« Ind. Courts - Hearing set in early voting case | Main | Environment - Union-Go CAFO gets draft permit to expand »

Friday, October 17, 2008

Ind. Decisions - "Appeal denied in West Lafayette housing code case"

As related in this ILB entry earlier this afternoon, the COA today decided in a very brief ruling in the case of James H. Bowden and Edward E. Bowden v. City of West Lafayette, Indiana (NFP) - "Here, Appellants’ counsel has failed to support his argument with cogent reasoning and citation to authorities in support of his position. The failure to make a cogent argument is equivalent to a failure to file a brief. Bright v. Kuehl, 650 N.E.2d 311, 317 (Ind. Ct. App. 1995). Consequently, the issues presented here on appeal are waived, and the decision of the trial court is affirmed."

Sophia Voravang reports this afternoon on the Lafayette Journal Courier website:

A West Lafayette man and his father must pay the city of West Lafayette nearly $120,000 for having too many tenants in one of their properties, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled today.

Edward Bowden and his father, James, were accused of letting more than three people live in a house at 810 N. Grant St. between Aug. 1, 2006, and July 15, 2007.

A West Lafayette city ordinance prohibits more than three unrelated people from living together in areas zoned residential. The purpose of the ordinance is to "protect neighborhoods and provide safe and decent housing," according to the city's Web site.

The Bowdens' case was one of three civil complaints, filed by the city over code violations by landlords, that were heard in the past year by Tippecanoe Superior Court 2 Judge Thomas Busch.

Busch granted summary judgment in January to the city, ordering that the Bowdens pay $119,400 for violations that also included renting the house without a proper certificate.

The father and son appealed, and their Lafayette-based attorney, Frederick Meessen, argued the case before the Court of Appeals last month.

See this ILB entry from Oct. 4th for more information. More from this afternoon's story:
In its one-page, unanimous ruling issued today, the higher court affirmed Busch's ruling on grounds that Meessen's argument was not convincing enough.

"The failure to make a cogent argument is equivalent to a failure to file a brief," Judge James Kirsch wrote, adding a footnote that implies the appeal can be resubmitted.

"[1] Our decision today is not meant to ignore the serious nature of the procedure involved in this matter. However, we save our discussion for another day when the issues are more properly presented to this court."

Contacted this afternoon, Meessen said he had not yet read the ruling. But he said that the Bowdens do have some recourse, including asking for a rehearing or a transfer to the Indiana Supreme Court.

BTW, the ILB does not read the footnote to imply that the appeal can be resubmitted.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on October 17, 2008 04:31 PM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions