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Friday, May 05, 2006

Ind. Decisions - Court of Appeals issues three today

Paternity of P.W.J., Phillip William Gray v. Linda Sue Schachel - child support, age at emancipation, doctrine of laches.

Eusebio Kho, M.D. v. Deborah Pennington, Findling Germano & Pennington, P.C. and Ruby Miller is a 17-page opinion by Judge May, where:

[An earlier] lawsuit alleged the Hospital’s emergency room had negligently treated or released Tracy Merle Lee. Dr. Kho was on-call when Lee was treated and Pennington dismissed Dr. Kho after she determined he was not on duty at that time.

Dr. Kho sued Pennington, her law firm, and Miller (collectively “Pennington”) for malicious prosecution and the trial court granted summary judgment for Pennington. * * *

The trial court properly granted summary judgment for Pennington, as she had probable cause to include Dr. Kho in Miller’s lawsuit and there is no private action available to Dr. Kho for Pennington’s violation of Ind. Code § 34-18-8-7. We therefore affirm.

In Heather Skeffington d/b/a Skeff's Landscaping v. David Bush, Great Oaks Nursery, a 5-page opinion, Judge May writes:
Heather Skeffington d/b/a Skeff’s Landscaping appeals the change of venue granted to David Bush d/b/a Great Oaks Nursery. She argues the trial court abused its discretion because the suit is related to land in Lake County. We reverse. * * *

We find a sufficient nexus between Skeffington’s action and the football fields Bush hydro-seeded for Skeffington’s complaint to alleged claims related to land. See Hagerman, 736 N.E.2d at 821. Because the land is in Lake County, preferred venue lies there. See T.R. 75(A)(2). Accordingly, we hold that the trial court abused its discretion in transferring venue to Porter County. See Hagerman, 736 N.E.2d at 821.

Note: The Court at page 2, footnote 2, provides a link to a hydroseeding fact sheet prepared by the Wyoming Natural Resources Conservation Service. Question: Will this be readily accessible in the future?

Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 5, 2006 10:29 PM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions