Court opinions

Indiana Court of Appeals
Brandon Lawrence Johnson v. State of Indiana
19A-CR-00334
Criminal. Affirms the denial of Brandon Johnson’s petition to file a belated notice of appeal of his 12-year sentence for conviction of Level 4 felony possession of methamphetamine. Finds that even if the Orange Circuit Court should have granted his motion to take judicial notice, any resulting error was harmless. Also finds Johnson waived his right to appeal and that the trial court properly denied his petition.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Jarvis Peele v. State of Indiana
19A-CR-01160
Criminal. Reverses Jarvis Peele’s convictions of Level 6 felony possession of methamphetamine and two counts of Class A misdemeanor resisting law enforcement. Finds the Clark Circuit Court erred when it granted the state’s Criminal Rule 4(D) motion to continue Peele’s trial outside the timeframe required by his speedy-trial request. Finds Peele was entitled to discharge of the charges against him.

Indiana Court of Appeals
Termination: J W v. Indiana Department of Child Services
19A-JT-01298
Juvenile termination. Affirms the involuntary termination of J.W.’s parental rights to his daughter, G.F. Finds sufficient evidence to support the termination, concluding there was a reasonable probability that the continuation of the parent-child relationship would pose a threat to the well-being of G.F.

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals
Brigid Ford v. Marion County Sheriff’s Office
18-3217
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. Judge William T. Lawrence.
Civil. Affirms the Southern District Court’s grant of summary judgment to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office against Brigid Ford’s discriminatory employment practice claims. Finds the district court properly granted partial summary judgment as to some of Ford’s claims and exercised its discretion fairly to manage the trial on the remaining claims.

Indiana Court of Appeals
SGS North America Inc. v. Christine Mullholand, As Stockholder Representative of Cybermetrix, Inc., et al.
19A-PL-01283
Civil plenary. Affirms the Marion Superior Commercial Court’s order confirming a $3,107,200 award plus interest to Christine Mullholand against SGS North America, Inc, which purchased her company Cybermetrix, Inc. Finds the designated auditor’s determination of the parties’ earnout dispute constitutes a binding arbitration award. Finds the trial court did not err in granting Mullholand’s application for confirmation of arbitration award and in denying SGS’s motion to dismiss her application for the same reasons.

Indiana Tax Court
Crown Property Group, LLC v. Indiana Department of State Revenue, and Adam J. Krupp
18T-TA-27
Tax. Grants Crown Property Group’s motion for summary judgement and denied the Indiana Department of State Revenue’s motion for summary judgment. Finds Crown is entitled to a refund of its filing fee plus $1,811.30, the entire amount levied by the department’s collection agent that comprises the withholding tax, the collection fee and the bank fee.