Insurance policy v. public policy
A starkly divided Indiana Court of Appeals opinion over whether insurance should be in play after a bicyclist was killed by an unauthorized motorist may be appealed to the Indiana Supreme Court.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Articles
Rogue nurse prompts call to revisit privacy rulings
Noting technology is advancing faster that privacy law, an Indiana Court of Appeals judge is urging the Indiana Supreme Court to revisit precedent regarding invasion of privacy claims.
Longest-serving COA judge dies Thursday
Patrick D. Sullivan, the longest-serving Indiana Court of Appeals judge in the court’s history, died Thursday after a brief illness, the court announced. He was 83.
Lawsuit continues on railroad crossing accident case
A woman involved in a fatal car versus train accident in Boone County will be allowed to go to trial on just one of her claims: whether the railroad company failed to provide an unobstructed view at the crossing because of lack of vegetation control.
Court ordered to reconsider expungement petition
An illegible handwritten note next to a docket entry in a 1976 conviction is not enough to support the trial court’s decision to deny a man’s expungement petition because he had not paid $37 in court costs. The Indiana Court of Appeals ordered the trial court to reconsider the man’s petition.
Sentence upheld, but restitution order needs a second look
The man ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution to his ex-wife following misdemeanor convictions of invasion of privacy and criminal mischief will get a new hearing on the matter after the Court of Appeals sent the case back to the trial court.
COA: Case belongs in Tax Court
A company owner seeking relief from a tax judgment should not have filed in county court, but with the Indiana Tax Court, the Court of Appeals concluded Wednesday. It ordered the case dismissed on jurisdictional grounds.
Absent agreement, man can’t be ordered to pay restitution if not convicted
A man who pleaded guilty to one count of theft for stealing grain, but admitted to stealing from the victim on other occasions, had his restitution amount reduced from nearly $150,000 to just around $28,000.
COA divided over denial of deposition request
The Indiana Court of Appeals was split in a decision Wednesday regarding whether a man on trial for a drug charge should have been allowed to depose two witnesses prior to trial. The judges didn’t agree as to which caselaw is controlling in the matter.
New prosecutor renders defendant’s request moot
A defendant’s request to disqualify the entire LaPorte County Prosecutor’s Office from his voluntary manslaughter case because several in the office viewed his conversation with his attorney recorded during a police interrogation is moot because there is a new prosecutor in office, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled.
Court: Man participated in meth manufacturing
A man’s conviction in Whitley County for dealing in methamphetamine by manufacturing was upheld by the Court of Appeals Wednesday. There is evidence that the man knowingly or intentionally aided an acquaintance in making methamphetamine in the home the defendant shared with his girlfriend.
COA splits over terminating parental rights to twins
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the decision to terminate the parental rights of a mother to her twin daughters based on insufficient evidence, although one judge believed the termination should have been upheld. The court unanimously affirmed the decision to end her parental rights to her son.
Court: Policy required notice to title insurance company
A Greensburg couple who received two legal notices that their home was going into a tax sale never notified their title insurance company about the issue, which doomed their lawsuit. The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld summary judgment in favor of the title insurer.
Post-judgment petitions for attorney fees permissible, COA rules
Even after a trial court has entered a judgment and the case is settled, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled parties can still make a new filing for attorney fees.
Judges split 3 ways on motorist’s ambiguous response to DUI test
An apparently intoxicated motorist’s ambiguous reply to an officer’s request to perform a chemical test has resulted in a new, strict standard affirmed by only one of three judges who heard the driver’s appeal.
Juror’s Facebook link to victim’s family no cause for rape mistrial
A trial court properly denied a convicted rapist’s bid for a mistrial because a juror failed to disclose she was a Facebook friend with a relative of the victim, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.
Father wrongly ordered to pay cost of private university
A trial court wrongly ordered a father to pay college costs for his daughter based on the cost of a private university, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.
Evidence of new crimes sufficient to revoke probation
A defendant’s admission that he was trespassing and a witness’s testimony that the defendant planned to steal tin from a Greene County resident’s property was sufficient to revoke the man’s probation, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.
COA affirms termination of parental rights
A mother and father of 8- and 9-year old children failed to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that their parental rights were improperly terminated.
Duke rate hike from Edwardsport plant remanded
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission must weigh for the third time rate increases for Duke Energy consumers connected to delays in opening the Edwardsport coal gasification plant in Knox County.