The Indiana Law Blog: Ind. Decisions - Court of Appeals issues 5 today (and 20 NFP)

« Ind. Decisions - "Boney Grants Exclusive Interview: Convicted Killer Gives First TV Interview In 5 Years" | Main | Ind. Law - Still more on "Key to safe-haven law is spreading the word" »

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Ind. Decisions - Court of Appeals issues 5 today (and 20 NFP)

For publication opinions today (5):

In Dharam Bhatia v. Anuradha Kollipara, M.D. , a 7-page opinion, Judge Bradford writes:

In this medical malpractice action, Appellant/Plaintiff Dharam Bhatia appeals from the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Dr. Anuradha Kollipara, M.D. We reverse and remand. * * *

Because Dharam has sufficiently rebutted the MRP’s opinion with expert testimony, we conclude that the trial court incorrectly granted Dr. Kollipara’s summary judgment motion. We therefore reverse and remand for further proceedings.

In George A. Scott v. Malissa Elizabeth Retz, R.N., and Indiana University , a 14-page opinion, Judge Robb writes:

George Scott, a Clarian Health Partners, Inc. (“Clarian”) safety and security investigator, was stuck by a used uncapped syringe while investigating missing narcotics at Indiana University Hospital, which is operated by Clarian. Scott sued Malissa Retz, R.N., for negligence and Indiana University (“IU”), Retz's employer, for respondeat superior and negligent retention and supervision. Scott appeals the trial court's grant of summary judgment to Retz and IU on all of Scott's claims, raising the single issue whether the trial court properly granted summary judgment. IU cross-appeals the trial court's order striking part of its affidavit designated in support of summary judgment, raising the issue whether the trial court properly concluded the affidavit contained impermissible hearsay. We conclude, based on the undisputed facts of Clarian's control of the uncapped needles prior to the needle stick, that Retz's and IU's actions were not a proximate cause of Scott's injury. Therefore, we affirm the trial court's grant of summary judgment to Retz and IU, and we need not address the merits of IU's cross-appeal.

In Marvin Jay Miller, M.D. v. Tiffany Brook Yedlowski, et al., an 11-page opinion, Judge Vaidik writes:

In the interlocutory appeal of this medical negligence case, Marvin Jay Miller, M.D., appeals the trial court’s denial of his motion for summary judgment. According to established Indiana law, when a nonmoving party fails to respond to a motion for summary judgment within thirty days by either filing a response, requesting a continuance under Indiana Trial Rule 56(I), or filing an affidavit under Indiana Trial Rule 56(F), the trial court cannot consider summary judgment filings of that party subsequent to the thirty-day period. In this appeal we clarify that when a nonmoving party has received an enlargement of time pursuant to Trial Rule 56(I), any response, including a subsequent motion for enlargement of time, must be made within the additional period granted by the trial court. Because the nonmovants in this case filed their second motion for enlargement of time six days after the deadline set by the trial court, the trial court’s order granting their second motion for enlargement of time was a nullity, and the court was precluded from considering their response to Dr. Miller’s motion for summary judgment. Because this leaves no evidence to oppose Dr. Miller’s motion for summary judgment, we remand this case with instructions for the trial court to enter summary judgment in favor of Dr. Miller.

R.H. v. State of Indiana

Sean Wright v. State of Indiana - "Having concluded that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting R.A.'s and Wright's statements into evidence, and having concluded that Wright's 165-year sentence is appropriate and does not warrant the protections of section 35-50-2-9, we affirm Wright's convictions and sentence."

NFP civil opinions today (5):

Kenneth E. Smith, Jr. and Cathy Smith v. Jeffrey Harbrecht (NFP)

Term. of the Parent-Child Rel. of B.C.; A.C., et al. v. IDCS (NFP)

Marcus Burnside v. Tosha Burnside (NFP)

Darin W. Chamberlain v. Kyle A. Daugherty (NFP)

Envirotech Pump Systems d/b/a Wemco Pumps v. DW Squared, Inc. (NFP)

NFP criminal opinions today (15):

State of Indiana v. Evan Von Hendrix (NFP)

C.S. v. State of Indiana (NFP)

Heather D. Griffin v. State of Indiana (NFP)

Jerome McKinney v. State of Indiana (NFP)

David A. House v. State of Indiana (NFP)