Opinions

Indiana Supreme Court
Kevin Isom v. Ron Neal
21S-CQ-545
Certified question. Accepts the certified questions of the Indiana Northern District Court and answers both questions negatively. Finds that the unverified post-conviction petition tendered to the Lake Superior Court in January 2016 by death row inmate Kevin Isom was not “properly filed” as of the date of its initial submission, nor did the Indiana Supreme Court’s January 2017 order render Isom’s post-conviction petition “properly filed” as of the date of its initial submission.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Moussa I. Dahab v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
21A-CR-1155
Criminal. Affirms Moussa I. Dahab’s conviction of battery by means of a deadly weapon as a Level 5 felony. Finds any error in the admission of evidence was harmless. Also finds the evidence was sufficient.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Kimberly S. Vanderveer v. State of Indiana
21A-CR-1688
Criminal. Vacates, with the state conceding, Kimberly S. Vanderveer’s conviction of Level 6 felony making a false statement on a criminal history information form as it violated her right to be free from double jeopardy. Affirms Vanderveer’s Level 5 felony using false information to obtain a handgun (Ind. Code § 35-47-2-17(a)(1)(A)). Finds the evidence and inferences most favorable to the jury’s verdict could lead a reasonable jury to conclude Vanderveer’s falsification of Form 4473 was knowing or intentional.

Indiana Supreme Court
The Residences at Ivy Quad Unit Owners Association, Inc. v. Ivy Quad Development, LLC, et al.
21S-PL-294
Civil plenary. Affirms and reverses in part the dismissal of a complaint for breach of the implied warranty of habitability and for negligence filed by The Residences at Ivy Quad Unit Owners Association Inc. against defendants Matthews LLC, DMTM Inc., David Matthews and Velvet Canada. Finds David Matthews and Velvet Canada are builder-vendors and therefore could be held liable for breach of the implied warranty of habitability. Also finds DMTM Inc. and Matthews LLC were not builder-vendors. Finally, finds that although the economic loss doctrine may preclude recovery on the negligence claim as the facts mature, dismissal at this stage is premature. Remands for proceedings consistent with the opinion.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Joy Adebola Adewopo v. Cheedy Thomas Jaja (mem. dec.)
21A-DC-880
Domestic relations with children. Affirms the division of martial assets arising from the dissolution of the marriage of Joy Adebola Adewopo and Cheedy Thomas Jaja. Finds the Hendricks Superior Court did not abuse its discretion by including certain items in the marital pot, including a house, Adewopo’s property interest in her inherited properties in Africa and Jaja’s student loans. Also finds the trial court did not err by equally dividing the martial estate between the parties.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Holli Sullivan, Secretary of State, in her Official Capacity v. National Election Defense Coalition
21A-PL-349
Civil plenary. Affirms the ruling that the Indiana secretary of state failed to demonstrate that records withheld from the National Election Defense Coalition were excepted from disclosure under the Indiana Access to Public Records Act, as well as the award of attorney fees to NEDC. Finds the Marion Superior Court did not err in ordering the secretary to disclose documents for which it had not proven an exception applied. Also finds NEDC is entitled to reasonable trial and appellate attorney fees for substantially prevailing in this litigation. Remands for the trial court to award a reasonable appellate attorney fee.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Patrick Smith v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
21A-CR-492
Criminal. Reverses the sex offender conditions of Patrick Smith’s probation, including the requirement that he register as a sex offender following his conviction of Class D felony battery of a child. Finds that, given the limited record on appeal, the Parke Circuit Court abused its discretion by imposing sex offender probation conditions as part of Smith’s sentence. Remands with instructions to vacate the sex offender conditions.

Indiana Supreme Court
State of Indiana v. Conner Katz
20S-CR-632
Criminal. Reverses on direct appeal the Steuben Circuit Court’s dismissal of Conner Katz’s case after the trial court determined Indiana Code section 35-45-4-8 was unconstitutional on state and federal levels.  Justices unanimously disagree with the trial court, concluding the state sufficiently alleged an offense and that the statute is constitutional. Remands for further proceedings consistent with the opinion.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Sudhakar Kunwar v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
21A-PC-526
Post-conviction. Reverses the denial of Sudhakar Kunwar’s petition for post-conviction relief from his guilty plea of guilty to Level 6 felony sexual battery. Finds his guilty plea was not knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily entered and Kunwar is entitled to a new initial hearing. Remands for further proceedings. Judge Elaine Brown dissents with a separate opinion.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Ceres Solutions Cooperative, Inc., v. Estate of Kathryn Bradley, et al.
21A-CT-377
Civil Tort. Affirms Pulaski Superior Court’s denial of Ceres’ summary judgment motion related to Kathy Bradley and reverses the trial court’s grant of Ceres’ summary judgment motion regarding Kathy’s son, Eric Bradley. Finds Kathy’s husband, Kenneth Bradley, meets the requirement of the Bystander Rule and can proceed with his claim for negligent  infliction of emotional distress.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Jermaine Dewayne Marshall v. State of Indiana
21A-CR-1123
Criminal. Reverses Jermain Dewayne Marshall’s conviction for criminal trespass as a Class A misdemeanor. Finds the Vanderburgh Superior Court denied due process to Marshall, who was incarcerated and representing himself, when it proceeded with the bench trial even though the defendant had not been given all the evidence, affidavits and other documents related to his case.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Frank E. Minges, III v. State of Indiana
21A-CR-216
Criminal. Affirms the denial of Frank E. Minges III’s motion to compel discovery of a complete and accurate copy of the police report that outlined the events resulting in Minges being charged with two counts of misdemeanor operating while intoxicated. Finds that under Keaton v. Circuit Court of Rush County, 475 N.E.2d 1146 (Ind. 1985), the Dearborn Superior Court did not err in declining Minges’ request for unredacted copies of the police reports, but urges the Indiana Supreme Court to revisit Keaton. Judge L. Mark Bailey concurs with separate opinion.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
W.A. Griffin, M.D. v. International Medical Group (mem. dec.)
21A-CC-1511
Civil collections. Affirms the dismissal of Dr. W.A. Griffin’s complaint against International Medical Group Inc. for breach of contract and bad faith after IMG refused to pay for medical services Griffin provided to a patient. Finds IMG was not the patient’s insurer. Also finds that Griffin’s claims are based on the patient’s invalid assessment of her health insurance benefits.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
Rhett A. Martin v. State of Indiana
20A-CR-2326
Criminal. Affirms in part and reversed in part Rhett Martin’s conviction and 65-year aggregate sentence for two counts of felony murder and arson. Finds the Benton Circuit Court did not violate Martin’s constitutional right to present a defense when it did not allow to him to force his accomplice to  appear before the jury and either testify or assert his right against self-incrimination. Rules the evidence was sufficient to sustain Martin’s conviction and the aggregate sentence was not inappropriate. Reverses the conviction for Count II, felony murder while committing or attempting to commit burglary and Count III, felony murder while committing or attempting to commit robbery.

Court of Appeals of Indiana
In re the Adoption of S.A.C., M.M. v. Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.)
21A-AD-720
Adoption. Affirms the denial of M.M.’s petition to adopt S.A.C. Finds the Allen Superior Court did not err by concluding that DCS did not unreasonably withhold its consent to M.M.’s petition for adoption.