Indiana Court Decisions — Sept. 27-Oct. 9, 2018
Read Indiana appellate decisions from the most recent reporting period.
Court opinions
Articles
7th Circuit upholds judgment for Pearson on sex discrimination claim
A former employee of Pearson Education, Inc. has lost her sex discrimination appeal against the educational products supplier after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals found the woman failed to show she was similarly situated to three male employees she claimed were treated better than her.
COA: DOC placement best for juvenile, community’s safety
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the placement of a teen boy in the Indiana Department of Corrections when it found that placement would best promote community safety and his best interests.
COA: Judgment affirmed in eminent domain action
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the grant of summary judgment to a town in an eminent domain action when it found the land was neither real property occupied by an owner nor agricultural land, so the previous owners were not entitled to receive enhanced compensation.
Justices set aside default against Greensburg landlords
A Greensburg apartment complex and its property manager will no longer be considered in default after the Indiana Supreme Court reinstated a trial court ruling that found excusable neglect justified setting aside a default judgment.
Justices affirm delinquency in Seymour school plot
The Indiana Supreme Court upheld Thursday the juvenile delinquency adjudication of a sophomore who was found to have plotted to shoot up and blow up Seymour High School during the 2015-2016 school year.
7th Circuit affirms withheld attorney fees in disability cases
Attorneys who successfully represented two clients seeking Social Security disability benefits won’t get paid, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, because their indigent clients owed debts to the federal treasury.
Nonsupport case divides COA on right to be present
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a father’s sentence for failing to pay child support when it found he failed to meet his burden of proof. However, the court split on whether the defendant had a right to be physically present at his sentencing.
COA: Deputy’s hearsay wouldn’t change resisting conviction
A habitual offender convicted of resisting law enforcement could not convince the Indiana Court of Appeals on Tuesday that a trial court’s error in admitting hearsay evidence in his case made a fair trial impossible.
Medical malpractice reversal finds for providers
Health care providers who removed part of a man’s lung after a biopsy sample was misread as likely cancerous are entitled to summary judgment in his medical malpractice case, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday, reversing a trial court ruling.
SCOTUS asked to take Lake Michigan beach privatization case
Arguing the Indiana Supreme Court “asserted a novel public right to access the entire beach” of Lake Michigan, private lakeshore landowners Friday asked the Supreme Court of the United States to rule that the public was entitled to use no part of the beach above the water itself.
State’s request for stay rebuffed in voter registration case
An attempt by the state of Indiana to squash discovery into its practice of maintaining voter rolls has been stopped by the Southern Indiana District Court, which pointed out to both parties that it has “extremely broad discretion in controlling discovery.” Judge Tanya Walton Pratt issued the order Friday in Common Cause Indiana v. Connie Lawson, et al., denying the state’s request to stay proceedings and discovery while the case is on interlocutory appeal.
Immigrant’s guilty plea withdrawal denied despite ineffective counsel
The Indiana Court of Appeals has reaffirmed the denial of a man’s petition to withdraw his guilty plea after determining the man failed to establish he was prejudiced by his counsel’s failure to adequately warn him of the threat of deportation before entering into a guilty plea.
Justices reinstate child molesting convictions under attenuation doctrine
Four Level 1 felony child molesting convictions will be reinstated against a Blackford County man after the Indiana Supreme Court found the man’s incriminating statements to police were sufficiently attenuated from an illegal search and seizure of his apartment. The court’s ruling also more broadly holds that the federal attenuation doctrine can be applied under the Indiana Constitution.
Justices: No rights advisement needed before drug exam
The Indiana Supreme Court reinstated a woman’s conviction that the Indiana Court of Appeals had vacated because she did not receive an advisement of her rights before police administered a drug recognition exam after a traffic stop.
COA: Fired deputy marshal wrongly denied hearing
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a decision that found a deputy town marshal was not entitled to a hearing following his employment termination. The deputy had been fired after taking leave for a medical condition.
7th Circuit: Woman can’t sue county over worker’s sex assault
A woman serving court-ordered community service who claimed she was sexually assaulted by a Vigo County park maintenance worker lost her appeal of a judgment in favor of the county in her civil liability lawsuit Wednesday, despite what judges noted was a “horrific incident”.
COA allows environmental cleanup claims filed after 10 years
In a decision about the cleanup and redevelopment of an old industrial site, the Indiana Court of Appeals has provided a definitive answer to a long-simmering debate among Indiana environmental lawyers.
COA: No error in calculating $35K in attorney’s fees
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the award of more than $35,000 in attorney’s fees, despite a lawyer’s argument that the amount awarded to a plaintiff in an employment suit was miscalculated.
COA reverses firearm conviction after erroneous continuance
An Evansville firearm conviction against a convicted felon must be reversed after the Indiana Court of Appeals found a trial court erred in granting the state’s request for a continuance six days before trial.