Court reduces man’s sentence by 3 years
The Indiana Court of Appeals reduced a man’s aggregate sentence by three years after it found he was denied effective assistance of counsel when his counsel did not bring up a statutory limitation issue.
Court opinions
Articles
Riding out the storm
The Indiana Supreme Court’s ruling for the state in a nearly six-year-old IBM suit is what the contract drafters “believed all along.”
Man must pay to clean up meth mess, court affirms
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled a man must pay to clean up the remnants of his meth lab after it found Indiana Code justified the payment and there was a victim to whom restitution should be paid.
COA: Patient not notified doctor was independent contractor
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled a man was never notified that the doctor treating him was an independent contractor and not an employee and therefore reversed summary judgment to the hospital and remanded the man’s vicarious liability case to the trial court.
Majority: injured worker’s immigration status relevant
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled in a split decision a man’s immigration status is valid evidence in a case where he was injured while working in the United States as an undocumented immigrant.
Supreme Court: Blanket suppression goes too far in murder case
While police officers who overheard a pretrial consultation between a suspect and his lawyer were definitely in the wrong, the total suppression of all the officers’ testimony in the case may not be necessary, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled in a unanimous decision
COA: Man has to abide by settlement
A man must abide with the agreement he settled on even though he had later second thoughts. The Indiana Court of Appeals found he breached a contract after he came to a settlement with an insurance company.
Man has sentence cut in half by Supreme Court
The Indiana Supreme Court cut a man’s sentence in half, from 32 to 16 years, by a 3-2 decision after it found consecutive sentences in the case were not appropriate because the state sponsored a series of identical offenses.
COA: Contract can be rescinded after land misrepresented
The Indiana Court of Appeals found a rental company could rescind its purchasing contract for a tract of land after the company that owned the land misrepresented it to the buyer.
COA: Flood plain ordinance is enforceable, residential ordinance is not
A builder must seek a special exception to mine in a flood plain zone after the Indiana Court of Appeals found that ordinance enforceable under state statute. However, an ordinance that doesn’t allow mining within two miles of a residential area is not enforceable because it was not enacted in accordance with Indiana’s zoning statutes.
‘Quasi-contract’ not enough in fraud suit
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals said a “quasi-contract” was not enough to pursue damages in a fraud case where one additive was unknowingly substituted for another.
CHINS case dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction
A mother’s appeal of a trial court’s order terminating her visitation with her child and denying her motion to modify the permanency plan in a CHINS case was dismissed by the Indiana Court of Appeals for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
Woman claiming defamation after charges dropped loses appeal
A woman who sued for defamation against her employer and a private investigator after she was acquitted of two counts of theft will not gain relief after the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld summary judgment for the employer and investigator in her case.
COA trims man’s robbery, sex offense sentence from 248 to 218 years
An Indianapolis man who was one of five accomplices who robbed a house and sexually assaulted victims inside during a two-hour rampage will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars, but the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday he had been subjected to double jeopardy and trimmed 30 years off his sentence.
COA: Trial court did not follow Batson regulations when dismissing Hispanic juror
A trial court did not follow Batson regulations when dismissing a Hispanic juror before the trial of a man convicted of Class D felony intimidation and Class A misdemeanor domestic battery, and as such the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed his convictions, finding the evidence enough for him to stand trial again.
Woman can be charged with criminal trespass after entering school
A woman who entered school property after she was threatened with criminal trespass if she did so can be charged with the crime after the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a trial court ruling that she had no contractual interest in the school property, despite being a parent in the district.
ADA claims against St. Joseph County courts fail in 7th Circuit
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld summary judgment for the St. Joseph County court system in a case involving accessibility of the St. Joseph County Courthouse and the Mishawaka County Services Building. The court said many of the plaintiffs’ claims lack standing, while others failed to raise genuine disputes of material fact.
COA changes sentence for drunk woman who hit a man with her car
The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled the sentence given to a woman who hit a man with her car and killed him while driving drunk was too harsh and took two years off it. However, the COA upheld all other parts of her conviction.
COA affirms estate no longer has interest in property
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a motion to dismiss as well as a motion for summary judgment after a woman sued an estate that no longer has interest in a property because that interest had passed to another person.
7th Circuit affirms $34.2M in fraudulent transfer case
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling from the Southern District of Indiana that a company needs to pay $34.2 million for a crop-insurance business it bought and later sold to other companies it also controlled.