When defendant had testified against special prosecutor’s brother-in-law in an unrelated recent case, the special prosecutor’s appointment was dissolved by a Supreme Court writ of mandate and prohibition based on the appearance of impropriety.
Supreme
Inlow v. Inlow, No. 29S02-0902-CV-89, __ N.E.2d __ (Ind., Nov. 18, 2009)
When settlement resolves a wrongful death action, a court should direct payment from the pre-trial wrongful death settlement that part of the medical, hospital, funeral, and burial expenses that corresponds to the ratio of the total of such expenses to the estimated total damages sustained.
Clark v. State, No. 43S00-0810-CR-575, __ N.E.2d __ (Ind., Oct. 15, 2009)
Defendant’s statements about himself on his “My Space” website as an “outlaw” were properly admitted to rebut his testimony at trial.
Williams v. Tharp, No. 29S02-0901-CV-40, ___ N.E.2d ___ (Ind. Oct. 13, 2009)
In a defamation action, plaintiff can overcome defendant’s claim of qualified privilege by showing that defendant made the statement without belief or grounds for belief in its truth; the proper standard for determining grounds for belief in truth is not reckless disregard; the absence of any discernable basis for the truth of the matter can, however, serve as circumstantial evidence of a reporting citizen’s actual knowledge of falsity.
Myers v. Leedy, No. 85S02-0808-CV-478, ___ N.E.2d ___ (Ind. Oct. 15, 2009)
If, at the time of filing suit for forfeiture, a land contract vendor knows, or upon reasonable diligence should have known, that a tenant is in possession of the property, the tenant’s leasehold interest survives the forfeiture action unless the tenant is made a party to the forfeiture litigation.