Appeals panel upholds South Bend murder conviction
A man convicted of murdering the person he believed was responsible for killing his sister failed to convince a panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals that his conviction was in any way flawed.
Indiana Court of Appeals
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Reversal: Ministry’s re-entry program excepted from landlord-tenant statutes
A South Bend ministry that provides transitional housing and job training for people re-entering society after incarceration won an appeal against a man who was awarded damages after claiming he was wrongly barred from the property and forced to come up with money to stay at a hotel.
Reversal: Driver at fault in wreck liable for repaired truck’s diminished value
A woman whose vehicle rear-ended a pickup truck in a Bloomington wreck is liable for the truck’s diminished value after it was repaired, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday in a reversal.
COA rejects separation-of-powers argument in probation revocation appeal
A man contesting the revocation of his probation did not convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that an Indiana statute violates the separation-of-powers provisions of the Indiana Constitution. The appellate court instead found, based on its own precedent, that the statute is not unconstitutional.
Reversal: Burglary conspiracy expungement petition wrongly dismissed
A man’s petition for expungement of his criminal record for his involvement as a lookout during a residential burglary almost 20 years ago has been reinstated after the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that a southeast Indiana trial court erred in dismissing it.
Warehouse owner wins cost of removing property in appeal after lease default
The owner of a Westfield warehouse is entitled to recover the costs of removing abandoned property in addition to unpaid rent after a tenant defaulted on lease payments, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday in a partial reversal. The cost of removal is twice the unpaid rent, according to the ruling.
Edinburgh antique store can stay put as COA dismisses realty fight
The Indiana Court of Appeals has vacated an order requiring an Edinburgh antique store to leave its place of business, finding an agreement between the store and the real estate’s owner was a land sale contract and not a lease subject to an eviction proceeding.
Expungement wait-time case set for Thursday oral arguments
The Indiana Supreme Court will hear oral argument this week in a criminal expungement case that has previously divided the Indiana Court of Appeals about when the trigger date for five-year expungement waiting periods should begin.
Appellate judges rule for hospital in medical malpractice case
A man who filed a medical malpractice claim against a doctor and hospital following his surgery for a herniated disc could not convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that he should be permitted to amend his complaint and add a federal claim.
Property owned by husband’s parents are not marital assets, COA affirms
The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed the exclusion of real estate and an internet service provider company from the marital assets of a couple in their divorce proceedings, agreeing with a trial court that the challenged assets were actually the property of the husband’s parents.
COA reverses for state against ex-Crawford County payroll clerk
A panel of appellate judges has reversed and remanded the grant of a former Crawford County employee’s untimely motion for extension in a lawsuit alleging that she failed to withhold employee insurance contributions from her own paycheck.
Divided COA reinstates complaint against IMPD employee
A divided Indiana Court of Appeals has permitted a man to prosecute his complaint against an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department employee who crashed into his vehicle. The appellate majority concluded the extreme remedy of dismissal for failure to prosecute was not warranted in the case.
Fort Wayne gets future fire tax revenues for annexed area, divided COA rules
The city of Fort Wayne is entitled to tax revenues for providing fire protection services to annexed land in Allen County, but past revenues will stay with the original fire protection district that served the area before the annexation, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday. A dissenting judge, however, questioned whether the case should have proceeded in the Indiana Tax Court instead.
Appeals court upholds molester’s conviction, sentence
A child molester obtained no relief Friday in his appeal that challenged everything from the seating of jurors to the nine-year executed sentence imposed on him after he was convicted of sex crimes against an 8-year-old girl.
Split COA: Drug evidence from traffic stop wrongly admitted
The majority of a divided Indiana Court of Appeals panel has reversed the admission of drug evidence obtained from a pat-down search after a traffic stop, finding officers lacked a reasonable belief that the driver was armed and dangerous.
Reversal: COA reinstates woman’s bad-faith suit against Allstate
A woman’s bad-faith claim against her friend’s insurance company has been reinstated by the Indiana Court of Appeals, which determined that the trial court erred in concluding that an insurer does not owe a duty of good faith and fair dealing to an insured who is not the policyholder.
Robber’s ban from Marion County Family Dollar stores upheld
A man ordered to stay away from all Family Dollar stores in Marion County after his robbery conviction could not convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that his probation order was overly broad.
Applications open to replace Baker on Court of Appeals
Southern Indiana judges and attorneys may now apply to fill an upcoming vacancy on the Indiana Court of Appeals that will be left by the state’s longest-serving Judge, John G. Baker, the Indiana Supreme Court announced Tuesday.
Reversal: Relief granted for ineffective assistance of counsel in rape case
A man sentenced to 145 years after he was convicted of sexually assaulting his fiancé has been granted post-conviction relief on appeal. The Indiana Court of Appeals concluded the man was entitled to relief based on his appellate counsel’s ineffectiveness.
COA reinstates case seeking child support from non-biological father
The Indiana Court of Appeals has reinstated a petition to establish child support from a man who is not the biological father of the child. The panel concluded that time had run out for the man, who signed a paternity affidavit without reading it and waited years before taking judicial action.