Supreme Court deciding commercial courts’ fate
After a nearly 3-year pilot project, the specialized dockets in six Indiana counties are getting positive feedback from litigants in business disputes.
Marion County
Articles
House approves bill to lift light-rail ban in central Indiana
A bill that would end the prohibition on light-rail construction in Marion and six other central Indiana counties passed the Indiana House on Tuesday.
Taco food truck explosion not foreseeable, divided COA says
A man injured while waiting for his taco lunch lost his appeal that he was owed a duty of care from a salvage yard, with a majority of an Indiana Court of Appeals panel finding a food truck explosion at the salvage yard was not reasonably foreseeable.
COA: Juror with family drunk driving history not biased in OWI case
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a woman’s drunken driving conviction after finding that she failed to provide sufficient evidence that one of the jurors hearing her case withheld potentially prejudicial information.
Marion County courts closed Wednesday due to cold
Marion Superior courts will be closed Wednesday due to predicted dangerously cold arctic conditions, the courts announced Tuesday. The closure was made official by order of Marion Circuit Judge Sheryl Lynch.
Split justices uphold ruling for insurer in truck crash that killed 3
Justices of the Indiana Supreme Court decided in a 3-2 vote last week to let stand a ruling that an insurance company owes no duty to victims of a truck crash in which the driver knowingly operated the vehicle with faulty brakes.
Tax Court: JW Marriott’s appeal in 8-year-old assessment case premature
The owner of the downtown Indianapolis JW Marriott Hotel prematurely appealed its 2010 real property assessment with the Indiana Tax Court because a lower reviewing authority had not yet been given its full statutory time to review the matter, the Indiana Tax Court ruled Friday.
Women judges make history in Marion Superior Court
For the first time, four women judges have been elected to serve on the executive committee of the Marion Superior Court. The committee is responsible for operation and conduct of the Indianapolis courts and serves as the policymaking body for them.
Tax Court : Assessor’s petition not untimely, non-compliant
The Indiana Tax Court has denied an Indianapolis business and arts center’s motion to dismiss an assessor’s appeal, finding the assessor’s summons was not untimely or non-compliant.
Indy attorney who told court ‘someone is going to die’ suspended
An Indianapolis attorney charged with intimidation against a Marion County court and other offenses has been suspended from the practice of law after the Indiana Supreme Court granted a petition for his emergency suspension.
No malicious intent found in prosecution of debt suit
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for a heavy equipment company when it found there was no malicious prosecution of an Indiana quarry and its owner over a debt.
Landlord, not tenant, responsible for insuring building in fire, COA says
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed the denial of a tenant’s motion for judgment against a landlord’s insurer after finding that the parties’ commercial leasing agreement unambiguously provided that the landlord would insure a building damaged in a fire.
COA reverses one of multiple firearm convictions on double jeopardy grounds
An Indianapolis man who was found guilty of multiple crimes following a single traffic stop has gotten some relief after the Indiana Court of Appeals tossed one of the convictions because it violated double jeopardy principles.
COA again addresses summarily approved commitment orders, finds timeliness waiver
The Indiana Court of Appeals has once again weighed in on the issue of whether commitment orders approved only summarily by a trial court judge are valid, finding Thursday that a civil commitment litigant waived her challenge of the allegedly defective order by not raising the issue in trial court. The appellate panel also found sufficient evidence to support a finding that the litigant was gravely disabled.
COA upholds marijuana, handgun convictions but remands for indigency hearing
The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed a man’s marijuana and handgun convictions based on sufficient and admissible evidence, but remanded the case for the trial court to hold an indigency hearing on imposed probation fees.
Multiple Indiana voting laws on trial in federal court
Indiana, like many states, has been amending and enacting new voting laws in the name of stamping out voter fraud. Lawyers and civic organizations are challenging laws and regulations that they believe are restricting the right to vote.
Abusive boyfriend’s criminal confinement conviction affirmed
The Indiana Court of Appeals found there was sufficient evidence to support a man’s criminal confinement conviction after he beat up his girlfriend, dragged her by the hair and stomped on her already broken leg. The appellate panel found he substantially interfered with her liberty without her consent.
Divided justices uphold guilty but mentally ill verdict in Southport pastor’s murder
A bench verdict of guilty but mentally ill against a woman twice convicted — and twice cleared by reason of insanity – in the 2012 shooting of a Southport pastor will stand after a majority of the Indiana Supreme Court found sufficient demeanor evidence to reject the woman’s insanity defense. But the two-justice dissent pointed to testimony from three experts to support their opinion that Lori Barcroft was unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of her conduct at the time of Jaman Iseminger’s murder.
Man convicted in 2017 Indianapolis crash that killed 2
A man has been convicted of criminal recklessness and other charges in a 2017 highway rollover crash that killed two Indianapolis teenagers.
COA affirms possession of tossed firearm by felon
A man convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon after he allegedly tossed a pistol from his car during a police stop failed to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that the evidence against him was insufficient.