Supreme Court of Indiana Decisions 2012

Reed v. Reid  
Date: December 19, 2012
Docket Number: 40S01-1107-PL-436

Justia Opinion Summary: A steel fabrication company deposited solid waste on a landowner's property, after which the landowner (Plaintiff) filed a complaint seeking damages against multiple parties (Defendants) and on multiple grounds,…

Kimbrough v. State  
Date: December 19, 2012
Docket Number: 45S04-1212-CR-687

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of multiple counts of child molesting and sentenced to an aggregate term of eighty years. The court of appeals affirmed Defendant's convictions but remanded the cause to the…

Allen v. Clarian Health Partners, Inc.  
Date: December 19, 2012
Docket Number: 49S02-1203-CT-140

Justia Opinion Summary: Patients Abby Allen and Walter Moore sought medical treatment at Clarian North Hospital, which was owned by Clarian Health Partners. After Allen, who was uninsured and not covered by Medicare or Medicaid, received…

Inman v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co.  
Date: December 12, 2012
Docket Number: 41S01-1108-CT-515

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff's vehicle was rear-ended by Driver's vehicle. Plaintiff sued Driver and settled with his insurer for $50,000, the maximum of Driver's automobile liability policy. Plaintiff then sought an additional $50,000…

Kosarko v. Padula  
Date: December 12, 2012
Docket Number: 45S03-1206-CT-310

Justia Opinion Summary: After an automobile collision involving Driver, Plaintiff sued Driver. When Driver passed away, Plaintiff amended her complaint to substitute the Administrator of Driver's estate. A jury found in favor of Plaintiff and…

Alsheik v. Guerrero  
Date: December 12, 2012
Docket Number: 45S04-1212-CT-675

Justia Opinion Summary: The day after thirteen-month-old I.A. underwent surgery performed by Defendant, I.A. died. Plaintiff, I.A.'s mother, filed a medical malpractice claim against Defendant. After a jury trial, Defendant was held liable in…

Wisner v. Laney  
Date: December 12, 2012
Docket Number: 71S03-1201-CT-7

Justia Opinion Summary: After Plaintiff experienced dizziness and difficulty walking, she was admitted into a medical clinic (Clinic) and seen by the on-duty physician (Doctor). Doctor diagnosed Plaintiff with vertigo. Two days later, Plaintiff…

D.C. v. J.A.C.  
Date: November 13, 2012
Docket Number: 32S04-1206-DR-349

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, a mother sought to relocate out-of-state with her child. The father filed a motion to modify custody and prevent the child's relocation. After an evidentiary hearing, which was conducted over two days with…

Haegert v. Univ. of Evansville  
Date: November 13, 2012
Docket Number: 82S01-1204-PL-235

Justia Opinion Summary: An encounter between a tenured professor at a private university and his department head turned into a formal complaint of harassment against the professor. After extensive internal proceedings, the professor's tenure…

Kucholick v. State  
Date: November 7, 2012
Docket Number: 12S02-1211-CR-630

Justia Opinion Summary: After David Lawler obtained a civil judgment against Michael Kucholick's girlfriend for unpaid rent, Kucholick drove by Lawler's rural home and fired two shots into the home. Kucholick was found guilty of criminal…

Bailey v. State  
Date: November 5, 2012
Docket Number: 49S02-1204-CR-234

Justia Opinion Summary: Husband was found guilty of domestic battery and sentenced to two years in prison for shoving Wife and poking her in the forehead repeatedly, causing her pain. The court of appeals reversed the conviction, holding (1) in…

State v. Holtsclaw  
Date: November 5, 2012
Docket Number: 49S02-1205-CR-264

Justia Opinion Summary: The State charged Defendant with four counts of drunk driving. Defendant moved to suppress the results of two breath tests, which the trial court granted. Rather than prosecute Defendant without the breath test evidence,…

Robertson v. B.O.  
Date: October 31, 2012
Docket Number: 49S04-1111-CT-671

Justia Opinion Summary: At age four, B.O. was diagnosed with a mild form of cerebral palsy called spastic diplegia. Subsequently, his parents filed a complaint under the Indiana Medical Malpractice Act, claiming that the healthcare providers…

Kane v. State  
Date: October 30, 2012
Docket Number: 30S04-1206-CR-372

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted for receiving stolen property. Appellant appealed, arguing (1) the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction, and (2) the trial court abused its discretion by failing…

Nat'l Wine & Spirits, Inc. v. Ernst & Young, LLP  
Date: October 23, 2012
Docket Number: 49S02-1203-CT-137

Justia Opinion Summary: A company hired an accounting firm to provide auditing services. During the years covered by the parties' agreement, an employee of the company committed fraud and theft, causing significant losses to the company. The…

J.M. v. Review Bd. of Ind. Dep't of Workforce Dev.  
Date: October 17, 2012
Docket Number: 93S02-1203-EX-138

Justia Opinion Summary: Employer allowed Employee to take a college class during his normal work hours but informed him he would have to use his vacation, compensation, or unpaid time rather than take shorter lunches, come in early, or stay…

Citimortgage, Inc. v. Barabas  
Date: October 4, 2012
Docket Number: 48S04-1204-CC-00213

Justia Opinion Summary: Shannon Barabas had two mortgages on her Madison County home. The second mortgagee foreclosed on the property without notice to the first. The first mortgagee sought to intervene and obtain relief from the foreclosure…

Yao v. State  
Date: September 13, 2012
Docket Number: 35S02-1112-CR-704

Justia Opinion Summary: Associated with a toy gun business, Defendants were charged with counterfeiting, theft, and corrupt business influence arising out of their conduct concerning toy semi-automatic weapons that were look-alikes of real…

Dye v. State  
Date: July 31, 2012
Docket Number: 20S04-1201-CR-5

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon and found to be a habitual offender. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court granted transfer, thereby vacating the opinion…

Castillo v. State  
Date: July 31, 2012
Docket Number: 45S00-1102-LW-110

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was prosecuted for the death of her two-year-old cousin and later convicted of one count of murder, two counts of neglect of a dependent, one count of battery, and one count of misdemeanor false informing.…

Purcell v. Old Nat'l Bank  
Date: July 31, 2012
Docket Number: 49S02-1201-CT-4

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff co-established Company. Plaintiff later sold his majority interest pursuant to an agreement calling for payments to Plaintiff and giving Plaintiff a security interest in Company's assets. Company subsequently…

Shepherd Props. Co. v. Int'l Union of Painters & Allied Trades  
Date: July 31, 2012
Docket Number: 49S04-1112-PL-697

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, Plaintiff prevailed on its Access to Public Records Act (Act) claim against a public agency and an intervening private party. As required by statute, the trial court awarded Plaintiff attorney's fees. The…

Conley v. State  
Date: July 31, 2012
Docket Number: 58S00-1011-CR-634

Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved a seventeen-and-a-half-year-old who murdered his ten-year-old brother. Defendant confessed to the crime and pleaded guilty to murdering his brother, Conner, while he was babysitting. The trial court…

Ryan v. Ryan  
Date: July 31, 2012
Docket Number: 71S03-1111-DR-644

Justia Opinion Summary: When Sean and Dee Anna Ryan divorced, they agreed to sell two properties they owned and divide the proceeds, subject to a proviso that neither party was required to accept a sale yielding net proceeds below specified…

Presbytery of Ohio Valley, Inc. v. OPC, Inc.  
Date: July 31, 2012
Docket Number: 82S02-1105-MF-314

Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved a property dispute between an individual church congregation, Olivet Presbyterian Church, and the denominational organization with which it was previously affiliated, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.),…

Otieno v. Rolls-Royce Corp.  
Date: July 30, 2012
Docket Number: 49S04-1207-CT-434

Justia Opinion Summary: Parents of a young man killed in a helicopter accident in British Columbia appealed an Indiana trial court's dismissal of their complaint in favor of the Canadian forum, arguing that their claim should be tried in…

Crowel v. Marshall County Drainage Bd.  
Date: July 30, 2012
Docket Number: 50S03-1202-MI-71

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner appealed a Marshall County Drainage Board order assessing him a portion of a drain-reconstruction project's costs, contending that he received no benefit from the project because his land was adequately…

In the Matter of Thomas E. Q. Williams
Date: July 27, 2012
Docket Number: 30S00-1101-DI-37
Cottingham v. State  
Date: July 26, 2012
Docket Number: 06S01-1112-CR-703

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pled guilty to operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person. The trial court placed Defendant on home detention under the supervision of a community-corrections program before a 2010 amendment to…

Lock v. State  
Date: July 26, 2012
Docket Number: 35S04-1110-CR-622

Justia Opinion Summary: Indiana's motor vehicle statutes provide a carve-out through which individuals whose driving privileges are suspended may still commute, provided the device they use to do so meets certain requirements. One requirement…

Bushhorn v. State  
Date: July 26, 2012
Docket Number: 40S01-1206-CR-309

Justia Opinion Summary: After an attempted escape from prison, Defendant pled guilty to kidnapping an officer, criminal confinement while armed with a deadly weapon and resulting in serious bodily injury, and attempted escape. The trial court…

Smith v. State  
Date: July 26, 2012
Docket Number: 49S02-1109-CR-529

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to operating a motor vehicle after having his license forfeited for life. On the same day, the trial court placed him on home detention under the supervision of a community-corrections program in…

Ind. Dep't of Revenue v. Miller Brewing Co.  
Date: July 26, 2012
Docket Number: 49S10-1203-TA-136

Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal was the latest iteration of a decade-long dispute between the Miller Brewing Company and the Indiana Department of Revenue over Miller's Indiana adjusted gross income tax liability. The Department here…

Vaughn v. State  
Date: July 25, 2012
Docket Number: 45S05-1112-CR-684

Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved a trial court's discretion in granting a mistrial. Defendant vacillated throughout the trial seeking to proceed pro se and at other times wanting court-appointed counsel. Ultimately, the relationship…

Clark v. Clark  
Date: July 23, 2012
Docket Number: 01S02-1112-CT-690

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was the Indiana Guest Statute (Statute), which prevents certain designated passengers from recovering damages for injuries resulting in ordinary negligence of the motor vehicle operator, where such…

State v. Hollin  
Date: July 12, 2012
Docket Number: 69S05-1201-PC-6

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of conspiracy to commit burglary and was adjudged to be a habitual offender. Defendant subsequently filed a petition for post-conviction relief, alleging prosecutorial…

Hirsch v. Oliver  
Date: June 29, 2012
Docket Number: 29S02-1109-DR-530

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, after two hearings, the trial court issued a number of post-dissolution orders. Relevant to this appeal were the trial court's specific findings related to the emancipation of a child and the requirement of…

Lyles v. State  
Date: June 29, 2012
Docket Number: 49S02-1201-CR-49

Justia Opinion Summary: After a trial before a commissioner, Defendant was convicted for misdemeanor criminal trespass after Defendant refused to leave a bank upon the request of the bank's manager and a police officer. Defendant appealed,…

Sharp v. State  
Date: June 26, 2012
Docket Number: 12S02-1109-CR-544

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Michael Sharp was convicted and sentenced for two counts of child molesting. The court of appeals rejected Sharp's several appellate claims and affirmed the trial court. Seeking transfer, Sharp asserted a…

Gill v. Evansville Sheet Metal Works, Inc.  
Date: June 25, 2012
Docket Number: 49S05-1111-CV-672

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff claimed that her husband's death was caused by Defendant's negligence in installing or removing asbestos-containing materials and brought product-liability and contractor-negligence claims against Defendant.…

Ind. Dep't of Revenue v. UPS  
Date: June 21, 2012
Docket Number: 49S10-1107-TA-417

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case the Supreme Court examined whether income received by a corporation's affiliated foreign reinsurance companies falls within the ambit of Indiana's gross premium privilege tax statute and is on that basis…

Ward v. State  
Date: June 21, 2012
Docket Number: 74S00-0907-PD-320

Justia Opinion Summary: This petition for post-conviction relief followed Defendant Roy Ward's second trial during which he pled guilty to the 2001 rape and murder of a fifteen-year-old. Ward was sentenced to death following a penalty-phase…

Rondell Walker v. State of Indiana
Date: June 20, 2012
Docket Number: 34S02-1206-CR-346
Berry v. State  
Date: June 20, 2012
Docket Number: 49S04-1110-CR-611

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with felony attempted murder. After a bench trial, the trial court rejected Defendant's insanity defense, finding that Defendant's behavior was the result of his voluntary abuse of alcohol. The…

In the Matter of: Douglas W. Patterson
Date: June 20, 2012
Docket Number: 82S00-1111-DI-662
Whiting v. State  
Date: June 19, 2012
Docket Number: 38S05-1206-CR-345

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Tina Whiting was charged with murder and robbery. During voir dire, a prospective juror stated that he could not be fair because she knew Defendant, Defendant's grandmother, the victim's family, and the…

Baker v. State  
Date: June 12, 2012
Docket Number: 89S01-1109-CR-543

Justia Opinion Summary: The State charged Defendant Michael Baker with burglary of a structure used for religious worship with the intent to commit theft, a class B felony in connection with an apparent breaking and entering of a church from…

Hannah Lakes v. Grange Mutual Casualty Co. (NFP)
Date: June 5, 2012
Docket Number: 89S05-1109-CT-531
Cundiff v. State  
Date: May 31, 2012
Docket Number: 31S05-1108-CR-512

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the State filed charges against Defendant, and after a brief period of incarceration, Defendant was released. Shortly after his release, Defendant was again incarcerated but on a probation-revocation case.…

Smith v. State  
Date: March 23, 2012
Docket Number: 35S02-1106-CR-369

Justia Opinion Summary: The trial court revoked the probation of Troy Smith for failure to pay weekly child support as a condition of his probation. On appeal, Smith argued that the State failed to carry its burden of proof that his failure to…

Webb v. State  
Date: March 23, 2012
Docket Number: 71S05-1106-CR-329

Justia Opinion Summary: Brice Webb was charged with murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend. Webb requested a jury instruction on the lesser offense of reckless homicide. The trial court denied the request and Webb was convicted as…

State Auto. Mut. Ins. Co. v. Flexdar, Inc.  
Date: March 22, 2012
Docket Number: 49S02-1104-PL-199

Justia Opinion Summary: The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) informed Flexdar, Inc. that Flexdar would be liable for the costs of cleaning up trichloroethylene (TCE) contamination on a site where Flexdar previously had…

Hunt Constr. Group, Inc. v. Garrett  
Date: March 22, 2012
Docket Number: 49S02-1106-CT-365

Justia Opinion Summary: An employee of a concrete subcontractor was injured in a workplace accident during the construction of a stadium. The employee sought to recover damages for negligence from the project's construction manager by whom she…

Perdue v. Gargano  
Date: March 22, 2012
Docket Number: 49S02-1107-PL-437

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, three plaintiff-classes and Sheila Perdue individually, brought a class action complaint seeking declaratory and injunction relief alleging violations of their federal statutory and constitutional rights.…

Witt v. Jay Petroleum, Inc.  
Date: March 21, 2012
Docket Number: 38S02-1110-CV-608

Justia Opinion Summary: John Witt, HydroTech Corporation, and attorney Mark Shere (Appellants) were held in contempt of court for violating the terms of a temporary restraining order (TRO). The contempt holding arose from protracted litigation…

State v. Int'l Bus. Machines Corp.  
Date: March 21, 2012
Docket Number: 49S00-1201-PL-15

Justia Opinion Summary: The State entered into a contract with IBM, and the Governor signed the contract. IBM later terminated the contract, after which the State filed suit against IBM asserting breach of contract among other claims. IBM then…

Marion County Auditor v. Sawmill Creek, LLC  
Date: March 21, 2012
Docket Number: 49S02-1106-CV-364

Justia Opinion Summary: After Sawmill Creek's taxes became delinquent on its property, the Marion County Auditor set the property for tax sale. A tax deed was issued to McCord Investments upon the petition of the Auditor following the one-year…

Nicholson v. State  
Date: March 21, 2012
Docket Number: 55S01-1107-CR-444

Justia Opinion Summary: A jury found Rodney Nicholson guilty of stalking and harassment, and Nicholson admitted to being a habitual offender. A majority of the court of appeals held that a span of twenty-two months between contacts would not…

Loparex, LLC v. MPI Release Techs., LLC  
Date: March 21, 2012
Docket Number: 94S00-1109-CQ-546

Justia Opinion Summary: Stephan Odders and Gerald Kerber were former employees of Loparex, a corporation in the release liner industry. Both employees were subject to a one-year noncompetition agreement upon termination of employment. After…

Klinker v. First Merchants Bank, N.A.  
Date: March 20, 2012
Docket Number: 01S04-1107-PL-438

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Harold Klinker managed and owned Trucks Unlimited (Trucks), a used-car dealership. Plaintiff First Merchants Bank (FMB) financed Trucks' vehicle inventory. After it was discovered that thirty-one vehicles for…

White v. State  
Date: March 20, 2012
Docket Number: 15S01-1109-CR-545

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with felony robbery, felony theft, and felony receiving stolen property. Before trial, the trial court permitted a late filing of a habitual-offender charge. The jury found Defendant was guilty of…

Woodruff ex rel. Legacy Healthcare, Inc. v. Ind. Family & Social Servs. Admin.  
Date: March 20, 2012
Docket Number: 29S02-1110-PL-598

Justia Opinion Summary: After an inspection revealed deplorable health conditions for its residents, an intermediate care facility for the developmentally disabled was decertified for Medicaid reimbursement. As a result, until the State…

Kays v. State  
Date: March 20, 2012
Docket Number: 42S05-1107-CR-441

Justia Opinion Summary: Rebecca Kays was convicted of misdemeanor battery and sentenced to 180 days in jail, suspended to twelve months probation. The trial court ordered as a term of probation that Kays pay restitution in the amount of $1,496.…

LaPorte Cmty. Sch. Corp. v. Rosales  
Date: March 20, 2012
Docket Number: 46S04-1105-CT-284

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Maria Rosales filed this wrongful death action against LaPorte Community School Corporation after her son choked to death on food while eating lunch at his elementary school. The jury returned a $5 million…

Lakes v. Grange Mut. Cas. Co.  
Date: March 20, 2012
Docket Number: 89S05-1109-CT-531

Justia Opinion Summary: Several family members were injured in a car accident and divided the benefits paid by the tortfeasor's insurer. One family member, Hannah Lakes, also sought to recover under the underinsured motorist (UIM) endorsement…

Howard v. United States  
Date: March 20, 2012
Docket Number: 94S00-1106-CQ-333

Justia Opinion Summary: A federal lawsuit was brought by 128 Indiana landowners whose lands were burdened by railroad easements. Together those easements composed a railroad corridor approximately twenty-one miles in length. Because the rail…

Jones v. State  
Date: March 19, 2012
Docket Number: 29S02-1108-CR-511

Justia Opinion Summary: Jimmie Jones was charged with murder. At trial, Jones tendered instructions on reckless homicide and involuntary manslaughter as lesser included offenses to the murder charge. The trial court refused Jones's…

Harris v. State  
Date: March 16, 2012
Docket Number: 34S02-1203-CR-169

Justia Opinion Summary: A jury found Jesse Harris guilty of murder and two counts of attempted murder. The trial court sentenced Harris to a total of 165 years incarceration. The court of appeals affirmed. Harris appealed, contending that the…

Ind. Dep't of State Revenue v. AOL, LLC  
Date: March 16, 2012
Docket Number: 49S10-1108-TA-514

Justia Opinion Summary: Under a complex series of arrangements with companies like paper suppliers, printers, and packagers, AOL procured promotional mailers it sent to Indiana residents. AOL filed with the Indiana Department of State Revenue…

White v. Ind. Democratic Party  
Date: March 15, 2012
Docket Number: 49S00-1202-MI-73

Justia Opinion Summary: Almost two million Indiana voters cast their ballots for Secretary of State in November 2010. The Indiana Democratic Party sought to have the winner in the election, Republican Charlie White, declared ineligible to…

Kole v. Faultless  
Date: March 15, 2012
Docket Number: 94S00-1112-CQ-692

Justia Opinion Summary: Several hundred citizens of the Town of Fishers, including Plaintiffs, filed a petition with the Fishers Town Clerk seeking a referendum on whether the Town should convert itself from a town into a second class city. The…

Hardy v. Hardy  
Date: March 14, 2012
Docket Number: 51S01-1106-PL-366

Justia Opinion Summary: Insured held a life insurance policy issued as part of a federal employee benefit plan. When Insured divorced from his first wife, the divorce decree and property settlement required Insured (1) to maintain the life…

In re K.D.  
Date: March 13, 2012
Docket Number: 49S02-1107-JC-416

Justia Opinion Summary: Mother and Stepfather lived with Mother's two children. The Department of Child Services (DCS) filed a petition alleging that K.D. and K.S. were children in need of services (CHINS). Mother admitted the children were…

In re T.N.  
Date: March 13, 2012
Docket Number: 49S05-1203-JC-165

Justia Opinion Summary: The Department of Child Services (DCS) filed a petition alleging T.N. was a child in need of services (CHINS) and requested that T.N. be removed from Father's care. Father objected to removal. A fact-finding hearing was…

In the Matter of: Carl J. Brizzi
Date: March 12, 2012
Docket Number: 49S00-0910-DI-425
R.L. Turner Corp. v. Town of Brownsburg  
Date: March 9, 2012
Docket Number: 32S01-1109-PL-573

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, R.L. Turner Corporation, filed suit against Appellee, the Town of Brownsburg. The court subsequently granted Appellee's petition for attorneys' fees. The court of appeals affirmed. Appellant appealed,…

Ind. Dep't of State Revenue v. Rent-A-Center East, Inc.  
Date: March 9, 2012
Docket Number: 49S10-1112-TA-683

Justia Opinion Summary: The Indiana Department of State Revenue conducted an audit of a taxpayer corporation, concluded that the corporation's 2003 tax return did not fairly represent its income from Indiana sources, and proposed an assessment…

Hoglund v. State  
Date: March 8, 2012
Docket Number: 90S02-1105-CR-294

Justia Opinion Summary: A jury found Keith Hoglund guilty of two counts of child molesting. The court of appeals affirmed. Hoglund appealed, contending the testimony of expert witnesses constituted impermissible vouching evidence. The Supreme…

Thatcher v. City of Kokomo  
Date: March 6, 2012
Docket Number: 94S00-1109-CQ-570

Justia Opinion Summary: The City of Kokomo terminated the employment of Mark Thatcher, a police officer, after Thatcher sustained a knee injury in the line of duty. Thatcher was a member of the 1977 Fund, a disability and pension fund for…

Abbott v. State  
Date: February 22, 2012
Docket Number: 34S02-1202-CR-110

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Antwon Abbott was convicted of possession of cocaine as a Class B felony for which he was sentenced to the maximum term of twenty years. The Supreme Court granted transfer and revised Abbott's…

Addison v. State  
Date: February 22, 2012
Docket Number: 49S05-1105-CR-267

Justia Opinion Summary: After a two-day jury trial, the trial court found Joey Addison guilty of murder but mentally ill and imposed the minimum sentence for murder. Addison appealed, arguing that the circuit court erred in denying his Batson…

Cartwright v. State  
Date: February 22, 2012
Docket Number: 82S01-1109-CR-564

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Jerrme Cartwright was convicted of attempted battery and unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon. A divided court of appeals reversed and remanded for a new trial, holding that the…

Sanjari v. State  
Date: February 16, 2012
Docket Number: 20S03-1105-CR-268

Justia Opinion Summary: For his failure to pay child support for his two daughters, a jury found Defendant guilty of two counts of nonsupport of a dependent child, each a class D felony, plus two additional counts of nonsupport of a dependent…

Richmond State Hosp. v. Brattain  
Date: February 16, 2012
Docket Number: 49S02-1106-CV-327

Justia Opinion Summary: For over twenty-five years, the State required certain employees to work forty-hour weeks while requiring other employees to work only 37.5-hour weeks. Through the employees received the same biweekly paycheck, the…

Hampton v. State  
Date: February 14, 2012
Docket Number: 84S04-1103-PC-161

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of murder, rape, and criminal deviate conduct. The court of appeals affirmed. Defendant next sought post-conviction relief, asserting that his appellate counsel's failure to challenge the refusal…

Adams v. State  
Date: February 2, 2012
Docket Number: 29S02-1109-CR-542

Justia Opinion Summary: After pulling over a vehicle for speeding, a law enforcement officer arrested the driver and passenger and, upon searching the vehicle, discovered a jar of marijuana sitting on the floorboard of the passenger seat. The…

Bennett v. Richmond  
Date: January 31, 2012
Docket Number: 20S03-1105-CV-293

Justia Opinion Summary: While operating a truck, Henry Bennett rear-ended John Richmond's vehicle. Richmond and his wife sued Bennett for injuries Richmond sustained in the collision. During trial, a psychologist testified that Richmond…

Person v. Shipley  
Date: January 31, 2012
Docket Number: 20S03-1110-CT-609

Justia Opinion Summary: While driving a sedan, Carol Shipley rear-ended Reginald Person's eighteen-wheeler. Person sued Shipley for injuries that he claimed he had sustained in the accident. During trial, the trial court admitted testimony of…

Hill v. State  
Date: January 24, 2012
Docket Number: 45S03-1105-PC-283

Justia Opinion Summary: Pursuant to a plea agreement, Antoine Hill pleaded guilty to one count of Class A felony attempted murder and two counts of Class C felony attempted battery. Hill did not appeal. Hill's counsel subsequently filed a…

Ind. Dep't of Ins. v. Everhart  
Date: January 20, 2012
Docket Number: 84S01-1105-CV-282

Justia Opinion Summary: Robin Everhart filed suit against the Indiana Patient's Compensation Fund (PCF) to recover excess damages after settling a wrongful death claim against an emergency room physician in whose care her husband died. The PCF…

Chrysler Group, LLC v. Review Bd. of the Dep't of Workforce Dev.  
Date: January 19, 2012
Docket Number: 93S02-1109-EX-565

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, Chrysler offered a buyout program to employees in Kokomo, Indiana. Those employees then applied for unemployment benefits under Indiana's Unemployment Compensation Act. The Indiana Department of Workforce…

Whitaker v. Becker  
Date: January 18, 2012
Docket Number: 02S03-1201-CT-27

Justia Opinion Summary: After an automobile collision in which Travis Becker struck Rickey Whitaker, Whitaker filed suit for personal injuries. Thereafter, Whitaker's lawyer ignored repeated requests to provide information about his client's…

A.T. v. State  
Date: January 18, 2012
Docket Number: 49S02-1201-JV-26

Justia Opinion Summary: A.T. was adjudicated delinquent for an act that would be felony murder if committed by an adult, and the juvenile court ordered both a determinate and an indeterminate commitment to the department of correction. A.T.…

In the Matter of Nancy J. Flatt-Moore
Date: January 12, 2012
Docket Number: 30S00-0911-DI-535
In the Matter of Augustus J. Mendenhall
Date: January 12, 2012
Docket Number: 32S00-1005-DI-230
Ramsey v. Moore  
Date: January 12, 2012
Docket Number: 45S05-1105-CT-281

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued Defendants, a doctor and hospital, for medical malpractice. Defendants filed motions for a preliminary determination requesting that the trial court dismiss the complaint due to Plaintiff's dilatory…

Dexter v. State  
Date: January 12, 2012
Docket Number: 79S05-1106-CR-367

Justia Opinion Summary: A jury convicted Defendant of Class A felony neglect of a dependent and found him to be a habitual offender, which resulted in a thirty-year sentencing enhancement. The court of appeals affirmed. On transfer to the…

Haag v. Castro  
Date: January 10, 2012
Docket Number: 29S04-1102-CT-118

Justia Opinion Summary: Players on a local youth soccer team sought to recover under the state youth soccer governing association's business auto-insurance policy for injuries sustained when the van in which they were riding was involved in an…

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