A landowner, who raises the subterranean water table on his land and creates a federally regulated wetland, may not invoke the common enemy doctrine of water diversion and shield himself from liability to adjoining landowners whose property also became federally regulated wetlands.
Civil
Cotton v. Cotton, No. 43A03-1005-DR-325 , ___ N.E.2d___, (Ind. Ct. App., Feb. 24, 2011)
Summons served on wife was insufficient as a matter of law for the court to exercise personal jurisdiction over defendant, because it neither complied with Trial Rule 4(C)(5) or due process. Due process requires that, at a minimum, a respondent in a dissolution proceeding be notified of the risk of default for failure to appear or otherwise respond.
In Re Guardianship of J.Y., No. 27A02-1005-GU-744, ___ N.E.2d ___, (Ind. Ct. App., Feb 15, 2011)
“[R]equirements of a personal representative are not the same as the requirements for a guardian, and as a result a nonprofit corporation not authorized as a corporate fiduciary in Indiana may serve as guardian where it could not serve as a personal representative.”
Thompson v. Gerowitz, No. 49A05-1005-CT-296, ___ N.E.2d ___ (Ind. Ct. App., Feb. 16, 2011)
Juror’s silence during voir dire when taken with her subsequent statement to the trial court regarding possible bias required the trial court to conduct a hearing out of the presence of the remainder of the jury to determine whether the juror’s silence indicated bias or lack of disinterest, and whether the hearing itself created a bias in the juror.
Green v. Ford Motor Co., No. 94S00-1007-CQ-348, ___ N.E.2d ___ (Ind., Feb. 8, 2011)
In a crashworthiness case alleging enhanced injuries under the Indiana Products Liability Act, the finder of fact shall apportion fault to the person suffering physical harm when that alleged fault is a responsible cause of the harm for which damages are being sought.