Indiana Court of Appeals
John A. Huntzinger v. Champion Lake Ski Club, Inc., and Bryan Burney
20A-PL-1653
Civil plenary. Affirms the grant of summary judgment in favor of Champion Lake Ski Club Inc. and Bryan Burney on John Huntzinger’s claim for breach of settlement and intentional interference with contractual relationship. Finds the Hancock Superior Court did not err.
A developer who sold his property in the lakefront subdivision he developed cannot now build a dock on that lake, even though he has lifetime rights to ski there, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed in a Tuesday opinion.
The Supreme Court is reviving a lawsuit brought by a Georgia college student who sued school officials after being prevented from distributing Christian literature on campus. Chief Justice John Roberts was the lone dissenter, lamenting that the ruling risked “turning judges into advice columnists.”
An Indianapolis law firm’s suit seeking to overturn the results of the Wisconsin election on behalf of former President Donald Trump was rejected Monday by the United States Supreme Court, putting an end to the challenge.
The following 7th Circuit Court of Appeals opinions were posted after IL deadline Friday:
P.W., a minor, by Dominque Woodson, his mother and guardian, et al. v. United States of America
20-1142
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Hammond Division. Senior Judge Theresa L. Springmann.
Civil. Affirms the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the United States on the Federal Tort Claims Act action brought by Dominque Woodson on behalf of her son, P.W. Finds the plaintiffs’ claims were untimely, and they do not satisfy the second element of the savings provision of the Westfall Act. Also finds the plaintiffs’ claims do not qualify for equitable estoppel or equitable tolling. Judge David Hamilton dissents with separate opinion.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Christopher M. Hubbert v. State of Indiana
20A-CR-1617
Criminal. Reverses Christopher M. Hubbert’s 18-year executed sentence for his conviction of Level 2 felony dealing in methamphetamine. Finds Hubbert’s sentence is inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense and his character. Remands to the Bartholomew Superior Court to impose a sentence of 18 years, with four years executed in the Indiana Department of Correction and the remaining years served on probation with substance abuse counseling and placement in community corrections.
When Justice Amy Coney Barrett delivered her first Supreme Court majority opinion Thursday, ruling against an environmental group that had sought access to government records, it strayed from informal precedent that new justices’ first opinions be unanimous.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Benjamen P. Chastain v. State of Indiana
20A-CR-1553
Criminal. Affirms Benjamen Chastain’s sentence to the maximum 23 years, all executed in the Department of Correction, for his conviction of Class B felony child molesting. Finds the Orange Circuit Court did not abuse its discretion in sentencing Chastain, and his sentence is not inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense and Chastain’s character.
Despite a trial court improperly considering an aggravating factor that went against a “clear directive” from the Indiana Court of Appeals, a man’s 23-year sentence for molesting his niece was upheld in a Thursday opinion.
Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett has delivered her first opinion, writing a 7-2 decision released Thursday in a case about the federal Freedom of Information Act, which Barrett explains makes “records available to the public upon request, unless those records fall within one of nine exemptions.”
The following Indiana Supreme Court opinion was posted after IL deadline Tuesday:
In the Matter of the Adoption of I.B. (Minor Child): J.P. v. V.B.
21S-AD-90
Adoption. Affirms the Hamilton Superior Court’s ruling that biological mother J.P.’s consent was not required for the adoption of her child I.B. because, for a period of one year, she failed to communicate significantly with her child and failed to support her child when able and required to do so. Finds the trial court’s determinations were supported by sufficient evidence.
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Christopher Johnston v. State of Indiana
20A-PC-1135
Post conviction. Affirms the denial of Christopher Johnston’s petition for post-conviction relief. Finds Johnston received the effective assistance of his trial and appellate counsel. Judge Terry Crone concurs in result without separate opinion.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Juvenile termination of parental rights. Affirms the termination of mother A.N.’s parental rights to her three children, A.L., G.L. and R.L. Finds A.N. has waived her challenge to the admission of Petitioner’s Exhibit 1 by failing to provide a cogent argument, and even if there were a discovery violation, the Jay Circuit Court did not abuse its discretion. Also finds A.N. has waived her argument that the Indiana Department of Child Services violated her due process rights because she failed to object on due process grounds in the trial court and she failed to specific any constitutional basis for her due process claim; waiver notwithstanding, her due process argument fails on the merits because she did not establish a risk of error arising from DCS’ actions. Finally, finds there is sufficient evidence to support the trial court’s termination judgment.
The Supreme Court is telling California’s Santa Clara County it can’t enforce a ban on indoor religious worship services put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Indiana Supreme Court has evenly split in a long-running dispute over disclosure of records concerning the state’s lethal injection drugs, clearing the way for disclosure of the records and the payment by the state of more than a half-million dollars in legal fees.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Heather Harvey v. Keyed In Property Management, LLC
20A-SC-01459
Small claims. Affirms the Brown Circuit Court’s damages award of $1,500 plus $125 in court costs in favor of Keyed In Property Management, finding that it was entitled to the maximum award for an LLC not represented by legal counsel under Indiana Small Claims Rule 8(C). Rejects Heather Harvey’s argument on appeal that the award was excessive and that she had been subject to constructive eviction.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Carl Z. Swallow v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
20A-CR-1825
Criminal. Affirms the revocation of Carl Z. Swallow’s probation and the order for him to serve the entirety of his suspended two-year sentence in the Indiana Department of Correction. Finds the Delaware Circuit Court’s sanction was not an abuse of discretion. Also finds Johnson v. State, 62 N.E.3d 1224, 1229 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016), does not compel a different result in this case.
The following 7th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion was posted after IL deadline Tuesday:
Jennifer L. Karr v. Andrew M. Saul, Commissioner of Social Security
20-1939
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Fort Wayne Division. Judge Philip P. Simon.
Civil. Affirms the district court’s decision upholding an administrative law judge’s determination that Jennifer Karr was not disabled because she still could perform sedentary work with some restrictions. Finds the ALJ’s decision was supported by substantial evidence.
Two Indiana trial courts must reconsider parents’ requests to change their children’s birth certificate gender markers, a majority of the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday, finding parents have statutory authority to request the changes for their minor transgender children. A dissenting judge, however, opined that Wednesday’s decision was a judicial overreach into legislative powers.