“Indiana should hereby adopt the largely case-by-case approach, finding that a tenant’s liability to the landlord’s insurer for damage-causing negligence depends on the reasonable expectations of the parties to the lease as ascertained from the lease as a whole and any other admissible evidence.”
Appeals
In re I.B., No. 82A05-1402-AD-65, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Oct. 28, 2014).
A prospective adoptive parent’s prior conviction was not dispositive (Ind. Code § 31-19-11-1) and the children were entitled to an individualized determination of their best interests.
Gallien v. State, No. 22A01-1402-PC-50, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Oct. 21, 2014).
Two burglaries committed one after the other, four miles apart, were a single episode of criminal conduct subject to the cap on consecutive sentencing, and appellate counsel’s assistance was ineffective for failure to raise the issue as a sentencing error.
Harris v. State, No. 02A03-1402-CR-73, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Oct. 21, 2014).
Exigent circumstances justified officers’ warrantless seizure of a handgun they saw defendant place inside an apartment front door as they approached, so that the seizure did not violate the Fourth Amendment or Indiana Constitution, Article I, § 11.
Dawson v. Thornton, Inc., No. 49A02-1403-CT-208, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Oct. 22, 2014).
The trial court properly did not instruct the jury regarding spoliation of evidence when plaintiff inspected and took pictures of the evidence, and the evidence was available for over a year after the incident.