Willard B. Gemmill

In Emmons v. Clark, Oscar Clark and others petitioned the Martin County board of commissioners to establish a highway over a used road in Lost River Township; after viewers approved it, Clarence Emmons remonstrated claiming about $200 in damages, but reviewers found no damages owed, and a jury in the circuit court ruled against him on appeal. Emmons challenged the circuit court's jurisdiction, arguing the proceeding should have been under a different statute for long-used roads, and also moved for a new trial on evidentiary and sufficiency grounds. The court held that jurisdiction objections not apparent on the petition's face must be raised promptly before the board or they are waived, and that the reviewers' report was properly admitted as evidence under the statute governing de novo appeals from highway proceedings. It further found the evidence sufficient to support the verdict and affirmed the judgment against Emmons.

propertyprocedure

This case is an appeal from a Porter Circuit Court judgment finding Joe Loerasto guilty of indirect contempt, fining him $100, and sentencing him to 30 days in jail for violating a temporary restraining order. The order, issued in a case charging operation of a house of ill fame, prohibited removing personal property from the premises and continuing prostitution there. The court held that this constituted civil contempt, which is exempt from the criminal contempt statute, and that the verified information sufficiently alleged a willful violation by allowing prostitution on premises the defendant controlled. The defendant's verified answer denying knowledge and ownership was insufficient to purge the contempt because it admitted potential control and failed to show efforts to comply. The judgment was affirmed, as the trial court's rulings on motions were not properly assigned as error and no reversible error was shown.

criminal lawprocedure

This case involved the State seeking to recover from parents the costs of their son's support at the Indiana Farm Colony for Feeble-minded, set at $4 per week by the institution's board. The trial court sustained the defendants' demurrers to the complaint on grounds that it failed to state a cause of action and entered judgment for the parents, but the appellate court reversed. The court held the 1919 statute constitutional under the Indiana Constitution as a general law of uniform operation that did not violate provisions on institutions for the insane. It reasoned that parents owe a continuing duty of support to defective children even after majority, the complaint sufficiently alleged the parents' financial ability to pay, and no additional showing was required regarding the estate's use for other relatives when seeking payment from parents.

family lawprocedure

In this case, a plaintiff creditor sued a company for an alleged debt of $341 and sought ex parte appointment of a receiver, claiming the defendant was in imminent danger of insolvency due to mismanagement of funds and that its income stream would be wasted without immediate court intervention. The trial court appointed a receiver without notice based on the verified amended complaint and oral testimony. On appeal, the Indiana Supreme Court reversed the appointment, ruling that state law requires reasonable notice to the adverse party before appointing a receiver unless the verified complaint (not oral evidence) states sufficient facts showing why notice or a temporary restraining order would be inadequate. The complaint here contained only conclusions and failed to demonstrate that alternative relief could not protect the plaintiff's interests until a noticed hearing.

procedurebusiness & regulatory

The case involved a lawsuit by a resident seeking to enjoin the city of Crown Point and Tuf-Tread Corp. from resurfacing a public street under a contract alleged to be illegal for various reasons. The trial court granted a temporary injunction to halt the work during the pendency of the action. On appeal from that interlocutory order, the appellate court affirmed, reasoning that the defendants' refusal to plead further after their demurrer was overruled resulted in a default that admitted the complaint's allegations, which were sufficient to show a substantial question warranting equitable investigation and preservation of the status quo. The court further held that the decision to grant a temporary injunction rests in the trial court's sound discretion absent arbitrary action, and that other assigned errors regarding the complaint were premature without a final judgment.

procedure

This case involved a mandate action by attorney Thomas M. Ryan against the Howard County auditor to compel payment of $447.30 remaining on a $900 claim for services assisting the prosecution in a banker's embezzlement case transferred from Howard Circuit Court to Clinton Circuit Court. The Clinton court appointed Ryan under the relevant statute, and the Howard court judge later allowed the full claim after the county council appropriated sufficient funds in 1929, though the auditor paid only the prior year's unexpended appropriation amount. The trial court ruled for the auditor, but on appeal the court held that the Howard judge's allowance was valid and within the existing appropriation, that the auditor had a duty to issue a warrant for the full amount allowed, and that the lower court's finding was contrary to law. The judgment was reversed with directions to grant a new trial.

criminal lawprocedure