Oral Argument Preview: Week of July 20, 2009

From the Indiana Court of Appeals’ Oral Argument Calendar: At 1 p.m. on Tuesday, July 21, the Indiana Court of Appeals will hear argument in National Union Fire Insurance Company v. Standard Fussee Corporation.  Standard Fusee Corporation (SFC) is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Maryland that currently manufactures flares at sites in Indiana and Maryland, among other places, and formerly did so at a site in California.  One ingredient in flares is perchlorate.  Perchlorate contamination has been discovered…

Indiana Court of Appeals: Renting Property OK When Not Expressly Prohibited By Restrictive Covenant

In a case of first impression, the Indiana Court of Appeals has held that short-term rental properties do not violate a restrictive covenant prohibiting commercial use. In Applegate v. Colucci, Earl Colucci owned several cottages along the Ohio River that he rented to the public by the night.  The property was subject to a restrictive covenant that prohibited commercial use but did not restrict the “leasing or renting of property or structures for residential use.”  His neighbors brought…

Indiana Court of Appeals: Prior Conspiracy Conviction Counts Toward Habitual Offender Status

In a case of first impression, the Indiana Court of Appeals held that a defendant’s prior conviction for conspiracy to deal in cocaine qualified as a conviction for dealing in cocaine, thereby making him eligible for an enhanced sentence under the habitual offender statute.   In Owens v. State, the defendant Myron Owens was convicted of Class A felony dealing in cocaine within 1,000 feet of a youth program center, Class B felony possession of cocaine, Class D felony…