The Indiana Court of Appeals recently reversed a trial court’s decision to grant judgment in favor of a purchaser of a business’s assets after that party brought suit against the business shareholders. The purchaser alleged it was entitled to collect certain assets as part of that sale, while the business filed counterclaims for conversion of personal property and disputed an…
The Indiana Court of Appeals recently reversed a trial court’s grant of judgment in favor of equipment supplier where a subcontractor filed suit against that supplier to challenge the supplier’s claim under the Personal Liability Notice (PLN) Statute. In R.T. Moore Co., Inc. v. Slant/Fin Corp, 966 N.E.2d 636 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012), the materials supplier (“Slant/Fin”) provided construction materials…
According to a July 2 press release from the Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Insurance, the 4th of July accounts for the most reported fires nationwide. According to the release, in 2010 alone there were at least 8 deaths reported and $36 million in property damage.
The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (“JOBS Act” or “the Act”) was a bill passed with bipartisan support by Congress in 2011 and signed into law by President Obama in April 2012. The goal of the law is to encourage funding for small businesses, or “emerging growth companies” in the words of the Act, to facilitate job creation and investment…
On July 12, 2011, the Indiana Court of Appeals held that an oil refinery that sold natural gas to a third-party tenant on its property was a “public utility” within the meaning of Indiana Code section 8-1-2-87.5(b). In BP Products v. Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, 964 N.E.2d 234 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011), the court reversed a previous order…
Indiana courts will not pierce the corporate veil absent a causal connection between the misuse of the corporate form and fraud or injustice. In CBR Event Decorators v. Gates, 962 N.E.2d 1276 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012), the court refused to pierce the corporate veil and hold the shareholders personally liable, as the plaintiff had failed to establish such causal connection.…
In Ziese & Sons Excavating, Inc. v. Boyer Const. Corp. and Boyer Construction Group Corp., 2012 WL 1066026 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012), the court stated that summary judgment was inappropriate after finding genuine issues of material fact as to both the questions of piercing the corporate veil and successor liability, addressing issues when a corporation is similar in name, operation,…
In a recent case, the Indiana Court of Appeals held that a utility will not be granted a full de novo review when the utility fails to actively participate in the administrative proceeding. In Utility Center, Inc. v. City of Fort Wayne, 960 N.E.2d 824, 827 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012), a utility company challenged the city’s board of public works’…
A recent Indiana Court of Appeals decision held that both a contract between a landowner and a general contractor evinced an intent on the part of the general contractor to assume a duty of care for the safety of its employees and subcontractors on the work site and that such duty was non-delegable. In Capitol Const. Services, Inc., after a…
The Indiana Supreme Court recently handed down a decision regarding an ordinance requiring property owners to obtain city issued permits prior to the removal and sale of underground water from aquifers (an underground bed or layer of permeable rock, sediment, or soil that yields water) by third-parties. In Town of Avon, both Washington Township (Township) and the West Central Conservancy…