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Friday, March 24, 2006

Ind. Decisions - Court of Appeals issues four today

In Kevin G. Kocher v. Alva Lynn Getz, a 17-page opinion (including a dissent by Judge Riley beginning on p. 14), Judge Baker writes:

Appellant-defendant Kevin G. Kocher appeals the trial court’s judgment allowing appellee-plaintiff Alva Lynne Getz to execute the appeal bond to satisfy the unpaid balance of the judgment for personal injury damages previously entered. In particular, Kocher argues that the trial court erred in releasing the full amount of the appeal bond to Getz where Getz had agreed not to execute or enforce the judgment against Kocher but instead to attempt to recover the amount in a bad faith action against Kocher’s insurance company.

Finding, among other things, that Getz is bound by the agreement and is, therefore, not entitled to collect the full amount of the appeal bond, we reverse the judgment of the trial court. * * *

RILEY, Judge, dissenting
I respectfully dissent from the majority’s opinion, reversing the trial court’s decision. Instead of the lengthy analysis the majority engages in to reverse the trial court’s judgment, I only find one issue to be dispositive in the case before us: whether Kocher has standing to bring this appeal. The standing analysis focuses on whether the complaining party is the proper person to invoke the court’s power. Scott v. Randle, 736 N.E.2d 308, 315 (Ind. Ct. App.2000), trans. denied. The requirement assures that litigation will be actively and vigorously contested, as plaintiffs must demonstrate a personal stake in the litigation’s outcome and must show they have sustained, or are in immediate danger of sustaining, a direct injury as a result of the defendant’s conduct.

Richard Foster, M.D. and The New Castle Clinic, Inc. v. Forrest Owens - medical malpractice, affirmed

Samuel Reed v. State of Indiana - credit time denial, affirmed.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 24, 2006 10:41 AM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions