Appeals court OKs Biden federal employee vaccine mandate
President Joe Biden’s requirement that all federal employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 was upheld Thursday by a federal appeals court.
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Tippecanoe School Corp. wins summary judgment on injured cheerleader’s negligence claim
The Tippecanoe School Corporation has secured summary judgment against a student’s negligence claim after the Court of Appeals ruled in its favor following a cheerleader’s injury.
COA: Trial court didn’t properly instruct jury in drug-induced homicide case
A trial court’s erroneous decision to reject a defendant’s proposed preliminary instructions has led to the reversal of the defendant’s drug dealing conviction. But the Court of Appeals of Indiana left open the possibility of a retrial due to other significant evidence, including evidence of text messages sent and received by a man who died of a drug overdose.
7th Circuit: IN Legislature, not state, was employer of women who accused former AG Hill of groping
Three of the four women who accused former Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill of groping them cannot sue the state under Title VII, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled, finding the legislative staffers were employed by the Indiana House and Senate, not the state itself.
Opinions April 6, 2022
Court of Appeals of Indiana
State of Indiana v. Lamar Fox
21A-CR-2445
Criminal. Reverses the grant of Lamar Fox’s motion to suppress. Finds the home detention contract Fox signed explicitly stated he waived his Fourth Amendment and state constitutional rights. Also finds State v. Ellis, 167 N.E.3d 285 (Ind. 2021), applies.
Separate pleading not needed in Medicaid reimbursement dispute, Indiana Supreme Court rules
In a lesson to the lower courts about judicial economy, the Indiana Supreme Court has overturned a ruling that had prevented a health care provider from obtaining a declaratory judgment as to whether it could charge patients for the cost of nonformulary over-the-counter medications.
Tax exemption for Indy neighborhood’s ‘green space’ upheld
A green space in an Indianapolis residential subdivision should have received a common area property tax exemption for the 2016 and 2017 tax years, the Indiana Tax Court has affirmed.
COA reverses suppression of evidence found in hotel room based on home-detention rights waiver
The Court of Appeals of Indiana has reversed the suppression of evidence found during the search of a man’s hotel room after determining the defendant had waived his constitutional search-and-seizure protections in a home detention agreement.
High court opens door wider to malicious prosecution claims
In a victory for people falsely accused by police of crimes, the U.S. Supreme Court removed a barrier Monday to lawsuits against law enforcement for malicious prosecution.
Husband with 2 wives avoids annulment at COA
A Goshen wife who discovered during divorce proceedings that her husband had actually been married to another woman during their marriage had her decree of annulment overturned after the Court of Appeals of Indiana found the man was not properly notified through a service by summons.
COA affirms default judgment for mortgagor, finding appeal untimely
A request to reconsider a default judgment on a voided mortgage was denied after the Court of Appeals of Indiana concluded the appeal was untimely.
Opinions April 1, 2022
Court of Appeals of Indiana
In the Matter of the Marriage of: Andrew J. Hoesli v. Jamie L. Hoesli (mem. dec.)
21A-DC-2001
Domestic relations with children. Reverses the Perry Circuit Court’s division of property in the dissolution of the marriage of Andrew Hoesli and Jamie Hoesli. Finds the trial court erred by issuing a retroactive possession of property and excluding the Huber Funeral Home distributions from the marital estate. Remands for the trial court to include the distributions in the marital estate and either divide the marital property pursuant to the rebuttable presumption of an equal division or set forth its rationale for an unequal division of the marital estate.
School district loses summary judgment on former sub’s discrimination, retaliation claims
A southeastern Indiana school district must face a former female employee’s discrimination and retaliation claims after a federal judge denied the school’s summary judgment motion.
COA: Open door lawsuit requires a bond to continue
Residents of Cass County who challenged the local government’s actions to lure a zinc oxide manufacturing facility to their community will have to put more skin in the game to continue their fight after the Court of Appeals of Indiana found they filed a public lawsuit that requires the setting of a bond.
Unchanged situation justifies custody reversal, COA rules
Divorced parents who feuded so much they were described as having “drawn their swords” battled over custody of their child such that two trial court judges differed on which parent should have primary custody, but the Court of Appeals of Indiana determined the considerations of the case “make it rather straightforward” that the father should be the primary custodial parent.
Interest exclusion in foreclosure case based on pandemic emergency orders reversed
A bank seeking to foreclose on an Indiana property can collect interest accrued during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic despite emergency court orders tolling interest, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has ruled.
Split COA affirms dismissal of adult charge against man for alleged acts as teen
Determining the heart of the issue was “a lack of clarity in the Indiana Code,” a split Court of Appeals of Indiana panel ruled an adult criminal court rightly dismissed, for lack of jurisdiction, a child molesting charge against a man who allegedly forced a preteen to have sex with him when he was 16.
COA allows students’ COVID breach complaints against IU, Purdue to proceed
Lawsuits filed by students at Indiana and Purdue universities alleging breaches of contract when the schools moved to online learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic will proceed, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has ruled.
Tax Court: Racetrack’s 2020 tax assessment upheld after failure to appear
A man who failed to appear at two telephonic hearings for the appeal of his racetrack’s 2020 property tax assessment did not convince the Indiana Tax Court that a final determination against him should be overturned.
IN justices: Forfeited funds can’t be released for defense, but summary judgment for state was inappropriate
A trial court cannot release money seized from a defendant back to the defendant for the purpose of funding his or her defense, the Indiana Supreme Court has ruled. However, the forfeiture action in question will continue after the high court reversed summary judgment for the state.