Reversal: COA reinstates negligence action against school district
The Indiana Court of Appeals has reinstated a man’s negligence claim against a school corporation after one of its school buses collided with the man’s vehicle, leaving him injured.
Negligence
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COA orders new criminal recklessness trial after jury instruction error
A mother who backed over her aunt with a vehicle before fleeing the scene with her child in the car has won a new trial on a criminal recklessness conviction, though the Indiana Court of Appeals declined to overturn her related conviction of resisting law enforcement.
Divided COA lets man stay in disputed final resting place
A man mistakenly buried at a gravesite that had already been sold to another individual will continue to rest in peace after the Indiana Court of Appeals declined to order the cemetery to exhume the man and relocate his grave. A dissenting judge, however, said Indiana statute and legal principles require the cemetery to correct the “wrongful entombment.”
Justices decline shot man’s suit against store over gun sale after warning
A man who warned a sporting goods store clerk to never sell a gun to his girlfriend because she would use it to shoot him has no case against the retailer, the Indiana Supreme Court held in rejecting the man’s transfer petition.
Indiana grandfather charged in Puerto Rico cruise ship death
A man who police say dropped his young granddaughter from the 11th floor of a cruise ship docked in Puerto Rico in July has been accused of negligent homicide. But his attorney says the decision to charge the Indiana man is “pouring salt” on the family’s wounds.
Supreme Court takes oral argument to Parke Heritage High School
Indiana Supreme Court justices will travel to Parke Heritage High School on Tuesday to hear oral arguments in the civil negligence case of Cavanaugh’s Sports Bar & Eatery, Ltd. v. Eric Porterfield, 18A-CT-1814.
Jury seated in first federal opioid trial, but settlement talks go on
A jury was seated Thursday in Cleveland for the first federal trial on the opioid crisis, but the push to settle the case before opening arguments next week continued, with company officials expected to gather for further talks. Published reports said officials were negotiating a potential $50 billion settlement.
Divided COA dismisses negligence suit in fatal helicopter crash
A divided Indiana Court of Appeals panel ruled for three aerospace defendants in a negligence case brought by victims of a fatal helicopter crash that took place in Mississippi, finding Indiana has no personal jurisdiction in the matter.
Judgment for school, town affirmed in gang-rape case
A northern Indiana town and school corporation’s motion to dismiss a case stemming from an unreported gang rape was affirmed Thursday, with one appellate judge apologizing to the victim for being unable to find an ‘adequate remedy’ under current Indiana law.
Reversal: Small claims courts cannot order mediation, ADR
Parties cannot be ordered to participate in alternative dispute resolution in small claims proceedings, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday, reinstating a dog-bite case that an Indianapolis judge had dismissed after litigants refused to participate in court-ordered mediation.
Indiana reports 2 more deaths linked to vaping, 3 overall
Indiana health officials are reporting two more state residents have died of severe lung injuries linked to vaping. The new deaths reported Thursday by the Indiana State Department of Health brings the total number of vaping-related deaths in the state to three since Sept. 6.
Patient’s claim her x-rays were wrongly shared reinstated
A Lake County woman whose medical records were unknowingly shared with her employer by a Community Hospital worker in Munster who took her x-rays has won a reversal of her dismissed complaint against the hospital.
Justices to review 181-year sentence imposed on Gary teen
The Indiana Supreme Court granted petitions to transfer in two cases last week, agreeing to hear a case concerning the sentence imposed on a 16-year-old murder defendant and a matter regarding a motorcycle crash involving a state trooper.
COA affirms denial of insurer’s motion to set aside default judgment
An insurance company failed to persuade the Indiana Court of Appeals to set aside a $400,000 default judgment against its insured defendants based on the argument that it had an interest in limiting future liability related to the underlying truck crash liability lawsuit.
Transfer dissent: Justices should ‘clear up uncertainty’ about disclosure of private information
Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush has penned a dissent to the denial of transfer to a case involving public disclosure of private health information, calling the transfer decision a missed opportunity “to clear up uncertainty” regarding whether disclosure is actionable.
Reversal: Utility must face suit in stoplight outage crash
Negligence claims brought against Indianapolis Power & Light after an auto accident caused by inoperable traffic lights will continue after the Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a ruling granting the power company judgment on the pleadings.
Indiana man gets 14 years for deadly bus-minivan collision
A southern Indiana man has been sentenced to more than 14 years in prison for a collision between a bus and a minivan that killed three people.
Terre Haute parks volunteer awarded damages after ‘horrific’ sexual assault
A former Terre Haute parks employee who was convicted of a “horrific” sexual assault on a parks volunteer must pay his victim more than $1.5 million in damages plus attorney fees, a federal judge has ruled.
Purdue University: School has no connection to Purdue Pharma
Purdue University wants the public to know that it has no connection to a company that’s negotiating a potential multi-billion-dollar settlement after being blamed for helping drive the nation’s opioid crisis.
7th Circuit: Indiana prison mailbox rule misinterpreted in slip-and-fall case
A prisoner who filed a complaint against a customer services company after injuring himself in a kitchen slip and fall has had his case reinstated by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. The panel concluded Indiana’s prison mailbox rule had been misinterpreted in dismissal of the man’s case.