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Saturday, September 23, 2006

Ind. Courts - More on: Carmel annexations before both Court of Appeals and Supreme Court

Not any longer.

On Sept. 12th, Bill Ruthhart of the Indianapolis Star wrote: "The Indiana Supreme Court has agreed to consider the southwest Clay annexation case, and the Indiana Court of Appeals is set to hear arguments in the Home Place annexation case later this month." See the ILB entry here.

Today Ruthhart writes:

Carmel's appeal in the Home Place annexation case was delayed Friday.

Attorneys for both sides were scheduled to argue the case Wednesday in the Indiana Court of Appeals. That court has delayed the proceedings until the Indiana Supreme Court decides Carmel's appeal in the southwest Clay Township annexation case.

Earlier this summer, the southwest Clay case was expedited to the Supreme Court after the city argued the dispute was so important that it should skip the appeals court. No date has been set for oral arguments before the Supreme Court.

The City Council voted to annex both areas in November 2004. Residents in both areas fought the annexations in court, and Hamilton Superior Court Judge William Hughes ruled against Carmel in both cases.

Stephen Buschmann, an attorney who represents Home Place residents fighting annexation, said the appeals court decision -- to delay the Home Place case until the southwest Clay case is resolved -- makes sense.

"While the cases are quite different in many respects, there also are some similarities, and the Supreme Court's decision could have some application in this case," Buschmann said.

"It makes sense because when we go into argue, we'll be arguing under whatever the Supreme Court says in the southwest Clay case."
The decision also did not come as a surprise to Carmel.

"This was not unexpected," said city spokeswoman Nancy Heck. "Since the southwest Clay annexation decision was expedited to the state Supreme Court, it seems reasonable for the Home Place issue to be put on hold until the Supreme Court rules on southwest Clay."

Buschmann said he would expect a decision in the southwest Clay case by early next year at the latest.

"They decided to grant that case an emergency hearing," he said. "So they're going to move it right along."

The outcome of the southwest Clay case won't necessarily impact the Home Place decision, Buschmann said, because the judgments by Hughes in the two cases were different.

In the Home Place case, Hughes ruled against Carmel because he did not believe the city showed how it could afford to annex the 1.6-square-mile area centered at 106th Street and College Avenue.

In the southwest Clay case, Hughes determined Carmel was not specific enough in describing how it would provide services to the 8.3-square-mile area west of U.S. 31 and south of 116th Street.

"Yes, these two cases deal with a similar concept, but really these cases are very, very different," Buschmann said. "But the main issue in both is did Carmel prove its case."

Here is a list of earlier ILB entries on the Carmel Homeplace annexation.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on September 23, 2006 12:07 PM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions