« Courts - More on "SCOTUS Weighs Whether To Limit Data Mining" | Main | Ind. Courts - Charlie White files for stay »

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Ind. Gov.t. - "Judge: Daniels exempt from testifying now in IBM welfare contract lawsuit, but aide isn't"

AP story, posted within the hour by the AP's Ken Kusmer, begins:

INDIANAPOLIS — Gov. Mitch Daniels is exempt, for now, from testifying in a lawsuit over Indiana's cancellation of a $1.37 billion contract with IBM Corp. to automate welfare intake, a judge ruled Tuesday, leaving open the possibility that he could be ordered to do so in the future.

Marion County Superior Court Judge David Dreyer's order said lawyers for Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM Corp. have not presented enough evidence to overcome a state law protecting certain state officials from testifying in lawsuits, but the order noted that he could be required to testify under conditions that haven't yet been met.

"The current evidence does not allow the Court to determine whether the Governor may be deposed in this case under any purported exemption to statute," Dreyer wrote in a three-page order. "Therefore, any deposition is precluded by law, or at least premature, until such evidence is forthcoming and sufficient."

Attorneys for the state also sought an order protecting Daniels' chief of state, Earl Goode, from having to provide a deposition, but Dreyer ruled the state law does not cover him.

[More] Here now is the IndyStar coverage.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on April 26, 2011 03:48 PM
Posted to Indiana Government