Articles

Judges put workers’ comp onus on employers-WEB ONLY

The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that health care providers are not responsible for proving whether their charges are excessive in billing disputes involving patients injured on the job. Rather, the three-judge panel said the onus falls on the employer or its insurer to establish whether medical expenses for injured employees might be considered […]

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Judges put workers’ comp onus on employers-WEB ONLY

The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that health care providers are not responsible for proving whether their charges are excessive in billing disputes involving patients injured on the job. Rather, the three-judge panel said the onus falls on the employer or its insurer to establish whether medical expenses for injured employees might be considered […]

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Cinergy trial ends with split verdict-WEB ONLY

A federal jury returned a verdict that a major energy company violated clean-air rules at a coal-fired power plant along the Ohio River in southeast Indiana. The Southern District of Indiana verdict Tuesday night came following six days of trial and eight hours of jury deliberation in U.S., et al. v. Cinergy Corp., et al., […]

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Indiana firms lash out against patent proposal

Four Indiana businesses have joined more than 100 major companies in an open letter to President Barack Obama, outlining what
they believe are weaknesses of patent reform legislation now before Congress and voicing concern about its potential economic
impact.

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Justice election legislation bogs down-WEB ONLY

Legislation aimed at changing how Indiana Supreme Court justices are chosen hasn’t gotten enough support to make it out of committee for now, receiving a split vote from lawmakers today that means it won’t be going to the full House for consideration. The Government and Regulatory Reform Committee added to its agenda this morning House […]

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Attorneys leaving Bingham to form new firm-WEB ONLY

Seven attorneys are leaving Indianapolis firm Bingham McHale to form a new insurance litigation firm, a move that one of the departing partners said came as a result of the large firm’s practice group effectively pricing itself out of the market. Those involved describing it as an amicable split that boils down to those attorneys […]

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Clean-air trial attorneys escape discipline-WEB ONLY

A federal judge in Indianapolis has decided disciplinary actions aren’t needed against a handful of attorneys relating to their conduct in a clean-air trial last year, though he hasn’t changed his mind about setting aside the jury verdict and holding a new trial as a result of the behavior of in-house counsel. U.S. District Judge […]

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Insurer settles state lawsuit for $16.5M

A legal malpractice insurance carrier has agreed to pay $16.5 million to Indiana ‘s insurance department, settling a federal lawsuit stemming from the multi-million-dollar collapse of a health insurance trust. Alabama-based ProNational Insurance Co. agreed to make the payment to settle a bad-faith and breach-of-contract lawsuit filed by the department four months ago. ProNational was […]

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Fishers company loses Marilyn Monroe suit

CMG Worldwide, an intellectual property licensing firm in Fishers, has lost a federal lawsuit relating to the iconic images of the late actress Marilyn Monroe. On Sept. 2, U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan ruled that heirs of New York photographer Sam Shaw own rights to the […]

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Fillenwarth Dennerline appeals jury verdict

The Indianapolis law firm socked by an $18 million jury verdict two years ago over the collapse of a health insurance trust has appealed to the state’s highest court. If Fillenwarth Dennerline Grothe & Towe can escape the verdict, the firm might be relieved of an agreement it struck with the Indiana Department of Insurance […]

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Appeals court sides with Lauth in casino suit

Indianapolis developer Lauth Property Group didn’t breach a joint venture contract with a Chicago company when Lauth abandoned the joint venture and formed a partnership with a different company to build a hotel and casino in the southern Indiana town of French Lick, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled today. The state’s second-highest appeals court […]

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Supreme Court decision unlikely to end voter-ID fight: More cases arise to challenge strict state statute

Two months have passed since the Supreme Court of the United States upheld Indiana’s voter identification law requiring photo ID for anyone casting a ballot in-person. Potential sequels are already in the litigation works, though it’s debatable whether they are actually considered “sequels.” While plaintiffs separately contend that the Supreme Court case, William Crawford, et al. v. Marion County Election Board, either doesn’t apply or endanger their claims, the pair of suits signify the first Indiana cases to come since…

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Indy firm loses Marilyn Monroe rights case

CMG Worldwide Inc. suffered a significant legal setback Monday when a federal judge ruled that Fishers-based CMG and a company it represents, Marilyn Monroe LLC, do not own Marilyn Monroe’s publicity rights. The California ruling could be a massive blow to CMG. Monroe’s likeness on everything from TV commercials to T-shirts generated about $30 million […]

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Presidential campaigns hitting a sour note?: Candidates using pop songs face IP issues

Presidential campaigns hitting a sour note? Candidates using pop songs face IP issues While this may be “Our Country” and you may have been “Born in the U.S.A.,” that doesn’t mean you can use those tunes in political campaigns without venturing “Into The Great Wide Open” of intellectual property law. Political candidates have been discovering this truth for decades as they’ve used musical hits at political rallies and campaign events, including the 2008 presidential election season. Wherever people gather to…

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Late action complicates tax planning: AMT legislative fix may mean delays

Expect the early tax-filing season to be a little muddy in 2008-and a tax package already received by mail from the Internal Revenue Service doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. While many Indiana taxpayers are now protected from additional federal taxes for another year thanks to late action by federal lawmakers in mid-December, millions will have to wait until February to get tax refunds in the mail because of that congressional delay. On Dec. 19, Congress gave final approval to…

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Carmel claims victory in latest annexation court case:

Carmel has another appellate victory on the issue of annexation after an Indiana Court of Appeals ruling on Oct. 17. The state’s second-highest appellate court decided that the city adequately proved it could afford to annex part of a nearby community into its municipal borders, and that a Hamilton County judge erred in auditing a financial plan and ruling in favor of the remonstrators. The unanimous decision in City of Carmel v. Certain Home Place Annexation Territory Landowners, No. 29A04-0510-CV-578,…

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Court sides with locals in Guidant suit

The state’s second-highest appeals court is allowing a class-action lawsuit involving Guidant Corp. defibrillators to proceed in Marion County, though the ruling won’t affect similar federal or state suits. A three-judge Indiana Court of Appeals panel decided yesterday that two people could continue a class-action product liability lawsuit against Guidant over now-recalled defibrillators or pacemakers, […]

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Daniels orders reassessment, launches commission

Gov. Mitch Daniels today ordered that all residential and commercial property in Marion County be reassessed. Daniels said tax bills will be frozen at 2006 levels, and that a big part of the county’s property tax calamity appeared to be that business assessments were not done or were performed inaccurately. Marion County property taxes increased […]

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Duke lacrosse publicity a concern to all prosecutors: The ‘Nifong effect’ likely to have an impact on public perception, courtroom strategy, Indiana attorneys say

Indiana prosecutors worry about heightened suspicion of any charging decision they make as a result of the recent highprofile disbarment of a North Carolina prosecutor. Talk started months ago, but banter took a new surge following Michael Nifong’s nationally televised disciplinary proceeding June 16. He was disbarred for violating professional conduct rules in his prosecution of three Duke University lacrosse players falsely accused of rape. “Around the country and here, prosecutors are talking about the Nifong effect,” said Stephen Johnson,…

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State begins modernizing case-management systems: Moving from paper to electronic records a big task

Beside a marble counter in the Appellate Clerk of the Courts office at the Indiana Statehouse, a one-room storage area known as “the vault” is the storehouse for paper case files. Each is bound by string and has case numbers written on an attached tag, and they only move to be carted between floors and buildings when a court needs to review a file. While the clerk creates an electronic docket at the appellate level, that system remains largely unconnected…

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