Indiana Court Decisions: Feb. 24-March 9, 2022
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
Court opinions
Articles
Opinions March 11, 2022
Indiana Supreme Court
Elizabeth Roetter v. Michael P. Roetter, Jr.
21S-DC-568
Domestic relation with children. Affirms the Hendricks Superior Court’s award of spousal maintenance to Elizabeth Roetter and the division of property between her and ex-husband Michael P. Roetter Jr. Finds the trial court didn’t err in its spousal maintenance award and that Elizabeth’s request is for rehabilitative maintenance. Also finds the trial court didn’t err in its division of property and that it was not required to follow a rigid, technical formula.
Justices affirm division of marital assets
The Indiana Supreme Court has determined a trial court didn’t err in its method of dividing up assets between a divorced Hendricks County couple, parting ways with the opinion of the Court of Appeals of Indiana.
Majority justices rule Duke can’t retroactively recover coal-ash cleanup costs
Indiana Supreme Court justices were divided on an issue of first impression brought by Duke Energy and the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, ultimately ruling that the utility cannot recover past coal-ash cleanup costs adjudicated under a prior rate order by treating the costs as a capitalized asset.
Justices: Steel supplier can have mechanic’s lien over U.S. Steel project site
Like the Court of Appeals of Indiana did before the case was transferred, the Indiana Supreme Court has reversed summary judgment granted to United States Steel Corp. over a mechanic’s lien dispute regarding a now-defunct industrial project in Gary.
Opinions March 9, 2022
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
United States of America v. Mark Price
20-3191
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson.
Criminal. Affirms Mark Price’s conviction of unlawfully possessing firearms and ammunition as a felon, as well as his enhanced sentence. Rejects Price’s “stalking horse” theory on first impression and finds the parole search wasn’t a violation of Price’s Fourth Amendment rights. Also finds Price’s terms as a parolee lessened his privacy status. Finally, finds the district court didn’t err as to the sufficiency of the evidence or in giving Price three sentencing enhancements.
Woman in legal battle with independent insurance company has no appealable claims, COA rules
A woman who spent roughly a decade in a legal battle with her employer has had her case dismissed for a lack of appealable issues.
7th Circuit rejects felon’s ‘stalking horse’ argument
In a case of first impression, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals denied a “stalking horse” argument made by a convicted felon on parole who was caught unlawfully possessing firearms.
COA affirms ruling for business on ex-employee’s wage claim, also awards appellate attorney fees
A northern Indiana man who lost his Wage Claims Act complaint against his former employer did not convince the Court of Appeals of Indiana that the trial court erred in its ruling and will now also have to pay appellate attorney fees to the business.
High court narrows reach of law targeting career criminals
The Supreme Court on Monday narrowed the reach of a federal law that strengthens penalties for career criminals found to illegally have a gun.
Opinions March 7, 2022
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Perise L. Fowler v. State of Indiana
21A-CR-1596
Criminal. Affirms Perise L. Fowler’s conviction for murder. Finds no error in the Marion Superior Court’s denial of Fowler’s oral motion to reconsider his guilty verdict and to enter judgment of conviction on the lesser included offense of voluntary manslaughter that was not argued at trial.
Pro se attorney gets public reprimand from justices for direct email to opposing party
Describing an Indianapolis lawyer as “his own worst enemy” when it comes to electronic communications, a split Indiana Supreme Court has issued a public reprimand after the lawyer sent a threatening email directly to an opposing party rather than working through another lawyer. A dissenting justice, however, said the rule in question in this issue of first impression does not apply to pro se lawyers like the attorney who was disciplined.
Murder conviction upheld for man who punched pregnant woman, fatally shot expectant father
A man who punched a pregnant woman in the belly and then fatally shot the father of her child could not convince the Court of Appeals of Indiana that his murder conviction should be overturned in favor of a lesser-included offense.
Opinions March 4, 2022
Court of Appeals of Indiana
Michael Bedtelyon v. State of Indiana
21A-CR-1952
Criminal. Reverses the revocation of four years of Michael Bedtelyon’s suspended sentence after his probation officer found Bedtelyon had violated his probation by watching sexually suggestive anime cartoons. Finds the Elkhart Superior Court abused its discretion. Also finds the state failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that Bedtelyon violated his probation because it produced no evidence that he had accessed or viewed obscene videos depicting or describing sexual conduct in a patently offensive manner.
Suggestive cartoons didn’t violate man’s probation against obscene videos, COA rules
The state of Indiana failed to prove that watching sexually suggestive anime cartoons violated an Elkhart County man’s probation, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has ruled.
7th Circuit affirms rulings in ‘acrimonious’ dispute over property value assessment
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower court’s various rulings in “acrimonious” litigation between an appraiser and a bank.
7th Circuit: Product liability claims against Cook Medical untimely
An Oregon woman who brought product liability claims in a short-form complaint against Indiana-based Cook Medical could not succeed on appeal because her claims were untimely, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed.
Opinions March 3, 2022
Court of Appeals of Indiana
In the Matter of the Marriage of: Kristi M. McClendon v. Richard L. Triplett
21A-DR-1852
Domestic relations. Affirms the modification of custody of K.T. and D.T. in favor of father Richard Triplett. Finds mother Kristi McClendon failed to demonstrate that she was prejudiced by the denial of her motion to continue, that the Adams Circuit Court abused its discretion by allowing K.T. to testify without her parents in the courtroom, that the trial court’s denial of her motion to exclude testimony of three witnesses was erroneous or that the trial court erred by granting Triplett’s motion for modification of physical and legal custody.
COA upholds custody modification in father’s favor
An Indiana-based father was properly awarded primary custody of his two children who until recently had lived with their mother in North Carolina, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has ruled.
IN justices affirm mother was afforded due process during virtual TPR hearing
A mother whose parental rights were terminated after a virtual hearing via Zoom has lost her appeal at the Indiana Supreme Court, which instead adopted as precedent a Court of Appeals analysis of how the mother’s due process rights were impacted by the virtual proceedings.