Court rejects CenterPoint’s billing method for solar power
The Indiana appeals court has ruled in favor of consumer advocacy groups that challenged a change in the way a southwestern Indiana utility bills customers who have solar panels.
Indiana Court of Appeals
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Indiana Court Decisions — Jan. 13-26, 2022
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the most recent reporting period.
COA: Suit against stepmother’s estate wrongly dismissed
A lawsuit brought against the estate of a deceased woman by her stepchildren has be reinstated by the Court of Appeals of Indiana after it found the dismissal of their suit was wrongly evaluated under Trial Rule 12.
Justices order for resentencing of drunken driver
A Logansport man who was charged with drunken driving without a license with his three young grandchildren in his vehicle will be resentenced after the Indiana Supreme Court found “multiple irregularities” in his original sentencing.
COA reverses judgment for general contractor in dispute with loan broker
The Court of Appeals of Indiana has reversed for a general contractor after it found the Marion Superior Court erroneously awarded a mortgage servicer judgment in a breach-of-contract dispute.
COA affirms felony auto theft conviction, habitual offender finding
A Lawrence County man has failed in his bid to overturn his auto theft conviction and habitual offender status, despite his argument that the ruling produced an improper double enhancement.
COA partially reverses for defendant in fees and costs dispute
A Bloomfield woman has secured a partial reversal from the Court of Appeals of Indiana on the assessment of her fees and costs for her crime of failing to comply with compulsory school attendance law.
COA upholds denial of guardianship petition filed by child’s de facto guardians
The Court of Appeals of Indiana has affirmed the denial of a couple’s petition for guardianship of a child for whom they served as de facto custodians, finding that guardianship was not in the child’s best interests.
False-statement conviction vacated for double jeopardy after woman falsified form to recover grandfather’s handgun
A woman who provided false information on a document to recover a handgun she had pawned was wrongly convicted on double jeopardy grounds, according to the Court of Appeals of Indiana. However, one of the woman’s two felony convictions will not be vacated.
Defendant wins exclusion of breath-test results in traffic infraction case
A man who sought to suppress evidence of his alcohol concentration equivalent during prosecution for a traffic infraction has secured a reversal from the Court of Appeals of Indiana.
COA affirms expungement denial following remand from Supreme Court
The Court of Appeals of Indiana has affirmed the denial of a man’s expungement petition for a violent burglary he took part in two decades ago following a remand from the Indiana Supreme Court.
Split COA divided over ‘eligible defendant’ argument in belated sentencing appeal
A split appellate panel has affirmed the denial of a woman’s petition for permission to file a belated notice of appeal of her 30-year sentence, finding she was not an “eligible defendant” because she waived her right to appeal in a plea agreement. But a dissenting judge argued the opposite.
Appellate court dismisses Lake County, sheriff’s department from complaint filed by man who was tased
Plaintiffs who changed counsel and amended their complaint in their lawsuit against a Lake County sheriff’s deputy will not get to include new defendants because the Court of Appeals of Indiana found they failed to show that the omission of the Lake County Sheriff’s Department and Lake County in the original complaint was a mistake.
COA upholds disclosure of voting integrity docs, also orders secretary of state to pay appellate attorney fees
A nonprofit that secured judgment against the Indiana secretary of state after documents related to election security were withheld has also been awarded appellate attorney fees.
Criminal recklessness conviction tossed for double jeopardy after woman fires shots inside home
A woman who fired gunshots inside a residence while family members were inside will have one of her convictions of criminal recklessness thrown out after the Court of Appeals of Indiana partially reversed on double jeopardy grounds.
Indiana Court Decisions – Dec. 30, 2021-Jan. 12, 2022
Read Indiana appellate court decisions from the latest reporting period.
COA reverses disqualification of Fishers attorney representing ex-wife in child support matter
An Indiana attorney who was disqualified from representing his ex-wife in her post-dissolution matter from a previous marriage was not prevented from doing so a second time because the basis for his first disqualification no longer existed, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has ruled.
Justices deny transfer to child custody case, but David dissents based on decisions that ‘circumvent’ appellate rule
The Indiana Supreme Court has denied transfer to a child custody case reversed by the Court of Appeals of Indiana, but one justice dissented with multiple concerns, including the “increasing number of appellate opinions that explicitly circumvent Appellate Rule 65(E).”
Justices dismiss as moot juvenile’s interlocutory appeal challenging placement order
The Indiana Supreme Court has dismissed as moot a juvenile’s appeal challenging her placement at a residential treatment facility, doing away with an appellate decision it says may not correctly advise courts regarding competency-related treatment.
School district, TV station take home partial wins in public records dispute over football coach’s suspension
A central Indiana school district that placed a football coach on unpaid leave failed to provide a local TV station with a sufficient factual basis for that discipline, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a partial reversal. However, the high court upheld the ruling that the school district does not have to provide the TV station with the coach’s underlying personnel files.