Indiana Court Decisions – July 30-Aug. 12, 2020
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
Court opinions
Articles
Smith: Indiana Court of Appeals upholds employer’s noncompete
The Indiana Court of Appeals recently published a decision that is instructive about noncompete agreements. It is one of the rare noncompete cases that does not contain the phrase: “Indiana courts are reluctant to enforce noncompete agreements because they constitute a restraint on trade.”
Opinions Aug. 18, 2020
Indiana Court of Appeals
Victoria V. Arrowood v. State of Indiana
20A-CR-667
Criminal. Affirms the revocation of Victoria Arrowood’s placement in community corrections home detention and the order that she serve the remainder of her sentence in the Department of Correction. Finds that because the revocation of probation or placement in community corrections is civil, not criminal, in nature, Article 1, Section 13 of the Indiana Constitution is inapplicable. Also finds Arrowood was not denied her right to counsel.
Indy man loses witness ‘reliability’ argument against attempted murder conviction
An Indianapolis man’s attempted murder conviction was upheld Tuesday after the Indiana Court of Appeals found that the testimony of one of his shooting victims was not incredibly dubious.
COA: Indiana right to counsel doesn’t extend to revocation hearings
The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed the revocation of a woman’s home detention in favor of incarceration, declining to make the “profound statement” that the Indiana constitutional right to counsel extends to revocation hearings.
Opinions Aug. 17, 2020
Indiana Court of Appeals
Judy Vigus, as Administratrix of the Estate of Ruth C. Vigus and the Estate of Eugene Vigus v. Dinner Theater of Indiana, L.P.
19A-CT-1365
Civil tort. Affirms the Marion Superior Court’s judgment for Dinner Theater of Indiana L.P. following a jury trial on Judy Vigus’s complaint alleging negligence as administratrix of the Estates of Ruth C. Vigus and Eugene Vigus. Finds the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it revoked its pretrial order on a judicial admission or when it excluded evidence of communications between the theater’s owners that they would seek a variance in the riser’s height rather than reduce that height. Also finds Vigus has not preserved for review her contention on appeal that the trial court erred when it did not instruct the jury that the theater had made a judicial admission of a building code violation.
Insurance judgment for scooter driver hurt in crash reversed
A scooter driver who won a trial court ruling when he sued to obtain insurance coverage after a crash lost on appeal Monday when judgment in his favor was reversed and an appellate court instead found for his insurer.
Judgment upheld for Clarksville dinner theater in estates’ negligence case
The Indiana Court of Appeals on Monday affirmed judgment in favor of the owner of a Clarksville dinner theater in a negligence suit filed by an elderly woman who broke her hip at the theater.
Man loses 7th Circuit appeal of drug-related firearm conviction
A federal appeals court has upheld the conviction of a man who was arrested after federal authorities set up a controlled drug purchase.
7th Circuit remands for new disability benefits hearing
A man with chronic neck and back pain who was denied disability benefits will receive a new hearing, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a Friday remand. The appellate court found a vocational expert’s testimony regarding potential job options was “entirely unilluminating.”
Opinions Aug. 14, 2020
Indiana Court of Appeals
Kenneth Lavar Lancaster v. State of Indiana
19A-CR-02970
Criminal. Affirms Kenneth Lancaster’s convictions of three counts of murder. Finds the Marion Superior Court did not err by finding that the statement of Lancaster’s brother was admissible as an adoptive admission. Neither did it err in adding the second statement made by Lancaster, which it found to be plainly admissible. Also finds sufficient evidence to support the convictions. Lastly, finds that the trial court did not err in the sentencing process.
Heroin dealer loses appeal of murder convictions
A known heroin dealer convicted of murdering one of his buyers and two other individuals did not convince the Indiana Court of Appeals on Friday that his convictions should be reversed.
Navajo man loses latest bid to delay federal execution
The only Native American on federal death row lost a bid Thursday to push back his execution date. Unless Lezmond Mitchell gets relief from another court or is granted clemency, he will be put to death Aug. 26 at the federal prison in Terre Haute where he is being held.
Opinions Aug. 13, 2020
Indiana Court of Appeals
Tyson Daishan Lamonte King v. State of Indiana
20A-CR-6
Criminal. Reverses Tyson King’s conviction in Marshall Superior Court of Class A misdemeanor driving while suspended. Finds in deciding an issue of first impression that King’s driver’s license was not suspended when he was pulled over at approximately 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 24, 2018, because his suspension expired at 12:01 a.m. that same day.
Opinions Aug. 12, 2020
Indiana Court of Appeals
Culver Community Teachers Association, et al. v. Indiana Education Employment Relations Board
19A-PL-2989
Civil plenary. Reverses the Marion Superior Court’s denial of the Culver Community Teachers Association, Decatur County Education Association, Smith-Green Community Schools Classroom Teachers Association, and West Clark Teachers Association’s joint verified petition for judicial review of the Indiana Education Employment Relations Board’s final decisions regarding their respective collective bargaining agreements. Finds the trial court erred in denying the Teachers Associations’ petition for judicial review. Remands to the IEERB with instructions to adopt the ratified contracts. Judge Patricia Riley dissents with a separate opinion.
Split COA reverses state ruling against 3 teacher union contracts
A divided appellate panel Wednesday overturned the Indiana Education Employment Relations Board’s final decisions that three contracts negotiated and ratified by Indiana teachers unions and their respective school employers did not comply with state law.
Opinions Aug. 11, 2020
Indiana Court of Appeals
Susan Mwangi and Joe Mwangi v. Nicholas Bobelinski and Classic Seamless Gutter, Inc. (mem. dec.)
20A-CT-528
Civil tort. Affirms the entry of summary judgment in favor of Nicholas Bobelinski and Classic Seamless Gutter, Inc. against Susan and Joe Mwangi. Finds no abuse of discretion in the St. Joseph Superior Court’s denial of Susan’s requests to continue the trial to secure counsel. Also finds that Susan was not denied her day in court and that the trial court did not clearly err in dismissing the action.
Opinions Aug. 10, 2020
Indiana Court of Appeals
Shannon Murphy v. Indiana State University and Nick D. Pledger
20A-CT-313
Civil tort. Affirms the Vigo Superior Court’s entry of summary judgment in favor of Indiana State University related to a former student Shannon Murphy’s lawsuit seeking damages over a campus locker room voyeurism case. Finds that Murphy did not substantially comply with the notice requirements of the Indiana Tort Claims Act and that the trial court properly granted ISU’s motion for summary judgment.
Judgment for ISU affirmed in locker room voyeurism case
A former Indiana State University volleyball player who sued the university upon learning a campus locker room was being secretly filmed by a fellow student could not convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that granting ISU’s motion for summary judgment was a mistake.
COA reverses suppression of evidence from home search
An appellate panel has reversed a trial court’s order to suppress evidence found in his home during a community corrections compliance check, concluding that law enforcement did not need reasonable suspicion to search his residence.