Tax Court affirms business center’s voluntary withdrawal of property tax appeal
An objection to an Indianapolis business center’s voluntary withdrawal of its property tax appeal was not improperly overruled, the Indiana Tax Court ruled Monday.
Court opinions
Articles
Reversal: Trust’s residual beneficiary not reasonably certain
The denial of a motion to intervene was reversed Monday after the Indiana Court of Appeals agreed with the would-be intervenor’s argument that the language of a trust did not define a residual beneficiary with reasonable certainty.
Opinions Aug. 30, 2019
The following 7th Circuit Court of Appeals was posted after IL deadline on Thursday.
Malcolm Cobb, Jr. v. Aramark Correctional Services
18-1909
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. Senior Judge Sarah Evans Barker.
Civil. Reverses and remands the Southern District Court’s dismissal of Malcolm Cobb Jr.’s lawsuit, finding he was late in filing his state-court negligence action against Aramark Correctional Services, which then was removed to federal court. Finds the district court misinterpreted Indiana’s prison mailbox rule and that Cobb had submitted reasonable, legitimate, and verifiable documentation supporting his claim that his documents were timely submitted.
7th Circuit reinstates Ford discriminatory hiring class-action
Ford Motor Co. and other defendants must face a class-action lawsuit alleging discriminatory hiring practices at a Chicago-area assembly plant. Plaintiffs convinced a federal appeals court to let proceed their claims that hiring practices at the plant could negatively impact Hispanic workers in northwestern Indiana and elsewhere hoping to land a job there.
Drug-possession convictions affirmed for woman following inventory of her purse
The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed a woman’s drug possession convictions after a traffic stop led to the discovery of contraband in a purse that the trial court inferred to be hers.
Res judicata clarification allows CHINS finding to stand
In granting a petition on rehearing, the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed its earlier ruling and allowed the Department of Child Services to move forward with a new child in need of services petition even though the filing relied on allegations made in a previous CHINS petition that had been overturned.
COA affirms IMPD shooting conviction, splits attempted murder counts
The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed a man’s conviction for shooting up two Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department buildings, but reversed the merger of his two attempted murder convictions into one count.
Reversal: Man who injected wife with drugs can’t be charged with felony murder
A man alleged to have killed his wife after she died from a narcotic drug injection he administered cannot be charged with felony murder, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.
7th Circuit: Indiana voter purge provision violates federal law
In a ruling that reminded Indiana of the need to protect the integrity of the voting process, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the state from kicking individuals off the voter rolls based solely on a match in the Crosscheck database.
Opinions Aug. 28, 2019
The following 7th Circuit Court of Appeals decisions were posted after IL deadline Tuesday:
Common Cause Indiana, Indiana State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and League of Women Voters of Indiana, Inc., v. Connie Lawson, in her official capacity as Secretary of State of Indiana, et al.
18-2491 and 18-2492
Appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. Judge Tanya Walton Pratt.
Civil. Affirms the preliminary injunction blocking Indiana from removing voters from the state’s voter rolls without directly contacting the individuals. Finds Senate Enrolled Act 442, which permitted Indiana to rely solely on the Crosscheck database to purge voters, violated the National Voter Registration Act’s requirement that the state must either confirm with the voter that he or she has moved out of state or, if contact cannot be made, must not remove the name unless the state can show the person did not vote or appear to vote between the time the notification was sent and the date after the second general election for federal office. Judge Michael Brennan writes a concurring opinion that the nonprofits bringing the lawsuits do have standing under Article III.
COA orders sewer dispute to be ‘plunged’ from docket
The Indiana Court of Appeals urged litigants to “move on in good faith” from a case that is a “waste of everyone’s resources” as it handed down its second decision in a nearly 20-year sewer dispute between a northern Indiana town and a local real estate owner.
Divided COA voids casino tax-sharing agreement
A city and county’s agreement to share tax revenue from a southeastern Indiana riverboat casino is void, an Indiana Court of Appeals majority ruled, but a dissenting judge held that the agreement should continue.
COA: 100-year sentence for juvenile not a constitutional violation
A DeKalb County man who as a juvenile pleaded guilty to two murders and was sent to prison for an aggregate 100 years was denied post-conviction relief after the Indiana Court of Appeals found his sentence did not violate constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment because he will be eligible for parole in 2040.
COA reinstates car seller’s defamation, breach suit
An auto financing company took a hit after the Indiana Court of Appeals reinstated a car dealer’s breach of contract and defamation complaints in a dispute over vehicles purchased at auction.
7th Circuit upholds firearms convictions, sentence despite evidence error
Though the district court erred in admitting certain evidence without allowing a defendant to cross-examine the related witnesses, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals still upheld that defendant’s firearms convictions and sentence Tuesday.
Ban on Indiana abortion parental notification law upheld
A federal appeals court has upheld an injunction blocking a 2017 Indiana law that would have required parental notification for mature minors seeking an abortion. One member of the three-judge panel dissented, however, and would have allowed the law to take effect.
7th Circuit blocks Indiana voter purge law
A federal appeals court has confirmed that Indiana’s attempt to cleanse its voter rolls by using the controversial Crosscheck database violates the National Voter Registration Act. The ruling upholds a lower court ruling in a suit brought by a national public-interest group.
Opinions Aug. 27, 2019
Indiana Court of Appeals
Pinch-N-Post, LLC v. Verna L. McIntosh
19A-TP-00239
Tax deed. Affirms in part Verna McIntosh’s assertion that a notice sent by Pinch-N-Post, LLC that included the redemption amount for property she owned would have led a reasonable person to conclude that the total redemption amount was far greater than it actually was. However, finds the St. Joseph Circuit Court should have ordered a new redemption period and reverses and remands with instructions to order a new 120-day redemption period, with notice under Indiana Code section 6-1.1-25-4.5 to be given not later than 90 days after the order. Judge Elizabeth Tavitas concurs in part and dissents in part with a separate opinion, and would void the tax sale.
Improper redemption notice divides COA in tax deed case
A divided Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed that the inclusion of an overbid in a tax-sale purchased home’s redemption amount was misleading, but the majority still ultimately offered a second chance for a proper notice to be sent.
Reversal: COA awards Muncie attorney fees for unpaid legal services
A Muncie attorney is set to receive payment owed him by a former municipal client after the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed and remanded a decision that denied his counterclaim for final payment and subjected him to attorney fees.