Searches without suspicion are not unconstitutional, COA affirms
A one-month-old decision by the Indiana Supreme Court upended a probationer’s argument that the search of his nightstand was unconstitutional.
Indiana Court of Appeals
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Tardy defendant gets a do-over from the COA
A homeowner who arrived at the courthouse nine minutes after a judgment was entered against him will still get to have his day in court.
COA finds lease payments are part of Trust
Siblings trading motions over their deceased father’s estate got multiple denials from the trial court.
COA: Declaratory judgment wrongly denied in malpractice case
A trial court wrongly denied a plaintiff’s motion for a declaratory judgment arising from an inability to select a panelist to review a malpractice dispute on behalf of a woman who died after a stroke.
Indiana law applies to truck fatality, COA rules
A family’s attempt to apply Illinois law in an Indiana traffic fatality failed to overcome state court precedent, which has established that laws of the state where an accident happened govern the conduct of the parties.
Lender in foreclosure gets tax refund, COA rules in reversal
A $307,193 property tax refund received by owners of industrial property in Marion County was wrongly awarded to borrowers who had defaulted on a mortgage on the property, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.
Adoption reversed: Putative father wrongly denied genetic testing
A child born to a married couple who placed the newborn for adoption may have had a different father, and a trial court erred in denying his requests for genetic testing that could have given him standing to contest the adoption, the Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.
GPS search after fatal crash unconstitutional, COA holds
The warrantless search of a driver’s global positioning system after a crash in which a passenger died was unconstitutional, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Tuesday.
COA affirms habitual offender enhancement
A habitual offender failed to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that an amended statute, which took effect July 1, 2014, should have been applied to enhance his dealing cocaine conviction.
Despite rebuke, Court of Appeals tosses default judgment
A defendant who consistently failed to appear for scheduled hearings in small claims court gained a reprieve, but with an admonishment, from the Indiana Court of Appeals.
Appeals court reverses denial of Fortville annexation
The town of Fortville’s effort to annex more than 600 acres was wrongly blocked by a trial court, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday, sending the matter back for further proceedings.
Divided justices deny State Fair stage collapse appeal
Victims who contested a settlement after the 2011 Indiana State Fair stage collapse failed to persuade a majority of Indiana Supreme Court justices to hear their appeal.
COA upholds attorney’s criminal trespass conviction
An attorney’s attempt to overturn his criminal trespass conviction by arguing the state statute is unconstitutional as applied to leased property was rejected by the Indiana Court of Appeals as failing to convince even a “person of ordinary intelligence."
Privilege defense splits Court of Appeals
A split Indiana Court of Appeals found the privilege granted to store owners and employees in making claims to police does have limits.
Homeowners meet criteria for adverse possession of disputed property
A church that challenged those who, it believed, trespassed failed to convince the Indiana Supreme Court that a disputed strip of land was actually part of its property.
Split COA panel affirms day care couple’s manslaughter convictions
A couple convicted of involuntary manslaughter after a child died in their home-based Fishers day care failed to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that they should get new trials.
Appeals panel affirms partial summary judgment in foreclosure suit
The Indiana Court Appeals affirmed partial summary judgment granted in a mortgage foreclosure suit, rebuffing a creditor’s interlocutory appeal seeking summary judgment to foreclose the mortgage.
Former JA chief loses defamation appeal against attorney
The former president and CEO of Junior Achievement of Indiana lost a defamation appeal against an Indianapolis attorney Tuesday. The Indiana Supreme Court ruled the complaint was time-barred.
Habitual offender changes not retroactive, COA holds
In affirming an Indianapolis man’s conviction of aggravated battery and a habitual offender adjudication, the Indiana Court of Appeals also held that revisions to the state’s habitual offender statute enacted a year ago are not retroactive.
‘Rushing’ door sufficient for burglary conviction
A man who rushed the door of an apartment where a co-conspirator had arranged a drug buy was rightly convicted of Class A felony burglary resulting in serious bodily injury, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Tuesday.