Monroe County attorney sentenced for counterfeiting
Philip Chamberlain, a Clear Creek attorney accused of stealing from his clients, was sentenced to community service Tuesday by Monroe Circuit Judge Teresa Harper.
Courts
Articles
Environmental groups lob new suit at I-69 work
An Indiana environmental group once again is attempting to stop construction of the Interstate 69 extension between Evansville and Indianapolis by filing suit in federal court.
COA upholds award of attorney fees but orders damages amount reduced against construction company
A claimed scrivener’s error on the Secretary of State’s website should not be held against the couple filing the lawsuit against a company, the Indiana Court of Appeals held. The error involving an incorrect address on the website was made by an employee of the company being sued more than two years before the suit was filed.
Judges uphold man’s convictions for stealing from neighbor
Lamont Holloway argued that the state didn’t prove that he was the one who stole a television and gaming system from his neighbor, but the Indiana Court of Appeals held that the evidence supports his burglary and theft convictions.
Justices divided over vacating transfer in case seeking severance of offenses
Justice Robert Rucker wrote an 11-page dissent from his colleagues after three justices decided to vacate transfer to an appeal stemming from charges involving the alleged sexual assault of four victims.
Man’s attempts to establish paternity denied
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed denial of a mother’s two motions to dismiss her child’s father’s paternity actions instituted after her husband attempted to adopt the child.
Senate defeats DNA collection bill
Legislation that would require every person arrested after June 30 for certain crimes to submit a DNA sample failed to pass the Senate Tuesday.
Company loses inverse condemnation claim
The 17-month period beginning when a Terre Haute Board of Zoning Appeals ordered a company seeking a special exception to provide public water to surrounding homes and ending when that condition was overturned by a judge did not constitute inverse condemnation, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Wednesday.
COA instructs trial court to vacate 2 convictions of child molestation
The Indiana Court of Appeals threw out two charges and sent a case back to the trial court after the state admitted that it did not intend to charge the defendant with four separate acts of child molestation.
Town takes unusual step to gain control of utility
Mooresville’s bid to purchase water operations likely will be decided in court.
Trial court denied due process in revoking probation
A man whose probation was revoked without an evidentiary hearing after he walked away from an inpatient alcohol treatment program imposed by the court will receive a new hearing.
Consecutive sentences in drug buy case ruled inappropriate
A man sentenced to 40 years in prison after he sold crack cocaine to undercover agents in two separate controlled buys received an inappropriate punishment, the Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.
Felon’s convictions, multiple sentence enhancements affirmed
A sentence of 12 years with a year suspended was not inappropriate for a man who stole an idling car from a Lafayette convenience store and later resisted police, punched a police dog and threatened officers.
Trouble with the Curves: Ex-husband still owes for franchise’s default
A couple’s failure to inform a landlord of their divorce doesn’t excuse the ex-husband from a default judgment on rent payments for a health club that his former wife continued to run.
Giving felons a chance to wipe their records clean
The Indiana General Assembly moving forward with expungement bill.
Bankruptcy ruling locks out insiders
A recent bankruptcy appeal tossing an Indianapolis shopping center’s reorganization plan further establishes that the control of equity in Chapter 11 cases will be subject to competitive bidding and that insiders might be out of luck.
Lawyers worry about impact of court decision on premises liability
The fatal shooting of a guest in a Speedway motel by a former employee and the resulting civil litigation leaves the Indiana Supreme Court to decide whether arguments of common law or a 1980s statute governs the premises owner’s degree of liability. Trial and defense lawyers are paying keen attention.
Attorney: Marion County small claims ‘forum shopping’ problems persist
A Chicago attorney who has filed at least six federal class-action lawsuits alleging collections companies engaged in “forum shopping” in Marion County Small Claims Courts said the practice appears to be continuing despite township court reforms announced last year.
Will small claims court stay or will it go?
Marion County’s busiest docket is at the center of a judge-trustee tug-of-war over location.