Special conditions imposed on convicted fraudster and former attorney William Conour after he serves a 10-year federal sentence should be modified, but the conditions largely should stay in place, according to the government’s brief in his appeal.
A man who claimed State Farm Insurance Co. owed him a higher rate of interest and attorney fees had his case dismissed because the controversy did not exist when the lawsuit began.
The Indiana Department of Revenue improperly denied a refund of the value of 240 dogs seized by the state from an alleged Harrison County puppy mill, the Indiana Tax Court ruled Dec. 31.
Indiana Court Appeals
Marlan Long v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A02-1403-CR-200
Criminal. Affirms conviction and sentence for Class A felony conspiracy to deal cocaine.
Bryan P. Meek v. State of Indiana (NFP)
40A01-1405-CR-213
Criminal. Affirms order revoking probation for failure to pay child support according to the terms of Meek’s probation.
Alexander Adrian Rankin v. State of Indiana (NFP)
54A01-1406-CR-267
Criminal. Affirms order Rankin serve a suspended sentence for a probation violation after committing Class B felony burglary and the imposition of a 14-year sentence for that conviction.
In the Matter of the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of: P.L. and D.L. (Minor Children) and C.L. (Mother) and H.L. (Father) v. Indiana Department of Child Services (NFP)
32A05-1405-JT-213
Juvenile. Affirms involuntary termination of parental rights.
Dolen Glenn v. Dick Brown and Indiana Department of Correction (NFP)
77A04-1404-CC-194
Civil collections. Reverses denial of Glenn’s motion to correct error, which challenged the dismissal of his complaint against the Indiana Department of Correction. Remands for further proceedings.
Michael Whicker v. State of Indiana (NFP)
32A01-1409-CR-400
Criminal. Affirms denial of Whicker’s petition to reduce his Class D felony conviction to a Class A misdemeanor.
Willie Harrison v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A02-1406-CR-401
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class B felony aggravated battery.
Lawrence Kelshaw v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A02-1406-CR-387
Criminal. Affirms conviction of Class B felony burglary. http://media.ibj.com/Lawyer/websites/opinions/index.php?pdf=2014/december/12311402tac.pdf
In observance of New Year's Day, IL Daily will not publish on Jan. 1 & 2. The staff of Indiana Lawyer wishes you a Happy New Year!
Indiana Court Appeals
Alfredo D. Rodriguez, as Permanent Guardian of the Person and Estate of Miriam Rodriguez, and Alfredo D. Rodriguez, Individually v. United States Steel Corporation
45A04-1407-CT-350
Civil tort. Affirms summary judgment in favor of U.S. Steel on Alfredo Rodriguez’s negligence claim. Miriam Rodriguez was injured in an auto accident caused by an employee of U.S. Steel as he drove home from work. U.S. Steel did not owe Miriam Rodriguez a duty of reasonable care.
The Indiana Court of Appeals rejected a man’s challenge to the denial of his motion to correct error regarding the introduction of a survey reflecting a property line by his neighbor. The case was the result of a boundary dispute.
Jon Laramore, partner at Faegre Baker Daniels and immediate past president of the Indiana State Board of Law Examiners, has been named the executive director of Indiana Legal Services.
A northern Indiana Roman Catholic diocese wants to reduce a jury's nearly $2 million award to a former teacher fired by church officials for trying to get pregnant through in vitro fertilization.
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed Wednesday that a northwest Indiana steel producer did not owe a duty to a woman injured in a car accident caused by an employee as he drove home from his shift.
There were 1,152,052 new cases filed in state courts in 2013, a decrease of 7.3 percent over the previous year, according to data released Tuesday by the Indiana Supreme Court and the Division of State Court Administration. The data continues to show the trend of a drop in filings over recent years.
A 150-year-old bell that survived a fire that heavily damaged a historic southern Indiana courthouse has a new home on the courthouse's lawn.
A Georgia woman injured when a double-decker bus crashed in southern Indiana is suing Megabus over medical bills and lost wages stemming from her injuries.
A motorist who won a trial court judgment vacating the suspension of his driver’s license didn’t file a brief when the Bureau of Motor Vehicles appealed the decision and, therefore, lost his challenge of the BMV action.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Timothy Johnson v. State of Indiana (NFP)
33A01-1406-CR-251
Criminal. Reverses and remands to trial court to amend sentencing order. Rules that classifying Johnson as a credit-restricted felon violates constitutional prohibitions against ex post facto laws.
Sonia Long, et al. v. Heartland Residential Services, Inc., et al. (NFP)
09A05-1308-CT-434
Civil tort. Affirms dismissal of Long’s complaint with prejudice under Indiana Trial Rule 41(A)(2).
Kevin D. Morris v. State of Indiana (NFP)
02A03-1406-CR-216
Criminal. Affirms Morris’ 20-year aggregate sentence for Class C felony battery and Class D felony criminal recklessness and for being a habitual offender.
William E. Bowen v. State of Indiana (NFP)
02A05-1405-CR-246
Criminal. Affirms convictions for sexual misconduct with a minor as a Class B felony and sexual misconduct with a minor as a Class C felony.
Darren Rayford v. State of Indiana (NFP)
03A01-1405-CR-190
Criminal. Affirms denial of Rayford’s motion to correct error that challenged the revocation of his work release placement.
William Lee, Sr. v. Anonymous Psychologist I (NFP)
71A03-1404-CT-109
Civil tort. Affirms order granting the motion for summary judgment in favor of Anonymous Psychologist I.
Adolph L. Buckner v. HSBC Mortgage Services, Inc., and LSF8 Master Participation Trust (NFP)
29A04-1404-MF-182
Mortgage foreclosure. Affirms denial of Buckner’s motion to correct errors and motion to vacate summary judgment.
Justin Knight v. State of Indiana (NFP)
82A05-1406-CR-286
Criminal. Affirms conviction for battery, a Class A misdemeanor.
Demerius Shaw v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A02-1403-CR-207
Criminal. Affirms conviction for murder. Also affirms 60-year sentence and order that it be served consecutively with a 50-year sentence ordered by a federal court for unrelated crimes.
Ryan Allen Klug v. State of Indiana (NFP)
03A01-1406-CR-253
Criminal. Affirms 60-year sentence for pleading guilty but mentally ill to murder, a felony.
Armana Cottrell v. State of Indiana (NFP)
82A04-1402-CR-74
Criminal. Affirms convictions for attempted battery by means of a deadly weapon, a Class C felony, and two court of intimidation, as Class C felonies.
Michelle Barnes and Raymond Surzycki v. Prairie Horse Farms, LLC (NFP)
53A01-1404-PL-178
Civil plenary. Affirms order granting a permanent injunction in favor of Prairie Horse Farms with regard to an easement on land owned by Barnes and Surzycki in favor of land owned by Prairie Horse Farms.
Timothy S. Enders v. Estate of Randall Enders (NFP)
71A04-1407-PL-332
Civil plenary. Affirms order providing that Timothy Enders and the estate of his deceased brother, Randall, are each entitled to 50 percent of the net proceeds of the liquidation of their family business.
Wiley Parsons v. State of Indiana (NFP)
49A05-1401-CR-33
Criminal. Affirms conviction for promoting prostitution, a Class C felony. Finds the trial court did not abuse its discretion in limiting Parsons’ cross-examination and that Parsons’ statements, through the detective’s recollection, were competent, admissible evidence.
Indiana Court of Appeals
Jeffrey Hewitt v. Westfield Washington School Corp; Board of School Trusties of Westfield Washington School Corp. et al.
29A04-1403-PL-130
Civil plenary. Reverses grant of summary judgment in favor of Westfield Washington School Corp. and related defendants, holding they had not met the onerous burden of showing there are no issues of material fact entitling them to judgment as a matter of law. Hewitt, a former school principal, was fired for a sexual relationship with a teacher he supervised. He then sued the school system for breach of contract and denial of due process. His suit is remanded for further proceedings.
Sellers of property that had been designated as the second phase of a Gatorade distribution facility in Hendricks County were properly awarded specific performance of a contract to sell the land after the buyer backed out, the Court of Appeals held.
A man who switched seats to help a friend failed to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that he unknowingly put himself in the hot seat.
A dispute between a brother and sister as their law firm partnership was dissolving was an employment-related matter covered by an insurer’s exclusionary clause, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Tuesday, reversing a trial court order.
A Westfield elementary school principal fired in 2011 for a consensual sexual relationship with a teacher he supervised won an appeal of his lawsuit against the school corporation, which had been granted summary judgment by the trial court.
After serving as the Clark County prosecutor for 25 years — the longest term of a prosecutor in the county's history — Steve Stewart is moving on to new challenges.