May 9, 2012
Indiana Court of Appeals
Ashanti
Clemons v. State of Indiana
49A02-1108-PC-737
Post conviction. Affirms denial of amended petition for post-conviction relief. Clemons was not denied effective assistance
of his trial and appellate counsel.
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May 7, 2012
Indiana Court of Appeals
Luis
Ramos v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A04-1103-CR-138
Criminal. Affirms sentences for felony murder and Class A misdemeanor possession of a handgun without a license, but remands
for correction of sentence, holding sentences were to be served consecutively, not concurrently.
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May 3, 2012
Indiana Court of Appeals
M.O.
v. Indiana Dept. of Insurance, Indiana Patient's Compensation Fund
53A05-1112-PL-682
Civil plenary. Affirms conclusion that Indiana Code 24-4.6-1-101 (1993), with its 8 percent interest rate, applies to payments
to M.O, a successful malpractice claimant, and that interest began to accrue on the 15th day of the month following the end
of the claim period in which the claim was filed with the Patient’s Compensation Fund.
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May 2, 2012
Indiana Court of Appeals
Andrew
C. Kesling, individually and as Trustee of the Andrew C. Kesling Trust v. Peter C. Kesling, et al.
45A03-1106-PL-271
Civil plenary. Reverses judgment in favor of father Peter Kesling that found he was entitled to rescission of stock purchase
agreements entered into on June 25, 2004. Finds that Andrew Kesling’s trust declaration did not deprive him status as
a shareholder and that he was a shareholder when he entered into the purchase agreements with Peter Kesling. Remands for the
court to rule on the claims raised by Andrew Kesling’s siblings.
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May 1, 2012
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Securities
and Exchange Commission v. First Choice Management Services Inc. et al.; SonCo Holdings LLC v. Joseph D. Bradley, receiver,
and ALCO Oil & Gas Co. LLC
11-1702
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division, Judge Robert L. Miller Jr.
Civil. Affirms order insofar as it determines that SonCo willfully violated the agreed order, but vacates the $600,000 sanction
and remands. On remand, the judge can: reimpose the sanction he imposed, upon demonstrating that it is a compensatory remedy
for a civil contempt after all; impose a different or perhaps no sanction, whether for civil contempt or for misconduct not
characterized as contempt; or proceeding under the rules governing criminal contempts.
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April 30, 2012
Indiana Court of Appeals
D.A.
v. State of Indiana
49A02-1108-JV-692
Juvenile. Affirms juvenile court’s decision to order inpatient treatment for D.A. who entered into a plea agreement
admitting to Class B misdemeanor battery if committed by an adult and “conditionally” agreed to admit to Class
C felony child molesting, if committed by an adult. D.A.’s placement is consistent with the goals for his rehabilitation.
The appellate judges do not have jurisdiction to resolve the issue of whether the trial court erred in accepting his conditional
plea to the child molesting charge because there was no evidence of D.A.’s intent with regard to the molesting. The
conditional plea is the equivalent to a withheld judgment so there is no final judgment or appealable final order from which
to appeal.
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April 26, 2012
Indiana Court of Appeals
Christopher
King v. Karen Patrick (NFP)
49A02-1105-PL-444
Civil plenary. Reverses grant of partial summary judgment against Christopher King on Karen Patrick’s complaint against
him alleging breach of contract. Remands for further proceedings.
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April 25, 2012
Indiana Court of Appeals
John
Ludack v. State of Indiana
49A02-1109-CR-930
Criminal. Affirms convictions of and aggregate 130-year sentence for two counts of Class A felony child molesting and being
a habitual offender. Defense counsel, by first asking the detective whether Ludack had admitted the allegations of child molestation
during the interview, opened the door to the detective’s testimony that Ludack neither admitted nor denied the allegations
of child molesting and just asked to stop speaking. Ludack also failed to prove his sentence is inappropriate.
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April 24, 2012
Indiana Court of Appeals
George
Clements v. Kimberly Hall and Stanley Harmon
06A04-1106-MI-282
Miscellaneous. Reverses trial court’s award of summary judgment for Kimberly Hall and Stanley Harmon, holding their
attorney failed to notify George Clements and his attorney that a motion had been filed. Remands for further proceedings consistent
with its opinion.
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April 23, 2012
Indiana Court of Appeals
Richard
Leggs v. State of Indiana
49A02-1105-CR-522
Criminal. Affirms convictions of and sentences for one count of Class B felony criminal confinement and one count each of
Class C felony intimidation, Class C felony criminal recklessness, and Class A misdemeanor resisting law enforcement. Reverses
one count of Class B felony criminal confinement, due to the continuing crime doctrine and remands for resentencing.
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April 19, 2012
Indiana Court of Appeals
Anthony
Hogan v. State of Indiana
20A03-1103-PC-158
Post conviction. Affirms denial of petition for post-conviction relief. Hogan failed to show ineffective assistance of trial
and appellate counsel.
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April 18, 2012
Indiana Court of Appeals
Todd
Walters and Matenia Walters v. Aaron Austin and Herman & Goetz, Inc.
20A04-1106-CT-342
Civil tort. Dismisses the Walterses’ appeal of the judgment on a jury verdict in favor of Austin and his employer on
the Walterses’ complaint for damages arising from a multi-vehicle accident. The appellate court does not have jurisdiction.
Judge Darden dissents.
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April 17, 2012
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
United
States of America v. Kimani Lanier Fleming
11-1404
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division, Judge Robert L. Miller Jr.
Criminal. Affirms Fleming’s revised sentence of 480 months imprisonment for convictions of several serious drug and
firearm charges. There was no clear error in the District Court’s decision to include routine drug purchases as relevant
conduct when it computed his revised sentencing guideline range. Denies Fleming’s implicit request for an expanded certificate
of appealability.
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April 16, 2012
Indiana Court of Appeals
Whiskey
Barrel Planters Co., Inc., n/k/a Diggs Enterprises, Inc., Robinson Family Enterprises, LLC, et al. v. American GardenWorks,
Inc., and Millennium Real Estate Investment, LLC
04A03-1011-PL-582
Civil plenary. Reverses determination in favor of American GardenWorks and Millennium Real Estate on AGW and MRE’s
fraud claims against Whiskey Barrel and judgment for $409,611.24 and attorney fees and costs. The trial court erred in denying
Whiskey Barrel’s motion for partial summary judgment on the issue of whether AGW was entitled to loans made to Whiskey
Barrel shareholders and on the issue of whether AGW was entitled to 2008 season football tickets to Purdue that were purchased
with Whiskey Barrel funds. The trial court erred in determining that AGW acquired the previous owner’s personal property
under the terms of the purchase agreement. Remands for the trial court to determine the amount of attorney fees – if
any – that are recoverable.
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April 13, 2012
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and Indiana appellate courts posted no opinions at IL deadline.
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April 12, 2012
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
United
States of America v. Jaymie T. Mount
11-2616
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division, Judge Jane E. Magnus-Stinson.
Criminal. Remands for resentencing after the District Court denied the government’s motion for Mount to receive an
additional one-level reduction following his guilty plea, citing Mount’s flight from charges. The additional reduction
is mandatory once the government determines that the criteria spelled out in U.S.S.G. Section 3E1.1(b) are satisfied and it
makes the necessary motion.
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April 11, 2012
Indiana Court of Appeals
Anthony
Wade v. Terex-Telelect, Inc.
29A05-1101-CT-72
Civil tort. Reverses jury verdict in favor of Terex-Telelect on Wade’s negligence claim under the Indiana Product Liability
Act. Wade was prejudiced by the judge instructing the jury as to the rebuttable presumption under Indiana Code 34-20-5-1.
Remands for a new trial. Judge Bradford concurs in part and dissents in part.
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April 5, 2012
Indiana Court of Appeals
GMAC
Mortgage, LLC v. Ronald Glenn Dyer
28A04-1107-MF-404
Mortgage Foreclosure. Reverses trial court’s order that GMAC Mortgage rewrite an agreement about an FHA-insured loan
that Ronald Dyer defaulted on. Appellate court held that under federal law and HUD regulations, deeds in lieu of foreclosure
release the borrower from any mortgage obligation and in this case the standard language GMAC used was sufficient.
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April 4, 2012
Indiana Court of Appeals
Melanie
Webster v. Walgreen Co.
55A01-1110-CT-442
Civil. Affirms judgment of trial court denying motion to amend the filing date of a complaint against Walgreen in order to
comply with the statute of limitations. The appellate court held that “mailing” for purposes of the Indiana Trial
Rules requires the sender to affix sufficient postage, and since that didn’t happen here the original complaint was
untimely.
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April 3, 2012
Indiana Court of Appeals
William Minnick v. State of Indiana
47A05-1108-CR-448
Criminal. Minnick failed to establish that his right to speedy sentencing was violated. Reverses conviction of Class A felony
robbery and orders that it be entered as a Class B felony due to double jeopardy and that a 20-year and consecutive sentence
on this count be imposed. Minnick also failed to establish that the trial court abused its discretion in denying his request
for a competency hearing.
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vagueness cannot challenged, so let's write all laws vaguely and throw the constitution out the window.Even if the court is operating under a particular law, if they don't it they will change it to their liking. What a joke!!!
Two convictions becomes one conviction with exactly the same sentence, only it is not clear wheter or not that sentence will be 18 months, 120 months or 138 months. Actually if the guns were in a home, whether or not they were his, he is protected under the 2nd amendment. Jurors need to learn the law and the constitution before judging others. The cour5ts need to do this as well.
With all due respect, Rick, I think you probably would be making a mistake by going to law school. The job market for attorneys is so saturated, you may well find yourself unemployed and with a lot of debt. You mention law would be a good supplement to your skills. True. But employers unfortunately don't value that. You will find that a law degree may well pigeonhole you into an attorney slot and limit career options. If you have a good job now I would hold onto that. As an attorney, you may well end up making less with the aforementioned debt.
Jack, I was only responding to bill's comment of tying everybody in government together. I agree with you though, it takes one bad apple to ruin the bunch.. As in any profession. What's truly unfair is when somebody violates someone's trust and takes complete advantage of someone
John’s comment is unfair. The majority of attorneys can be trusted. Unfortunately, all it takes is one greedy, unscrupulous, immoral attorney to jade the public.