March 11, 2026

Indiana Supreme Court
Caryl Rosen v. Community Healthcare System d/b/a Community Hospital
No. 25S-CT-217

Civil. Appeal from the Lake Superior Court, Judge Rehana R. Adat-Lopez. Affirms the judgment for the hospital in Rosen’s negligence action alleging she tripped over a disheveled entryway mat. Holds the trial court did not abuse its discretion in concluding the hospital did not spoliate evidence when it preserved only a short segment of surveillance video showing Rosen’s fall and did not retain additional footage from other cameras. Concludes the trial court reasonably credited evidence that only one camera captured the fall and that the unpreserved footage did not show the incident or the relevant portion of the mat. Further holds the trial court acted within its discretion by refusing Rosen’s proposed adverse-inference jury instruction and by barring questioning about the unpreserved video footage at trial because the footage was not relevant. Justice Molter authored the opinion. Chief Justice Rush and Justices Massa and Slaughter concur. Justice Goff dissents, arguing the trial court should have allowed the jury to consider whether the hospital spoliated evidence. He notes the hospital preserved only a short, distant video of Rosen’s fall and did not retain earlier footage or recordings from other cameras that might have shown the condition of the mat. Further, Goff contends the existence of competing interpretations about the missing footage makes spoliation a fact-sensitive issue better suited for a jury than a judge. Goff contends the jury should have heard evidence about the unpreserved video and received Rosen’s proposed instruction allowing it to infer the missing evidence could have been unfavorable to the hospital. In his view, juries are the proper body to resolve disputes about destroyed evidence and determine what inferences to draw from it. Appellant’s attorneys: Angela M. Jones, Steven J. Sersic. Appellee’s attorneys: Gregory A. Crisman, Zachary R. Peifer.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Damon D. Clark v. First Merchants Bank
No. 24A-MF-2831

Civil. Appeal from the Marion Superior Court, Judge Christina Klineman, Magistrate Ian Stewart. Affirms the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to First Merchants Bank and its order of foreclosure. Holds Clark waived several arguments on appeal because they were not presented to the trial court. Further holds the bank established a prima facie case for foreclosure by designating evidence of the promissory note, mortgage, assignment of the mortgage and Clark’s default, while Clark failed to designate admissible evidence creating a genuine issue of material fact. Concludes the trial court did not err in refusing to consider Clark’s untimely filings opposing summary judgment and that his unsigned “affidavit” did not constitute competent evidence under the trial rules. Judge May authored the opinion. Judges Altice  and Foley concur. Appellant pro se: Damon D. Clark. Appellee’s attorneys: Bryan K. Redmond, Matthew S. Love.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Brandon Lamont French v. State of Indiana
No. 25A-CR-1906

Criminal. Appeal from the Marion Superior Court, Judge Jennifer Prinz Harrison. Reverses French’s five convictions of Class A misdemeanor invasion of privacy and vacates the convictions. Holds the State presented insufficient evidence that French violated the no-contact order because the order prohibited contact with the victim only “while released from custody pending trial,” and all alleged contacts occurred while French was incarcerated in the Marion County Jail. Concludes that although French communicated with the victim through electronic messages, phone calls and intermediaries while jailed, those actions did not violate the express terms of the order. Judge May authored the opinion. Judges Felix and Weissmann concur. Appellant’s attorney: Peter Laramore. Appellee’s attorneys: Office of the Indiana Attorney General.

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