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.
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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A man whose probation was revoked without an evidentiary hearing after he walked away from an inpatient alcohol treatment program imposed by the court will receive a new hearing.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.
Former senior judge faces disciplinary proceedings
A former senior judge in northern Indiana faces disciplinary action for charges that she had a sexual relationship with a client to whom she was appointed as a public defender.
Transferred intent instruction not error in domestic violence trial
An Elkhart County man’s conviction for domestic battery stands after the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Monday that a jury instruction on the doctrine of transferred intent was not an abuse of discretion.
‘Sovereign citizen’ gets 40-year sentence
A self-identified sovereign citizen was sentenced last week to 40 years in prison for felony convictions of kidnapping and intimidation of a witness.
After children are grown, custodial parent still a victim of nonsupport
The Indiana Supreme Court ruled that a mother was a victim of a father who failed to pay support for his three children even years after the kids were grown.
Former Lake County clerk Philpot sentenced
A former Lake County clerk convicted of felony theft and mail fraud in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana will serve an 18-month sentence and pay a fine of $10,000.