Federal judge fines abusive filer $1,200, bars future suits
A man who’s filed nearly four dozen lawsuits against defendants from “Bobby” to President Barack Obama lost his federal court privileges this week.
Court opinions
Articles
Failure to conduct indigency hearing results in remand
A trial court that imposed a $340 probation fee on a defendant sentenced on misdemeanor convictions must be revisited because the court failed to conduct a hearing on the defendant’s ability to pay.
20-year sentence for $60 drug deal reduced as excessive
The 20-year executed sentence a Kokomo man received after pleading guilty to selling an undercover police officer 10 hydrocodone pills for $6 each was excessive, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
Court affirms $100,000 in attorney fees to bank for defending groundless claim
A woman who claimed a bank acting as trustee breached its fiduciary duties by selling stock of JP Morgan Chase over the course of several years is still on the hook for more than $100,000 in attorney fees and costs to the trustee, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed Thursday. The COA agreed Susan Moeder brought a groundless claim against Salin Bank and Trust Co. after it sought to resign as trustee.
Providing temptation to commit crime is not inducement, majority rules
The Indiana Supreme Court affirmed a man’s conviction of patronizing a prostitute, with the majority ruling the state rebutted his defense of entrapment by showing there was no police inducement.
Patients sue Lilly, claim Cymbalta withdrawal hazards
Two federal lawsuits filed in Indianapolis allege Eli Lilly’s top-selling antidepressant Cymbalta caused almost immediate dangerous withdrawal symptoms when patients attempted to stop using the medication.
Judges tweak offender’s amount of credit time awarded
A trial court incorrectly calculated the amount of credit for the time a man had served prior to the revocation of his probation as well as the sentence imposed after the revocation, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.
Ex-IMPD officer’s convictions upheld in 2010 fatal accident
Former Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer David Bisard, convicted of drunken-driving offenses after he struck three motorcyclists while responding to a non-emergency call, was not entitled to a mistrial based on juror misconduct issues, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.
COA finds man justly fired for violating sexual harassment policy
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the decision by an administrative law judge that a nurse was not fired for just cause. The COA noted surprise that the man’s claims he was joking when he made sexually inappropriate comments to co-workers led the ALJ to decide the actions did not amount to violation of his employer’s sexual harassment policy.
Man, not state, had priority in breeder’s award proceeds
A Marshall County trial court erred when it granted summary judgment in favor of the Indiana Department of Revenue on a man’s attempt to collect breeder’s award proceeds owed to another man who had outstanding tax warrants.
7th Circuit reinstates alleged racketeering lawsuit
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision of a federal judge to dismiss a man’s lawsuit because it is barred by the Rooker-Feldman doctrine. A man who had his gas station foreclosed upon claimed the defendants acted in cahoots to defraud him out of his business.
COA affirms attorney fees in frivolous suit challenging Logansport P3 deal
A woman’s lawsuit that claimed the city of Logansport had to pass an ordinance formally adopting the Public-Private Agreements Act before entering into a P3 deal was frivolous and in bad faith, thus justifying the award of attorney fees to the city, the Court of Appeals affirmed.
Chronic litigator’s suit seeking $3 trillion tossed with warning
A federal judge has had about enough from a litigant who has brought so many frivolous lawsuits that he may be barred from filing future complaints.
Woman may pursue negligence claim against pharmacist
The Indiana Court of Appeals sidestepped the question of whether a previous decision is valid when determining that a woman who brought a medical malpractice claim against a hospital can pursue a negligence claim against the hospital’s pharmacist. The plaintiff did not present that negligence claim before the medical review panel.
Justices reverse grant of motion to suppress based on pat-down search
In a 4-1 decision Monday, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled it is not inherently coercive for police to give conditional permission to step out of a vehicle during a traffic stop, subject to the motorist’s consent to a pat-down search.
Wife wins appeal of division of marital estate
The Indiana Court of Appeals agreed with a wife in a divorce proceeding that the trial court erred in how it calculated and divided the marital estate. The lower court incorrectly attributed the value of Florida real estate to the wife’s share of the marital pot as well as failed to credit her for paying the parties’ tax debt.
Search of home of man in community corrections based on reasonable suspicion
A trial court acted within its discretion in admitting evidence seized from a man’s home, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Friday. The police search was justified by reasonable suspicion that the man engaged in criminal activity and a search condition contained in his agreement with community corrections.
Because enhancement vacatur altered sentence, COA vacates plea agreement
Because removing a defendant’s habitual offender enhancement altered the sentence the parties had bargained for, the Indiana Court of Appeals ordered the trial court to vacate the entire plea agreement.
Treatment facility sufficiently showed man was a danger to others
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a man’s 90-day involuntary commitment in a mental health facility because the treatment facility presented sufficient evidence that the man posed a substantial risk of harming others and was therefore dangerous.
Ex-Chandler commission member’s lawsuit continues after COA ruling
The member of a town’s advisory plan commission who was appointed to a four-year term, then unanimously recalled, will be allowed to go forward with his lawsuit stemming from his removal, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.