Indiana Court of Appeals
Mark Waterfill and Aegean, LLC v. Erie Insurance Exchange (mem. dec.)
20A-CP-1321
Civil plenary. Affirms the Marion Superior Court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Erie Insurance Exchange, dismissing the appeal in a duty-do-defend dispute as untimely.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Corey Desean Coleman v. State of Indiana
20A-CR-817
Criminal. Affirms Corey Coleman’s sentence of two years suspended to probation on the condition he attend and complete classes in anger management and conflict resolution. Finds the sentence imposed in Marion Superior Court after his conviction of Level 6 felony strangulation was not an abuse of discretion.
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a Morgan County man’s child molestation conviction Thursday, rejecting his argument that the victim’s testimony was incredibly dubious.
Even though a man whose guilty plea in a domestic violence case contained no terms requiring him to participate in anger management classes, a court that ordered them as a term of probation was within its rights to do so, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.
The following Indiana Supreme Court opinion was posted after IL deadline Tuesday:
Cooper’s Hawk Indianapolis, LLC d/b/a Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant v. Katherine Ray
21S-CT-56
Civil tort. Grants transfer and dismissal Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant’s appeal of the Marion Superior Court’s grant of summary judgment to Katherine Ray on her negligence complaint stemming from a slip-and-fall accident. Finds there are no extraordinarily compelling reasons to restore the forfeited untimely appeal. Remands to the trial court for further proceedings.
A trial court order denying judgment to an Indianapolis restaurant sued for negligence has been reinstated, with the Indiana Supreme Court finding no reason to allow the restaurant’s forfeited appeal of the order to proceed.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Travis W. Phelps v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
20A-CR-831
Criminal. Affirms Travis Walker Phelps’ convictions for murder and attempted murder but reverses his firearm enhancement. Finds the trial court did not abuse its discretion in instructing the jury or admitting evidence. Also finds that the Vanderburgh Superior Court failed to advise Phelps of his rights and therefore Phelps did not knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waive his right to a jury trial on the enhancement. Remands for a new proceeding on the firearm enhancement.
Indiana Court of Appeals
John J. Hatzfeld v. State of Indiana
20A-CR-1622
Criminal. Affirms John Hatzfeld’s conviction of Level 6 felony operating while intoxicated with a prior conviction. Finds there was sufficient evidence to sustain Hatzfeld’s conviction in Huntington Superior Court. Also finds that even if a blood test was erroneously admitted, the jury heard ample evidence of his intoxication beyond his blood alcohol content.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Ronnie L. Brown v. State of Indiana
20A-CR-1550
Reverses the revocation of Ronnie L. Brown’s probation. Finds the Delaware Circuit Court did not abuse its discretion when it revoked Brown’s probation for having missed an undetermined number of appointments with his probation officer, but did abuse its discretion when it ordered Brown to serve the entire remaining term of 16 years and 205 days in the Department of Correction as a result of those technical violations. Remands to the trial court with instructions that the court sentence Brown in a manner commensurate with the severity of missed appointments with his probation officer.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Charles Wolfe, et al. v. Robert Agro
20A-PL-1242
Civil plenary. Reverses the Randolph Superior Court’s determination that Charles and Rachel Wolfe committed criminal conversion by knowingly exerting unauthorized control over Robert Agro’s property. Finds that Agro’s proper remedy is through the Uniform Partnership Act, not the Crime Victims Relief Act. Judge Elizabeth Tavitas dissents with separate opinion.
The following 7th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion was posted after IL deadline Tuesday.
Rebecca Woodring v. Jackson County, Indiana
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, New Albany Division. Judge Tanya Walton Pratt.
20-1881
Civil plenary. Reverses the District Court order issuing an injunction against a Nativity scene on the courthouse in Jackson County. Majority finds that while Rebecca Woodring has standing to bring this case, holds that under American Legion v. American Humanist Association, 139 S. Ct. 2067 (2019), the Nativity does not violate the Establishment Clause. Vacates the injunction and remands with instructions for the district court to enter summary judgment in favor of Jackson County. Judge David Hamilton dissents with opinion.
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Lorenzo Carlos Pfeifer v. State of Indiana
20A-CR-00417
Criminal. Affirms Lorenzo C. Pfeifer’s conviction of two counts of murder. Finds Pfeifer’s rights of confrontation under the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and Article 1, Section 13 of the Constitution of Indiana were not violated when the St. Joseph Circuit Court admitted certain deposition testimony into evidence. Finds sufficient evidence to support the conviction.
Indiana Court of Appeals
The Residences at Ivy Quad Unit Owners Association, Inc. v. Ivy Quad Development, LLC, et al.
19A-PL-2974
Civil. Reverses the dismissal of Ivy Quad Unit Owners Association’s implied warranty and negligence claims over crumbling concrete and water infiltration at the Ivy Quad condominium complex in South Bend. Finds the St. Joseph Superior Court’s application of the economic loss doctrine as a complete bar to the association’s negligence claims against the defendants was premature and unwarranted. Remands for proceedings.
The Indiana Court of Appeals on Friday dismissed as premature an appeal filed by a southern Indiana man who challenged a trial court order dismissing three of four defendants that he sued, claiming breach of contract in a real estate sales dispute.
The Indiana Court of Appeals vacated a man’s guilty plea in a child molestation case Friday, granting post-conviction relief on the basis that he did not receive the assistance of an interpreter to help him understand his rights.
Condominium owners in a South Bend complex that they allege was shoddily constructed may pursue their claims against the insolvent developer, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled, reversing the dismissal of the condo owners’ claims.
A man’s sentence to life in prison without parole in the murder of an 18-month-old whose body bore the marks of torture and sexual abuse has been affirmed on direct appeal to the Indiana Supreme Court.
Indiana Supreme Court
Blake B. Hartman v. BigInch Fabricators & Construction Holding Company, Inc.
20S-PL-618
Civil plenary. Affirms the grant of summary judgment in Parke Circuit Court to BigInch Fabricators & Construction Holding Company Inc. Finds there is no blanket rule prohibiting agreements that call for open-market concepts to apply to compulsory, closed-market transactions. Also finds that the shareholder’s agreement’s valuation term clearly contemplates a fair market valuation of Blake Hartman’s shares in BigInch, so a third-party appraiser could apply minority and marketability discounts.
A woman who sued the Indiana Department of Transportation after she was injured in a crash resulting from her vehicle hydroplaning on a northern Indiana highway cannot pursue her lawsuit against the state, a majority of the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday. A dissenting judge, however, would reverse and send the matter back to the trial court to hear her claims.