Small claims court deprived defendant of her due process rights when it refused to hear her defenses. Parties, represented or not, must not be expected to insist on being given the protections to which they are guaranteed and should automatically receive.
Civil
R.M. v. Ind. Dept. of Child Svcs., No. 22A-XP-1661, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Feb. 15, 2023).
The trial court did not abuse its discretion when it denied petitioner’s request to expunge DCS’s substantiated reports about her because she did not show those records had insufficient current probative value to justify their retention by DCS for future reference. Petitioner currently lives with a child and is in college with her future field of work unknown.
Wormgoor v. State Farm Mut. Auto Ins. Co., No. 21A-CT-2612, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Feb. 10, 2023).
A trial court has the discretion to award prejudgment interest upon a jury verdict, even when that amount exceeds a final judgment stipulated to by the parties.
Ind. Repertory Theatre, Inc. v. Cincinnati Cas. Co., No. 21A-CP-2848, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Feb. 13, 2023).
COVID-19 virus particles do not cause physical loss or damage to property so as to qualify as a covered loss under an insurance policy.
Rubendall v. Community Hospital of Anderson & Madison Cnty., No. 22A-CT-2223, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Feb. 1, 2023).
Damages for “loss of privacy,” resulting in “embarrassment, stress, and anxiety” must satisfy the requirements for emotional distress damages. Defendant broadcasting private health information via short-wave radio airwaves does not meet the publication element for public disclosure of private facts.