Indiana Court Decisions: June 2-15, 2022
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Articles
COA awards additional attorney fees to tenants who countersued landlord
House renters who argued their landlord who sued them should be held responsible for all attorney fees have secured a reversal from the Court of Appeals of Indiana and will walk away with nearly $4,000 more in fees.
COA reverses felony escape charge, finds woman didn’t have home detention order
A Clark County woman who let her ankle monitor die was wrongfully charged with Level 6 felony escape, as she never had a home detention order to begin with, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has concluded.
COA: GAL wrongly appointed in grandparent visitation dispute
A guardian ad litem should not have been appointed in a visitation dispute between a mother and her child’s grandfather after he was denied more than a year’s worth of visitations, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has ruled, remanding to determine if a modification of the parties’ agreement is in the child’s best interests.
Indiana Supreme Court relies on COA analysis in ruling for insurer in drunken driving case
Adopting the efficient and predominant cause analysis, the Indiana Supreme Court has found an insurance company did not have a duty to defend two Kokomo bars and their owner who are alleged to have continued serving alcohol to an inebriated patron who subsequently got into a drunken driving accident.
COA rules for DCS in negligence complaint after dad wasn’t notified of injury reports
An Indiana father who wasn’t notified that the Indiana Department of Child Services assessed allegations of abuse and neglect until two years after his twins were injured couldn’t convince the Court of Appeals of Indiana that the agency should be found negligent.
COA Judge Najam granted senior status ahead of retirement
The Court of Appeals of Indiana’s current longest-serving judge, who is set to retire this summer, won’t be off the bench completely, as he’s been granted senior judge status.
Man loses appeal of animal abuse convictions after hitting, shooting dog
The Court of Appeals of Indiana has upheld a man’s conviction for hitting and shooting his dog, finding the evidence did not support his claim that he was trying to put the animal down to protect his neighbors.
Convictions upheld for man in Allen Co. drug robbery gone wrong
A man involved in a robbery-turned-murder will keep his related convictions despite his arguments against a traffic stop and the jury instructions in his case, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has ruled.
Grandmother secures reversal in child custody case against father
A grandmother who says she helped “pick up the pieces” of her grandchild’s life after the minor was molested in her father’s home has secured a reversal from the Court of Appeals of Indiana in a custody battle.
COA: Evidence sufficient to sustain sexual battery conviction
A man who groped a woman in a dormitory restroom was unable to get his felony conviction overturned after the Court of Appeals of Indiana found the evidence was sufficient to show he physically restrained the woman while touching her without her consent.
RFRA defense fails to stop child abuse prosecution
A Lawrence County man tried to defend himself against child abuse charges by asserting his right to religious freedom, but the Court of Appeals of Indiana found the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act did not apply in his case because the prosecution demonstrated it had chosen the least restrictive means to advance the state’s compelling interest in protecting children.
Justices reinstate judgment for loan broker, reject ‘fraud’ finding
A loan brokerage company will be permitted to collect a roughly $3,000 consultant’s fee from a client that rejected its financing offer, the Indiana Supreme Court has ruled, overturning a lower court’s finding that the broker asked the client to commit fraud in order to obtain financing.
Justices remand appeal of moot commitment order, clarify precedent on public-interest exception in commitment cases
Despite her involuntary commitment order having long since expired, a woman will be permitted to challenge the order at the Court of Appeals of Indiana after the Indiana Supreme Court issued a decision clarifying its precedent on how appellate courts should review involuntary commitment cases that have become moot. A dissenting justice, however, repeated previous concerns about the majority’s approach to the public-interest mootness exception.
Enhanced consecutive sentences upheld in fentanyl overdose case
A man who sold fentanyl-laced heroin to his friend that resulted in the buyer overdosing will keep his enhanced consecutive sentences, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has concluded.
COA finds statute grants DNR immunity from claims over flooded fields
A family of farmers in Marshall County who claimed their fields flooded because of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources’ negligent operation of a nearby dam had their trial court victory washed away when the Court of Appeals of Indiana ruled that a state statute grants the agency immunity from negligence claims.
Supreme Court reverses course, denies transfer in dental dispute
The Indiana Supreme Court has decided not to assume jurisdiction and instead reinstated an opinion from the Court of Appeals of Indiana in a dispute between a dentist and her former employer.
COA affirms for mom in false reporting child abuse case brought against father, girlfriend
The Court of Appeals of Indiana has upheld a nearly $300,000 judgment in favor of a mother who sued her ex-husband and his new girlfriend for making a false claim of child abuse against her.
COA finds unavailability of ‘essential witnesses’ key to delay in CHINS case
The Court of Appeals of Indiana has found a juvenile court that reset four times a factfinding hearing for a CHINS petition and, consequently, exceeded the 120-day statutory deadline did not abuse its discretion because the Indiana Department of Child Services needed extra time to procure the testimony of two physicians.
COA affirms judgment for roofing company against subcontractor, reverses to determine accurate prejudgment interest
The Court of Appeals of Indiana has affirmed summary judgment, damages and attorney fees for a roofing company after its relationship with a subcontractor turned sour. However, the court reversed to determine the appropriate award of prejudgment interest.