Blended gasoline raises question of tax exemption
A convenience store’s process for mixing two grades of gasoline left too many questions unanswered for the Indiana Tax Court to determine if the equipment used in the blending process was tax exempt.
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Indiana’s cold beer prohibition survives rational-basis review
Finding retailers did not meet their burden in attempting to overturn one of Indiana’s quirky alcohol laws, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the state’s limits on the sale of cold beer is not unconstitutional.
Attorney questions if schools complied with Nativity ruling
An attorney who filed a lawsuit that led to a federal judge banning a northern Indiana school district from including a live Nativity scene in its annual Christmas show says he believes the district's use of mannequins instead of student actors had many of the same constitutional flaws.
Ex-Subway pitchman Jared Fogle appealing child porn sentence
Former Subway pitchman Jared Fogle is appealing the more than 15-year prison sentence he received for possessing child pornography and having sex with underage prostitutes, which was longer than the maximum term prosecutors agreed to pursue as part of his plea deal.
Fraud claims against insurers wrongly dismissed
Plaintiffs who purchased cash-value life insurance policies for their employees and deducted those contributions on income taxes that were later disallowed were wrongly denied their day in court against the insurers.
‘Inference of discriminatory motive’ in striking juror not reversible error
The Indiana Court of Appeals noted one of a prosecutor’s reasons for striking a prospective juror in a criminal case “raises an inference of discriminatory motive,” but this was insufficient to reverse a man’s felony resisting law enforcement conviction.
2 recent cases in federal court showcase trademark treachery
A steel giant’s trade name was used to misrepresent business deals with the intent to procure millions of dollars worth of machinery and financing, and an Amish-country spice maker alleges a local rival is ripping off its registered trademark. These two recent cases in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana illustrate the difficulties in policing registered marks on intellectual property, but the cases also show the means of recovery at rights holders’ disposal when their IP marks are violated.
Patent reform law withstanding challenges
A battle between two tech companies put a key provision of the recent patent reform law on the firing line. But intellectual property attorneys were not surprised the patent holder attempted to knock out the administrative review process or that the attempt failed.
Beer distributor foams at Indiana’s alcohol law
Monarch Beverage launches another effort to upend limits on liquor wholesalers.
Law office whistleblower key in disbarment
The former office manager who blew the whistle on an Indianapolis lawyer disbarred recently by the Indiana Supreme Court said he paid a personal and professional price and endured threats from his ex-boss after reporting his egregiously unethical conduct.
7th Circuit upholds Indiana’s cold beer law
Cold beer will continue to be sold only by licensed liquor stores in Indiana. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld state law that prohibits convenience stores, gas stations and other retailers from selling beer cold.
Reversal: Host owed duty to guest who died after drinking, fight
The host of a birthday party for her live-in boyfriend had a duty to render aid to a guest she saw unconscious after he’d been drinking and involved in a fight, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled. The man later died.
High court: DirectTV can cut off class-action lawsuit
The United States Supreme Court ruled Monday that satellite provider DirecTV can avoid a class-action lawsuit in California over early termination fees and force customers into private arbitration hearings instead.
Justices block Alabama court order in lesbian adoption case
The U.S. Supreme Court has sided with a lesbian mother who wants to see her adopted children, blocking an Alabama court's order that declared the adoption invalid.
Justices: Kentucky death sentence wrongly overturned
Justices ruled Monday that a federal appeals court was wrong to overturn Roger Wheeler’s sentence based on the exclusion of a juror who expressed reservations about the death penalty.
Banned live Nativity goes on with mannequins
School officials say a federal judge’s injunction only applied to a live scene and that they complied with the order.
More proceedings necessary in mortgage foreclosure action
Because there are genuine issues of material fact as to the fair market value of a property at the time of sale and the true amount of indebtedness on a promissory note, a trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor a bank on its foreclosure action, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
Majority: Sex offender registration not ex post facto law
The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld the requirement that man convicted of a sex crime in Washington must also register as a sex offender in Indiana, finding the requirement is not an ex post facto punishment under the Indiana Constitution. But one judge disagreed, and would reverse his registration requirement.
Speeding ticket tossed because of invalid Carmel ordinance
“Carmel’s wholesale adoption of chapters of Indiana Code resulted in its ordinance being nothing more than a ‘duplicate’ of already existing State law,” Court of Appeals Judge Melissa May wrote.
Daughter’s emancipation leads to reduction in child support
A trial court should have reduced a father’s child support obligation to his three children because his daughter’s emancipation constitutes a substantial and continuing change, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Friday. The trial court denied the father’s motion because the amount of child support offered differed by less than 20 percent of the amount dictated by the Indiana Child Support Guidelines.