Articles

Help renewed for Hoosiers facing loss of their home

The Indiana Supreme Court is working to help troubled homebuyers, and possibly prevent another flood of empty houses, by relaunching the Mortgage Foreclosure Trial Court Assistance Project. A $115,000 grant from the Indiana Bar Foundation will provide funding to pay for facilitators to work with borrowers and lenders to try to get them to reach an agreement that will avert a foreclosure.

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Prosecutors: Divorcing Greenwood couple left dog to starve

Prosecutors say a suburban Indianapolis couple who vacated their home during divorce proceedings left their dog behind to starve to death. Michael S. Setser of Greenwood faces a misdemeanor charge of abandonment or neglect of a vertebrate animal, and Amanda Setser of Franklin faces a misdemeanor animal cruelty charge.

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Local lender files $20M lawsuit against fast-food franchisee

An Indianapolis-based company that specializes in lending money to restaurant franchisees has filed a $20 million lawsuit against the operator of 70 fast-food restaurants in Indiana and three other states, claiming it breached its loan agreements by defaulting on payments and failing to properly run its franchises.

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Suspended special needs trust lawyer faces more theft accusations

A suspended Greenwood lawyer criminally charged with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from his former special needs trust clients around Indiana has been accused in new civil lawsuits of draining another $108,600 from several more trust funds. The additional alleged misappropriations by Kenneth Shane Service drive the alleged missing funds to more than $318,600.

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Lawyer accused of theft from disabled held without bond amid new charges

A suspended Indiana lawyer accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from disabled and special needs clients was held without bond Tuesday in the Johnson County Jail after authorities in at least two counties had issued warrants for his arrest. Kenneth Shane Service was arrested Monday and is likely to remain behind bars until he’s transported to await court dates in three Indiana counties where he currently faces felony theft charges.

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Builder, trade groups sue Greenwood over new design standards

An Indianapolis-based home builder and two trade associations have filed a lawsuit against Greenwood, claiming the city has adopted architectural standards on new houses that will drive up prices so significantly that the costs would preclude home ownership for thousands of residents.

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Police Merit Commission may discipline former assistant chief

A former assistant police chief of the City of Greenwood who was demoted to lieutenant may be disciplined by the city’s Police Merit Commission, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday. The officer argued that based on ordinances and codes, only the mayor could discipline police chiefs or assistant chiefs.

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Justice-turned-mediator: ADR does work

When he was on the bench, former Indiana Supreme Court Justice Ted Boehm read a lot about alternative dispute resolution, and now that he’s off the bench, he can see firsthand that it truly does work.

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Justices’ split reinstates COA annexation ruling

A split decision by the Indiana Supreme Court on an annexation battle between Greenwood and Bargersville means a lower appellate panel’s decision is reinstated and the city takes a win in the 29-month legal battle that has statewide implications.

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Lawyer practiced realty, construction law

The Indiana legal community has lost a former prosecutor and private attorney who, during his five decades of practice, established himself as a state and national expert in realty and construction law.

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Justices hear 3 cases, including robo-calls appeal

The Indiana Supreme Court heard three arguments this morning, including one case that it had granted emergency transfer to regarding whether the state should be constitutionally allowed to restrict robo-calls to residents.

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Greenwood attorney Joe Van Valer dies

The Indiana legal community has lost a former prosecutor and private attorney who, during his five decades of practice, established himself as a state and national expert in realty and development law.

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