The Crime Victim’s Relief Act allows trial courts to award treble damages to victims of certain criminal offenses in a civil claim against the wrongdoer. To prevail under the CVRA, a plaintiff must prove the defendant committed all elements of the criminal offense.
Civil
Geels v. Flottemesch, et al, No. 25S-PL-225, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind., Apr. 8, 2026).
ERISA is a preemption defense that must be raised at the trial court level or it is waived. If a fiduciary relationship is breached those actions can amount to constructive fraud which in turn supports the imposition of a constructive trust.
Martinez v. Smith, et al, No. 26S-CT-112, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind., Apr. 8, 2026).
The common-law duty under the Reece case to refrain from creating hazardous conditions encompasses not just the paved portion of the roadway but also traffic-control devices within the public right-of-way.
Olbera, et al. v. Sykes, No. 25A-JP-2005, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Mar. 30, 2026).
Marital presumption as legal parent rebutted by biological father of child as biological father did not relinquish his rights to legal parentage.
Indiana Compensation Rating Bureau and Indiana Department of Insurance v. Technology Insurance Company, No. 26S-PL-83, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind., Mar. 17, 2026).
Whether the Company is entitled to relief rests on two questions: first, whether the Company had to follow the dispute-resolution provisions set out in the Assigned Risk Plan and agreements, limiting the Company’s relief in the trial court to judicial review under the Administrative Orders and Procedures Act; second, assuming the Company is limited to seeking recourse under AOPA, whether the Company properly sought judicial review.