Articles

Justices agree to hear extended expungement-wait case

Indiana Supreme Court justices have agreed to hear a case that sharply divided an appellate panel concerning whether minor felonies reduced to misdemeanor convictions should trigger new five-year waiting periods for individuals seeking a criminal expungement.

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Rent-to-own housing lawsuit settlement comes at a cost

Although the legal battle with rent-to-own housing company Casas Baratas Aqui ended with what the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana calls a “groundbreaking resolution that will have national impact,” the bitterness and damage invoked by the defendants’ counterclaims continues to rankle both sides in the litigation.

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Justices’ rent-to-own ruling helps consumers, lawyers say

The Indiana Supreme Court reviewed a dispute over a rent-to-own contract and determined the family who had been living in the home were renters, not buyers. The ruling in Rainbow Realty Group, Inc., et al. v. Katrina Carter and Quentin Lintner, might give families who enter rent-to-buy contracts some remedy to prevent their dreams of homeownership from becoming a nightmare.

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Indiana landlord seeks Supreme Court’s help in land dispute

A northwestern Indiana landlord wants the U.S. Supreme Court to wade into his dispute with the city of Hammond and overturn a city order directing him to remove five apartments that he’s leased to tenants in what was once a single-family home. Jose Andrade, who argues that Hammond’s order violates his constitutional rights, has filed a petition for review with the nation’s highest court.

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Staying home: Legal aid efforts help people maintain stable housing

Brenda Davis and Franci Gartin know a home can be a place to rest from the struggles of daily living. The two Indianapolis women were settled into their houses, arranged and as welcoming as they each wanted. But then the struggles of the outside world invaded, and they found themselves in danger of losing their own domiciles.

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COA reinstates Hammond zoning suit against landlord

The city of Hammond may proceed with an ordinance violation act against a local landlord after the Indiana Court of Appeals rejected a trial court’s finding that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction to hear the case in a trial de novo.

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Rent-to-own lawsuits rise in federal, state courts

Katrina Carter and Quentin Lintner are continuing to fight for their piece of the American dream even after the Indiana Court of Appeals closed the door on their attempt to get restitution from the company that put them in an uninhabitable home under a rent-to-own contract. They are not alone in litigation arising from such arrangements.

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Order to return 5-unit apartment to single-family house upheld

The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a public works and safety board’s order that a man restore a property he uses as apartments back to a single-family dwelling after finding the home to be unsafe and sufficient evidence proved it was not a multi-family unit.

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Lawsuits charge Rainbow Realty’s rent-to-buy contracts target the most vulnerable

A case before the Indiana Court of Appeals is at least the third pending suit involving Rainbow Realty and its rent-to-buy program. The Indiana Attorney General filed a complaint in Marion Superior Court in January 2013, and the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana filed a class action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana in May 2017.

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Judge awards $219K in housing discrimination lawsuit

The estate of a woman who was confined to a hospital bed and harassed by her landlord won a major victory last week in federal court that provided some rare Indiana case law on housing discrimination and, according to a fair housing advocate, will impact Hoosiers for years to come.

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COA: Lease damages not chargeable to tenant

A property management company sued by one of its tenants argued in court that it charged less than all the costs it incurred, but the Court of Appeals ordered the landlord to pay up, as a small claims court ruled.

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