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Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Ind. Courts - Still more on: Judge seals records in French Lick casino dispute without hearing [Updated]
This is the third ILB entry of the day about the Orange County judge placing an entire lawsuit under seal, so that reporters had difficulty even in finding out a suit had been filed.
Grace Schneider of the Louisville Courier Journal, who broke the story this morning (see ILB entry here), reports this afternoon that the judge has now scheduled a hearing on whether the records should remain under seal, setting it for 6 weeks from now!
Some quotes from the story:
A judge in Orange County, Ind., has scheduled a hearing for 10 a.m. July 31 to consider whether a lawsuit involving the partners in the French Lick casino project should be sealed.[Updated 6/21/06] Today's updated Louisville Courier Journal story includes:Documents in the suit by Orange County Holdings LLC, a company formed by the Bloomington-based medical device manufacturer Cook Group Inc., have been kept under seal at the request of Cook lawyers since it was filed.
The defendant in the lawsuit is Lauth Property Group, the other partner in the $382 million casino project.
On June 8 Orange County Circuit Judge Larry Blanton granted the plaintiffs' motion to keep both the lawsuit and a request for an injunction under seal.
However, state law requires a hearing to be held before a lawsuit is sealed. After being questioned Monday by The Courier-Journal about his June 8 decision, Blanton agreed to hold a hearing on the matter.
Stephen Key, general counsel for the Hoosier State Press Association, said Blanton's decision to hold a hearing is a positive step in complying with the state's public-access laws. But delaying the proceeding for more than a month "doesn't quite meet with the spirit of the law," he added.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on June 20, 2006 05:33 PM
Posted to Ind. Trial Ct. Decisions | Indiana Government