$1.8M restitution order vacated in car dealership fraud
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed and remanded for the recalculation of restitution to be paid by a man involved in fraudulent activities at an Indianapolis car dealership.
Court opinions
Articles
COA: Staffing firm must pay attorney fees in breach of contract dispute
A recruiting and staffing firm did not convince the Indiana Court of Appeals on Friday that it should not have to pay attorneys fees requested by a former contractor in a breach of contract dispute.
Opinions March 12, 2020
Indiana Court of Appeals
Name Change Of: R.E.
19A-MI-02562
Miscellaneous. Reverses and remands the Newton Circuit Court’s demand that R.E. publish his petition to change his name in a local newspaper; litigate the petition in open court; and submit medical evidence to show that R.E. had actually undergone a physical sex change. Finds the trial court obstructed the timely disposition of R.E.’s petition and placed evidentiary burdens upon R.E. that were unjustified and contrary to law. Remands with instructions that the trial court grant R.E.’s petition without further delay.
COA affirms charges brought under new cause number
The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed the denial of a man’s motion to dismiss charges brought against him in a new cause after the state sought to refile the case to tidy up the record, finding no abuse of discretion in the decision.
Denial of motion to suppress affirmed in traffic stop case
The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed the denial of a man’s motion to suppress evidence of narcotics discovered in his vehicle during a traffic stop after a tip that he had been using drugs in his Purdue University dorm room.
Reversal: Transgender name change permitted; trial court admonished for disrespect
A transgender man denied a motion to privately change his name and gender on his birth certificate won a reversal from the Indiana Court of Appeals, which admonished a trial court for denying the man’s petition and treating him disrespectfully.
Opinions March 11, 2020
The following opinions were posted after IL deadline Tuesday.
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
USA v. Monique Bowling
19-2110
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Hammond Division. Judge Philip P. Simon.
Criminal. Affirms Monique Bowling’s 63-month sentence for conviction of theft from a local government that received federal funds under 18 U.S.C. § 666(a)(1)(A). Finds the federal funds element was met when the parties stipulated that the City of Gary received more than $10,000 in federal benefits in a one-year period. Also finds no error in admitting testimony under Rule 404(b) and that the district court’s finding that Bowling deliberately exaggerated her mental health symptoms and remained mute to unnecessarily delay the proceedings does not need to be disturbed.
Reversal: Orange County man’s child molesting conviction improperly elevated
The Indiana Court of Appeals has ordered a man convicted of child molesting resentenced. The panel found his felony conviction was improperly elevated and cautioned the trial court regarding consideration of his uncharged allegations on remand.
Tax Court affirms Evansville rehab center falls under 3% tax cap
An Evansville temporary inpatient rehab center is not considered to be either a long-term care property or a residential property, the Indiana Tax Court affirmed Tuesday. As such, the property owner’s tax liability was required to be computed using the 3% property tax cap.
Justices order body exhumed for original gravesite buyer’s use
A divided Indiana Supreme Court is ordering a cemetery to exhume a man from his burial place after the gravesite was accidentally sold to two buyers. The 3-2 majority of justices reversed in the original owner’s favor on Wednesday, ordering for the grave to be restored for her future use.
Court: House entitled to see Mueller probe grand jury testimony
The Justice Department must give Congress secret grand jury testimony from special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday, giving the House a significant win in a separation-of-powers clash with the Trump administration.
Opinions March 10, 2020
Indiana Court of Appeals
Larry Mickow v. AAA Insurance MemberSelect Insurance Company (mem. dec.)
19A-CT-1546
Civil tort. Affirms the Lake Superior Court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of MemberSelect Insurance Company against Larry Mickow. Finds that because no factual dispute exists as to whether MemberSelect breached its duty of good faith and fair dealing, the trial court properly granted summary judgment on Mickow’s bad faith claim. Also finds it properly granted summary judgment in favor of MemberSelect on his breach of contract claim.
US Supreme Court rejects ex-cop’s appeal of rape convictions
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal for a former Oklahoma City police officer convicted of sexually assaulting black women he encountered while patrolling the city’s low-income neighborhoods.
Opinions March 9, 2020
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Robert Holleman v. Dushan Zatecky
19-1326
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Terre Haute Division. Judge James R. Sweeney II.
Civil. Affirms the Southern District Court’s grant of summary judgment to Zatecky in response to Robert Holleman’s First Amendment lawsuit after his transfer from Pendleton Correctional Facility. Despite Holleman’s multitudinous lawsuits, grievances, and an interview he provided to a local newspaper about the conditions at Pendleton, finds his transfer was not retaliation.
Man’s 6-year sentence affirmed in fatal teen car wreck case
While hanging out one evening at a playground in 2017, five Indianapolis teenagers got into an argument with two women nearby who were searching for a drone owned by Daniel Cannon. When asked if they wanted to fight, the teens got back into their vehicle, drove toward the women as if to hit them, and then moved on to the street.
COA dismisses man’s appeal in adoption dispute
A man seeking to adopt his ex-wife’s child had his case dismissed by the Indiana Court of Appeals on Monday after it found no indication that he sought certification from the trial court or permission from the appellate court to file a discretionary interlocutory appeal, among other things.
7th Circuit: Litigious inmate’s transfer not retaliation
An inmate serving a life sentence who is known for being a “quintessential jailhouse lawyer” did not prevail in an appeal to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday after the court found his transfer to another prison prompted by his multiple and continued grievances was not a move of retaliation.
COA reverses contempt finding against vet for nonpayment in divorce dispute
The goal of harmonizing provisions between conflicting provisions in a divorce settlement led the Indiana Court of Appeals to find a military veteran should not have been held in contempt for discontinuing monetary support to his former wife.
COA: Probation revocation after guilty plea should be challenged with PCR, not direct appeal
The Indiana Court of Appeals has dismissed a man’s appeal of his probation revocation and related drug conviction, finding his claim could not be presented on direct appeal but must be presented in a petition for post-conviction relief because he pleaded guilty.
Mineral-rich property transfers void in siblings’ trust dispute
A dispute between step-siblings over profitable real estate did not result in the brother’s favor Friday, when the Indiana Court of Appeals found a trial court did not clearly err in declaring transfers of the property to him as void ab initio.