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Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Ind. Decisions - Court of Appeals issues 1 today (and 7 NFP)
For publication opinions today (1):
In Clark E. Welch, et al. v. Connie M. Heavelin, et al. , a 4-page opinion, Sr. Judge Hoffman writes:
Clark E. Welch appeals the trial court’s order of foreclosure in favor of Connie and Daniel Heavelin, assignees of a mortgage from their deceased mother, Verlie Mae Welch Gillespie. We affirm. * * *NFP civil opinions today (4):[Welch's] sole contention is that pursuant to the Judgment Lien Statute, the lien on his property expired in June 2003, ten years from the time the lien was entered, and five years before Gillespie died.
However, more than one-hundred and twenty-five years ago, the Indiana Supreme Court explained that the predecessor to Indiana Code Section 34-55-9-2 applied only to the recovery of money, and did not apply to a decree of foreclosure establishing a specific mortgage lien upon real estate. The Evansville Gas-Light Company v. the State ex rel. Reitz, 73 Ind. 219, 221 (1881). This court reached a similar result in Lewis v. Davis, 55 N.E.2d 119, 120 (Ind. Ct. App. 1944), wherein we stated that although an action on a note is barred by the a ten-year statute of limitations, an action to foreclose the mortgage made to secure payment of the note is controlled by a twenty-year statute.
Here, the trial court properly found that the controlling statute is Indiana Code Section 32-28-4-1, which controls mortgage liens. Pursuant to the terms of this statute, a mortgage lien expires in twenty years. The mortgage lien in this case was created in 1993, and Connie and David had until 2013 to foreclose the mortgage. Their 2008 complaint was therefore timely filed, and we find no error.
Donald Frazier v. Asset Acceptance, LLC (NFP) - "The Indiana Code provides that the St. Joseph Superior Court has “[o]riginal, appellate, concurrent, and coextensive jurisdiction with the circuit court in all civil cases, criminal cases, and probate matters.” Ind. Code § 33-33-71-8(1). Thus, the St. Joseph Superior Court had subject matter jurisdiction over the instant case because it is a civil case, and whether the judgment was based on a claim not properly raised does not affect that subject matter jurisdiction. Because the instant case does not implicate subject matter jurisdiction, Frazier's Trial Rule 60(B)(6) motion presented no valid basis for a void judgment. The trial court did not err in denying his motion to reconsider it. We will not allow Frazier to use Trial Rule 60(B)(6) to resurrect his right to appeal. Affirmed."
Darren D. Williams and Tonya Williams v. City of Logansport, et al (NFP) - "Darren and Tonya Williams, pro se, appeal the trial court's order declining to award damages in their action against the City of Logansport and the Cass County Sheriff's Department (the “Department”) to quiet title and for slander of title. We affirm."
Dale L. Horn v. Lucinda B. Horn (NFP) - a 2-1 opinion: "Based on the foregoing, we find that (1) the trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying Dale’s motion for a continuance; (2) the trial court properly divided the marital estate; and (3) the trial court properly calculated Dale’s child support obligation."
Term. of Parent-Child Rel. of B.A. & D.A., Jr.; D.A. v. IDCS (NFP)
NFP criminal opinions today (3):
Credell Henry v. State of Indiana (NFP)
Ketih McCants v. State of Indiana (NFP)
Eric E. Fields v. State of Indiana (NFP)
Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 24, 2009 10:43 AM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions