When the government knows of an existing defect in a public thoroughfare, and when it has ample opportunity to respond, immunity does not apply simply because the defect manifests during recurring inclement weather.
C. Goff
Staat v. Ind. Dept. of Transportation, No. 21S-CT-240, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind., Dec. 9, 2021).
A government entity is “not liable” for a loss or injury resulting from the “temporary condition of a public thoroughfare . . . that results from weather.” Because the evidence designated by the government establishes that the weather-induced condition continued to worsen at the time of the accident, the Court holds that the condition was temporary and the government immune from liability.
Griffin v. Menard, Inc., No. 21S-CT-119, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind., Oct. 19, 2021).
When a box opened at the bottom and injured store customer, plaintiffs’ designated evidence did not create an issue of material fact to defeat defendant’s motion for summary judgment. Plaintiffs’ res ipsa loquitur claim also failed.
Rotert v. Stiles, No. 21S-TR-452, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind., Oct. 8, 2021).
Statutory prohibition against restraints on marriage applies only to a devise to a spouse by will and not to other dispositions, like a trust.
Bradbury v. State, No. 21S-PC-441, __ N.E.3d __ (Ind., Oct. 1, 2021).
Trial counsel was not ineffective for stipulating that defendant’s alleged accomplice, was convicted of murder because the stipulation did not relieve the State of the burden to prove defendant’s intent. Trial counsel pursued a reasonable all-or-nothing strategy when he chose not to seek a lesser-included instruction on reckless homicide.