COA reinstates small claims case after COVID cancelation of vacation
A small claims case arising from a COVID-canceled vacation will return to the trial court after the Indiana Court of Appeals found dismissal was improper.
A small claims case arising from a COVID-canceled vacation will return to the trial court after the Indiana Court of Appeals found dismissal was improper.
Legal aid providers are uncertain what will happen now that the Indiana General Assembly has enacted a law that is seen as giving more favor to landlords, but they fear it will exacerbate the growing problem of evictions in Indiana and lead to more families being put on the street.
A new code in Indiana’s case numbering system is enabling the courts, state agencies and other entities to track and tally the petitions filed for evictions. But fresh data tracking trends nationwide shows evictions in Indiana are far surpassing numbers of other states being studied.
As the uncertainty continues over how many struggling Hoosiers could be evicted in the coming months, the Indiana Supreme Court is trying through the new Landlord and Tenant Settlement Conference Program to prevent housing loss and all the bad ramifications that can ensue by inviting landlords and tenants to first have a conversation.
The Indiana Supreme Court is launching a new mediation program to help stem the anticipated flood of evictions by facilitating settlement agreements between tenants facing eviction and landlords trying to collect rent.
As Gov. Eric Holcomb extended the moratorium on evictions and foreclosures until mid-August, Indiana state courts increased their calls for residents and property owners to start trying to work out agreements that will keep families in their homes.
In anticipation of state courts being overwhelmed with landlord-tenant cases once the pandemic moratorium on evictions is lifted, a task force assembled by the Indiana Supreme Court released recommendations Wednesday that encourage payment plans and alternatives to forcibly removing residents from their homes.
A moratorium on evictions of families in federally subsidized housing is set to end July 25, and Indiana’s moratorium prohibiting evictions is set to end July 31. Advocates warn a wave of evictions is coming that could leave many Hoosiers without a place to live, but because of how these cases are tracked, they lack data to how big that wave will be and when it will arrive.
An auto dealer couldn’t sway an appellate court’s ruling for one of the dealer’s customers after the court found the man who immediately had problems with the vehicle hadn’t defaulted on his sales contract because payment was not due.
A new study from the Pew Charitable Trusts highlights a dramatic rise in debt collection lawsuits, but even as one in four cases on civil court dockets are seeking payment for past-due bills, consumers increasingly are absent from the proceedings.
Creditors cannot seize federal coronavirus relief payments from Indiana residents under a ruling from the Indiana Supreme Court that was applauded by groups that sought the proscription.
New court-related legislation has been signed into law in Indiana, giving judges guidance on indigency determinations and setting the statewide cap for small claims dispute awards at $8,000.
The owner of a Westfield warehouse is entitled to recover the costs of removing abandoned property in addition to unpaid rent after a tenant defaulted on lease payments, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday in a partial reversal. The cost of removal is twice the unpaid rent, according to the ruling.
The Indiana Court of Appeals has vacated an order requiring an Edinburgh antique store to leave its place of business, finding an agreement between the store and the real estate’s owner was a land sale contract and not a lease subject to an eviction proceeding.
A City-County Council committee has advanced two proposals that support Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett’s tenant-protections initiative, despite opposition from landlords and organizations that represent them.
Bills that would allow for summonses to appear instead of arrests in misdemeanor cases and that would raise the small claims filing limit statewide have passed the Indiana House of Representatives.
Plaintiffs litigating on the small claims docket in any Indiana county could soon file claims for up to $8,000 if a bill that advanced out of a House committee Wednesday makes it to the governor’s desk. The bill also would expand the authority of magistrate judges.
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.”
A man who bought Morgan County properties at a tax sale that were subject to a homeowners association failed to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals on Tuesday that he was wrongly ordered to pay delinquent association dues.
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.