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A worker who left employment at a Columbus construction company may pursue his wage claim in court after his complaint had been assigned to the Indiana Department of Labor, a divided panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.
Despite a professor’s claim that he was in a joyous mood when he interacted with a colleague and his actions were harmless, the Indiana Supreme Court upheld his dismissal from his tenured teaching position.
Justice Loretta Rush is poised to take a leading position on matters of juvenile law and head a proposed Indiana Commission on Children, according to an order of the Indiana Supreme Court issued Tuesday.
The Indiana Supreme Court took two not-for-publication cases last week and denied transfer in 17 other cases.
The following are not-for-publication opinions issued by IL deadline. For-publication decisions are detailed in the stories above.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Kevin Perry v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A02-1204-CR-265
Criminal. Affirms conviction of robbery and unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, both Class B felonies, and escape, a Class C felony. Concludes the detective’s opinion was properly admitted as that of a skilled witness, the evidence was sufficient to support Perry’s convictions and the state’s closing argument did not create a fundamental error.
Robin R. Gordon v. Benny B. Gordon (NFP)
92A05-1205-DR-279
Domestic relation. Affirms trial court’s order that mother and father share joint legal custody of minor child.
Joseph Ridge v. State of Indiana (NFP)
29A02-1112-CR-1168
Criminal. Affirms conviction of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a Class A misdemeanor. The COA found the trial court did not abuse its discretion in either denying Ridge’s request to hire an expert or in allowing Dr. Scott Kriger to hear the testimony of Hamilton County Sheriff’s Deputy Kent Mustain. The COA further concluded that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting Kriger’s expert testimony that Ridge was intoxicated on K2 at the time of the traffic stop.
Indiana Supreme Court
D.C. v. J.A.C.
32S04-1206-DR-349
Domestic relation/modification of custody. Reverses Court of Appeals ruling that overturned a trial court modification of a custody order in favor of a child’s father. In a case involving a mother who was moving out of state, the Supreme Court held that the Court of Appeals erred by failing to apply a highly deferential standard of review to the trial court’s determination of a custody modification based on testimony regarding the best interests of the child.
The Court of Appeals got it wrong when it reversed a trial court custody modification in favor of a child’s father, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in one of the first opinions joined by Justice Loretta Rush.
State and federal courts are closed Nov. 12 in observance of Veterans Day. No court opinions were posted.
A food service worker at Ball State University who claims that the college bears responsibility for racial discrimination by coworkers will have her case heard this month by the Supreme Court of the United States.
Retired Knox County judge and civic leader Edward Charles Theobald died Nov. 9.
An Allen County man’s argument that the state’s Sex Offender Management and Monitoring Program is unconstitutional will be heard Tuesday by a panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals.
Federal prosecutors on Friday charged eight alleged Imperial Gangsters street gang members in a 41-count indictment that expands on previous homicide and drug trafficking charges.
The following are not-for-publication opinions issued by IL deadline. For publication decision(s) are detailed in the stories above.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Kelly Millard v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A02-1204-CR-297
Criminal. Affirms conviction of operating a vehicle while intoxicated as a Class D felony.
Travis Reagle v. State of Indiana (NFP)
29A05-1206-CR-332
Criminal. Affirms trial court’s order that the sentences for Class A felony rape and Class B felony burglary be served consecutively.
In Re the Term. of Parent-Child Rel. of D.T.: S.T. v. The Indiana Dept. of Child Services (NFP)
34A05-1205-JT-228
Juvenile termination of parental rights. Affirms trial court’s decision to terminate mother’s parental rights to infant son, D.T.
Timothy Allison v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A02-1204-CR-277
Criminal. Affirms trial court’s sentence following the revocation of probation. Holds that Allison should have raised his argument that his initial sentence was illegal on direct appeal or in a petition for post-conviction relief.
In the Matter of the Term. of the Parent-Child Rel. of I.C., J.C, and P.C.: E.C. v. Indiana Dept. of Child Services (NFP)
49A02-1204-JT-273
Juvenile termination of parental rights. Affirms trial court’s termination of father’s parental rights over his three minor children.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Amerisafe Risk Services, Inc., and Leerae Riggs v. The Estate of Hazel D. Wadsack, deceased, by Ronald J. Wadsack as Personal Rep., and Ronald J. Wadsack, individually
88A01-1204-CT-144
Civil tort. Reverses trial court denial of plaintiff’s request for dismissal, holding that the court lacked jurisdiction in the case. The estate of an injured worker’s mother sued the worker’s compensation insurer, claiming that the mother died as a result of emotional distress over the insurer’s handling of her son’s claim. The appeals court held that the Wadsacks had not exhausted appeals through the Worker’s Compensation Board, which the court determined had proper jurisdiction because the Wadsacks’ claim was derivative of their son’s claims for benefits.
Attorneys from the Indianapolis Bar Association will offer free legal advice through Legal Line, a call-in service, from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. The number to call is 317-269-2000.
Federal prosecutors this week indicted five people and three affiliated companies on charges of defrauding Medicaid of millions of dollars, according to the office of U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana David Capp.
The mother of an injured worker whose estate claims she died due to emotional distress caused by an insurer’s handling of her son’s case cannot directly sue the insurer before exhausting the regulatory process, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
The following are not-for-publication opinions issued by IL deadline. All for-publication decision(s) are detailed in the stories above.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Jeff Clade v. Hunt Construction Group, Inc. (NFP)
49A02-1206-CT-509
Civil tort. Reverses summary judgment in favor of Hunt Construction Group on Clade’s negligence claim and remands with instructions.
T.B. v. Review Board of the Indiana Dept. of Workforce Development and A.R. (NFP)
93A02-1112-EX-1143
Agency appeal. Affirms denial of request to reinstate appeal.
Clay R. Firestone v. State of Indiana (NFP)
32A01-1201-PC-32
Post conviction. Grants petition for rehearing and reaffirms denial of petition for post-conviction relief.
Troy Phillips v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A04-1203-PC-152
Post conviction. Affirms denial of petition for post-conviction relief.
F.M., Mother v. N.B., Father (NFP)
71A05-1206-JP-291
Juvenile. Reverses denial of motion to continue. Remands for a new hearing.
Brian E. Graves v. State of Indiana (NFP)
16A01-1205-CR-227
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class B felony escape.
Jason Bond, David Lear and Leslie Bridges, et al. v. Veolia Water Indianapolis, LLC, Veolia Water North America Operating Service, LLC and The City of Indianapolis, Dept. of Waterworks (NFP)
49A02-1202-CC-147
Civil collection. Affirms dismissal of case for unjust enrichment, breach of contract and violation of the Deceptive Consumer Sales Act for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
Zachary A. Sebastian v. State of Indiana (NFP)
52A02-1205-CR-372
Criminal. Affirms sentence following guilty plea to Class C felonies reckless homicide and carrying a handgun without a license.
The City of Shelbyville, Indiana and Shelbyville Board of Works and Safety v. Frank P. and Shirlene Sundvall (NFP)
73A01-1203-PL-98
Civil plenary. Reverses denial of the city’s motion for summary judgment in an action initiated by the Sundvalls. Remands for further proceedings.
No Indiana opinions were released by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals prior to IL deadline. The Indiana Supreme Court and Tax Court released no opinions prior to IL deadline.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Jerome Michael Burton v. State of Indiana
45A03-1201-CR-6
Criminal. Reverses denial of motion to dismiss the charge of failure to register as a sex offender. Remands with instructions. Wallace applies and the ex post facto provision of the Indiana Constitution prevents the application of Indiana’s Sex Offender Registry Act to require Burton, a resident of Indiana, to register as a sex offender for an offense committed in Illinois in 1987.
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled it’s a violation of the ex post facto provision of the state’s constitution to require a man who committed a sex crime in Illinois, but now lives in Indiana, to register in Indiana because the laws requiring him to register in both states were enacted after he committed the crime in Illinois.