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Monday, July 21, 2008

Ind. Decisions - Court of Appeals issues 2 today (and 2 NFP)

For publication opinions today (2):

In Jason J. Green v. Laura S. Green , a 19-page opinion, Judge Vaidik writes:

In the third time this child custody case has been before this Court, Jason J. Green (“Father”) appeals the trial court’s denial of his petition to modify custody of his son, B.G., who relocated to Iowa in 2005 with his mother, Laura S. Green (“Mother”). Although we conclude that the trial judge, who is the second judge to have reviewed this case, did not abuse his discretion in denying Father’s petition to modify custody of B.G., who has now been living in Iowa with Mother for three years, we do conclude that the judge abused his discretion in decreasing Father’s parenting time and ordering him to pay a portion of Mother’s attorney fees. We therefore affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.
In Jeffrey L. Cain, M.D. v. Richard and Suzette Back, a 22-page opinion, Judge Robb writes:
Following a jury trial, Dr. Jeffrey Cain, M.D., appeals the trial court’s judgment awarding Richard and Suzette Back $800,000 in damages on their claim of medical malpractice relating to the stillbirth of their daughter, C.B. On appeal, Dr. Cain raises two issues, which we restate as 1) whether the trial court properly excluded opinion testimony from two treating physicians and 2) whether the trial court properly excluded letters that the Backs’ counsel wrote to the same two treating physicians shortly before trial began. Concluding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding the opinion testimony or the letters, we affirm.
NFP civil opinions today (2):

Eric Goetz, Eric Goetz Master Builder, Inc. v. Christopher and Beth Boyer (NFP) - "When we deem a specific argument to lack cogency or find that assertions and alleged facts lack any citation or reference to the record, we will find such arguments waived. See Ind. Appellate Rule 46(A)(8)(a) (“The argument must contain the contentions of the appellant on the issues presented, supported by cogent reasoning. Each contention must be supported by citation to authorities, statutes, and the Appendix or parts of the Record on Appeal.”); Carter v. Indianapolis Power & Light Co., 837 N.E.2d 509, 514 (Ind. Ct. App. 2005) (waiving issue where party failed cite to the record or authority to support its argument), trans. denied. Although we proceed to address the majority of the issues on the merits here, we remind counsel to provide briefs with adequate citations as contemplated by Indiana Appellate Rules 22 and 46.

"Goetz’s appeal survives the Boyers’ motion to dismiss, but some arguments are waived for failure to comply with appellate rules. We reverse in part in line with our interpretation of the construction contract. We remand for the trial court to enter an order for an additional $35,598.22 payable to Goetz. The findings and conclusions are otherwise adequately supported and the remainder of the judgment is not clearly erroneous. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded."

Term. of Parent-Child Rel. of T.E.M.; Rusty Shannon v. Madison Co. Dept. of Child Svcs. (NFP) - "A trial court’s termination of parental rights will be reversed only upon a showing of clear error, that is, one which leaves us with a definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made. In re M.M., 733 N.E.2d at 14. We find no such error here. The trial court’s judgment terminating Shannon’s parental rights to T.E.M. is therefore affirmed."

NFP criminal opinions today (0):

Posted by Marcia Oddi on July 21, 2008 12:09 PM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions