Supreme Court amends appellate, administrative, Tax Court rules
Amendments handed down Thursday make a variety of changes to Indiana’s appellate, administrative and Tax Court rules, including amendments related to use of technology in the courts.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Articles
Divided COA upholds multiple ‘serious violent felon’ firearm convictions
An Indiana trial court did not err in convicting a man on multiple counts of being a serious violent felon in possession of a firearm because existing Indiana case law allows multiple SVF convictions for each firearm that is possessed, a divided Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
Industrial crane, saw not subject to mortgage liens, COA affirms
An industrial crane and saw used to cut limestone are the personal property of a sawing company and can’t be claimed by a lender to satisfy liens on a foreclosed property owned by one of the owners of the sawing company, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.
Appellate court allows RV owners’ contracts case to continue
Although a couple alleging they were third-party beneficiaries to two contracts did not plead the existence of written contracts, the allegations were based on an oral contract and were sufficient to carry their case, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.
COA: Dissolution court retained jurisdiction even after ex-husband’s death
A dissolution court retained jurisdiction over a case after one of the parties died because there were still outstanding issues within the dissolution decree that needed to be resolved, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.
COA orders new trial after court denied right to closing arguments
A Cass County woman convicted of battery in front of her young daughter will get a new trial after the Indiana Court of Appeals determined the trial court committed reversible error by denying the woman the right to present closing arguments.
Appellate court denies rehearing, remands easement question to trial court
The Indiana Court of Appeals has denied a Washington County man’s petition for rehearing and instead remanded the case for the trial court to address the issue of whether an easement of necessity over the man’s property still exists now that he has new neighbors.
Court ordered to make required findings before modifying protective order
An Indianapolis man violated the terms of a protective order when he harassed his ex-wife at church, but the trial court erred in modifying the order without making required findings, Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.
Man’s drug convictions affirmed despite evidence admission error
Though the Grant Circuit Court erred in admitting certain statements as evidence during a man’s drug trial, such error was harmless, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday in affirming his drug convictions.
COA affirms denial of credit for time spent at halfway house
The Grant Superior Court did not err when it denied a man’s request for credit for time spent in a halfway house, as his placement at the house was not considered confinement or imprisonment, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled.
Divided court reverses drug convictions for lack of probable cause
Despite a search pursuant to warrants that led to the discovery of more than 60 pounds of marijuana in a man’s Indianapolis home, the man’s drug convictions will be overturned after a divided panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals determined there was a lack of probable cause to support the issuance of the warrants.
Opinions July 31, 2017
Indiana Tax Court
William R. Larsen v. Indiana Department of State Revenue
49T10-1503-TA-8
Tax. Denies the Indiana Department of State Revenue’s motion for summary judgment in William R. Larsen’s challenge to its assessment of adjusted gross income tax for the 2013 tax year. Grants summary judgment in favor of Larsen. Finds Larsen has provided documentation that verifies the eligibility for his children for the federal dependency exemptions and shows those exemptions were allowed, so he was entitled to the Indiana dependency deductions in 2013.
Appellate court rules in favor of man’s estate on uninsured motorist claim
The Elkhart Superior Court properly found a Goshen man’s estate was entitled to recover under the uninsured motorist policy held by his employer, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Monday. The court interpreted the ambiguous language of the policy in favor of the estate.
Justices let stand $500k default judgment against Menards
A default judgment awarding a plaintiff $500,000 in damages in a personal injury suit against a Gary Menards store will stand after a divided Indiana Supreme Court declined to hear the home-improvement chain’s appeal.
COA reverses delinquent adjudication based on warrantless search
A teenager who was adjudicated as a juvenile delinquent after an officer conducted a warrantless search and found him in possession of a handgun and drug paraphernalia will have his adjudication reversed after the Indiana Court of Appeals determined the officer did not have reasonable suspicion to conduct the search without a warrant.
COA: Continued placement with foster parents not in children’s best interests
Three Miami County children will not be returned to their previous foster parents after the Indiana Court of Appeals found Friday the trial court correctly determined the foster mother had become obsessed with the notion that the children were molested, making continued placement with her not in the children’s best interests.
Ex-farm employee’s agricultural work precludes workers’ comp benefits
A former employee of an Indiana farm was not entitled to workers’ compensation benefits after an on-the-job injury because the “whole character” of his work was agricultural in nature, thus exempting him under the Worker’s Compensation Act, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Thursday.
Appellate court affirms ruling for landowner denied easement use
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a ruling Thursday in favor of a Steuben County landowner who claimed he was wrongly denied access and use of a recorded easement.
COA to determine jurisdiction of fire departments’ annexation, taxation dispute
The jurisdictional fate of an annexation and taxation dispute involving the Allen County auditor and two Fort Wayne-area fire departments now rests with the Indiana Court of Appeals, which must decide whether the facts of the dispute lend the case to review by the trial court or Tax Court.
COA rules against mother who used religious exemption to not vaccinate child
An Indiana trial court abused its discretion in denying a father’s petitions to modify custody of his child and to hold the child’s mother in contempt of a paternity decree, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled, finding the mother intentionally circumvented the terms of the decree that required her to vaccinate their child once the girl went to school.