Articles

Court orders portion of roof removed due to trespass

The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a jury verdict in a trespass and negligence lawsuit brought in a dispute over water draining from a housing development into neighboring property. In doing so, the judges ordered part of a roof to come down due to trespass.

Read More

COA rejects BMV’s request for relief from judgment

The state of Indiana did not establish prima facie error in the trial court’s denial of its motions for relief from judgment in two cases in which the lower court ordered the reinstatement of drivers’ licenses without proof of future financial responsibility, the Court of Appeals held Thursday.

Read More

COA: CDL holder cannot enter diversion program for alcohol offenses

A man who held a commercial driver’s license and pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor drunken-driving offenses cannot participate in a diversion program, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday. One judge on the panel had concerns that the law treats CDL holders and those without a CDL differently.

Read More

Doctors’ affidavits cannot defeat summary judgment

The affidavits submitted as evidence by the treating physicians being sued for medical malpractice were factually inadequate and did not raise a genuine issue of material fact regarding their care of the plaintiff, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Monday.

Read More

Appeals court reduces woman’s restitution order

The Indiana Court of Appeals reduced a woman’s restitution owed to her ex-employer for money she stole over the course of a three-year period. The judges found no connection between additional missing funds and the defendant.

Read More

COA dismisses credit card debt appeal

The Indiana Court of Appeals dismissed a woman’s appeal of a default judgment entered against her regarding credit card debt because she did not file an Ind. Trial Rule 60(B) motion for relief.

Read More

COA: Survivor benefit plan is a marital asset

Ruling on an issue barely touched upon in a previous decision, the Indiana Court of Appeals determined that a survivor benefit plan of a military pension should have been included in the marital pot when calculating asset distribution in a divorce.

Read More

COA agrees man’s Ohio convictions don’t support SVF charges

Because the elements of the Ohio residential burglary statute used as the basis to charge a defendant as a serious violent felon in Indiana are not substantially similar to the Indiana statute, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of the defendant’s SVF charges.

Read More

Rental car insurance policy excludes UIM coverage

The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the denial of an insurance company’s motion for summary judgment in a lawsuit brought by a customer injured in a car accident who had purchased optional supplemental liability protection when renting a car. The trial court incorrectly denied the company’s motion for summary judgment on the premise it did not provide uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage to the customer.

Read More

Judge wants state to discard ‘archaic’ coverture fraction

The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld the division of a husband’s pension through the use of the coverture fraction, but one judge questioned why Indiana continues to use the doctrine which has its origin in an “outdated and misogynist view” of the rights and roles of men and women.

Read More

Court affirms in part lien priority ruling

A trial court correctly concluded that a living trust, which held a purchase-money mortgage over a property in question, had first priority in enforcing a lien against the property, the Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.

Read More

Judges split over reversal of drug conviction after inventory search

Each member of a panel on the Indiana Court of Appeals authored an opinion regarding a man's marijuana conviction stemming from the discovery of the drug during an inventory search after he was arrested for allegedly driving on a suspended license. Two of the three judges voted to reverse his felony conviction.

Read More

COA: Causation questions remain in med-mal suit

A woman initially treated for an aggressive form of cancer, only to later discover she was suffering from a far-less serious form of the disease, can proceed with her lawsuit against a doctor she alleges was negligent in catching her cancer early.

Read More