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The Indiana Supreme Court granted transfer Thursday to determine who would be considered the “prevailing party” when a settlement lacks a judicial resolution. In Kirk Reuille v. E.E. Brandenberger Construction, Inc., No. 02A04-0704-CV-186, Reuille appealed the trial court’s judgment in favor of E.E. Brandenberger when the court decided Reuille was not the prevailing party in the contract between him and Brandenberger and said the trial court erred in characterizing his motion for attorney fees as one for summary judgment. Reuille and…

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a District Court’s decision to toss out a case because the plaintiffs were not entitled to minimum wage and overtime under the “ministerial exception,” although the Circuit Court modified the reason for dismissing the case. In Steve and Lorrie Schleicher v. The Salvation Army, No. 07-1333, the Schleichers appealed the decision of U.S. District Judge Richard Young of the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division, to dismiss the case for lack of federal jurisdiction. The…

The Indiana Court of Appeals was forced to choose between the lesser of two evils in a case in which an ex-husband appealed a trial court’s nunc pro tunc order granting his ex-wife’s motion to correct error regarding their marriage dissolution decree. In James E. Johnson Jr. v. Marcia Johnson, No. 02A03-0710-CV-496, the appellate court had to decide whether the trial court erred in granting the nunc pro tunc order. James argued the trial court didn’t rule on Marcia’s motion to correct…

The Indiana Court of Appeals agreed with a father that his due process rights were violated when a trial court ordered grandparent visitation over his objection. The majority reversed the petition for grandparent visitation filed by the children’s maternal grandparents, with one judge dissenting and writing the ruling would give parents a carte blanche to deny visitation for any reason. In James M. Hicks v. Gary Larson and Judy Larson, No. 26A01-0707-CV-302, Hicks had two children with Geri Hicks, the daughter of…

The Indiana Supreme Court held in a case of first impression in worker’s compensation that when a settlement with a third-party ends an employer’s liability, the liability of the Second Injury Fund will also be terminated. However, when the Indiana Worker’s Compensation Board approves an agreement by the employer to continue paying worker’s comp benefits after the settlement, the injured employee may make a claim to the Second Injury Fund. In Ronald Mayes v. Second Injury Fund, No. 93S02-0802-EX-0107, Ronald Mayes…

The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a juvenile court’s termination of parental rights of both parents of an infant, finding evidence presented to support the termination wasn’t clear or convincing. In In the matter of the termination of the parent-child relationship of A.B., and Angela B. and Brian J. v. Lake County Department of Child Services, No. 45A03-0712-JV-567, the appellate court ruled the court’s judgment terminating the parental rights of Angela and Brian over A.B. was erroneous because the Lake County Department…

  In a decision that may affect child support modification orders, the Indiana Court of Appeals held today an earlier Indiana Supreme Court decision also applies to a request for a modification because of incarceration. In Todd Allen Clark v. Michelle D. Clark, No. 35A05-0801-CV-26, the appellate court used the Indiana Supreme Court’s decision in Lambert v. Lambert, 861 N.E.2d 1176 (Ind. 2007), to determine whether Todd Clark’s verified petition for abatement and/or modification of child support order should have been granted. …