
Criminal. Affirms the Montgomery Superior Court’s judgment ordering the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department to retain the seized firearms and ammunition of James Morgan in relation to the state’s “Red Flag Law.” Finds the trial court did not err in admitting a deputy’s testimony and that the state established a probability that Morgan presented a risk of personal injury to himself or to another individual in the future.
Indiana Supreme Court
State ex rel. Richard Allen v. Carroll Circuit Court and the Honorable Frances C. Gull, Special Judge
23S-OR-311
Original action. Grants Richard Allen’s request to reinstate Andrew Baldwin and Brad Rozzi as his counsel but denies his request for an order for his trial to begin within 70 days and for a new judge. Finds the trial court did not find that Baldwin and Rozzi’s disqualification was a necessary last resort after weighing the prejudice to Allen. Also finds Allen did not make his 70-day trial request in trial court. Finally, finds Allen did not overcome the presumption of impartiality. Justice Geoffrey Slaughters concurs and dissents in part with separate opinion.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Donald L. Barriger, Jr., and Dianne Barriger v. The Brown County Board of Health and the Brown County Health Officer (mem. dec.)
22A-PL-2944
Civil plenary. Affirms the Brown Circuit Court’s determination that a second order requiring Dianne and Donald Barriger to clean and repair a piece of real estate in Nashville superseded the first order, was lawfully issued and is therefore enforceable. Finds the Barrigers’ claims are either waived or without merit.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Mandale Hamilton v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
23A-CR-818
Criminal. Affirms the denial of Mandale Hamilton’s motion to suppress. Finds the Hendricks Circuit Court did not err in finding that Officer David Shedrow had “legal authority” to pull over the driver of a Cadillac. Also finds the use of a K-9 for an open-air sniff cannot be said to have prolonged the traffic stop, so it did not implicate the Fourth Amendment or Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution. Finally, finds that Officer Mark Christian’s removal of four screws to lower a panel on the dash to retrieve a gun that the officers knew was located in a “tight space” rendered the seizure of the gun unreasonable under Article 1, Section 11.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Estate of Gerald Everett Goldsberry v. Drake Air, LLC, by its member Brent L. Drake
23A-MI-1987
Miscellaneous. Affirms Morgan Superior Court’s judgment for Drake Air, LLC, by its member Brent L. Drake, for $50,000 following a bench trial. Finds the trial court correctly concluded that Bill Myrtle’s and Brad Huddle’s access to the helicopter on the day of the crash did not destroy the bailment between Drake Air and Gerald Goldsberry. Also finds that the trial court did not err when it concluded that the Goldsberry estate failed to demonstrate that the loss of the helicopter was not Goldsberry’s fault.
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Willow Haven on 106th Street, LLC v. Hari Nagireddy and Saranya Nagireddy
22A-PL-2931
Civil plenary. Affirms the preliminary injunction enjoining Willow Haven on 106th Street LLC from completing construction of a home on a lot next to where Hari and Saranya Nagireddy reside. Finds the Nagireddys were not required to exhaust administrative remedies before pursuing injunctive relief with the Hamilton Superior Court. Also finds the trial court did not abuse its discretion in entering a preliminary injunction in favor of the Nagireddys. Judge Leanna Weissmann dissents with separate opinion.