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Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Ind. Decisions - "New trial for losers in $450,000 verdict"
The Court of Appeals 2-1 opinion yesterday (see ILB summary here - 4th of the NFPs) in the case of Rudrappa and Jayashree Gunashekar v. Kay Grose, d/b/a America's Affordable Housing J & K Mfg. (NFP) is the subject of a story today by Rebecca S. Green in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette that begins:
A Fort Wayne man who lost a lawsuit and ended up with a nearly $450,000 judgment against him will have a new trial after a ruling by the Indiana Court of Appeals.Rudrappa Gunashekar and his wife, Jayashree Gunashekar, will again have the opportunity to defend themselves in a civil lawsuit filed by Kay Grose accusing them of stealing $130,196 from her company.
On Tuesday, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that Allen Superior Court Judge Nancy Boyer abused her discretion by not allowing the Gunashekars time to obtain a new attorney after theirs quit six weeks before a July 2007 trial.
According to court documents, the lawsuit grew out of a 2002 fire at a commercial building owned by the Gunashekars.
Rudrappa Gunashekar hired Grose and her company, America’s Affordable Housing, to repair and improve the property. In September 2002, an insurance company issued a check for $130,196, payable to Rudrappa Gunashekar and Grose. Gunashekar deposited the entire check in a bank account and made a partial payment to Grose. The check Grose was given was not honored.
In 2005, Grose sued for the unpaid balance and damages for criminal conversion and deception, winning contract damages of $147,337 and other damages of $296,520, according to court documents.
Weeks before the trial, the Gunashekars’ lawyer quit and Boyer denied a request to delay the bench trial, causing the Gunashekars to proceed without a lawyer.
After losing their case, the Gunashekars asked Boyer to reverse her decision, saying they were from India and non-native English speakers. Boyer denied their request and they appealed to the higher court, according to court documents.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 13, 2008 08:11 AM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions