Indiana Attorney At Law

Indiana Supreme Court Monthly Wrap Up
November, 2005

The Indiana Supreme Court issued three decisions in November 2005 that were of interest in the area of civil litigation.

In Wilfong v. The Cessna Corp., the owner of a landlocked parcel of real estate attempted to establish a prescriptive easement over the real estate owned by an adjoining landowner, the Cessna Corp. The adjoining landowner introduced testimony at trial that it had given permission to the prior owner of the landlocked parcel to use its driveway. The Indiana Supreme Court repeated the general rule that there must be clear and convincing proof of intent to use another's real estate to the exclusion of its owner. Because there was proof that the owner had given permission, the Indiana Supreme Court found in favor of the adjoining landowner.

In Prentoski v. Five Star Painting, Inc., an injured worker sought to reopen a workers compensation case for permanent partial impairment ("PPI"). The question in that case involved an interpretation of the statute requiring that the request to reopen must be filed within one year. The Indiana Supreme Court clarified the statute by stating that the one-year period starts from the date of the PPI award, rather than the date that award finally gets paid.

In Crabtree v. Estate of Crabtree, the Indiana Supreme Court rendered an important opinion relating to punitive damages. The Court was asked to decide what happens to a claim of punitive damages when a defendant dies during the pendency of a case. In the Crabtree case, two children were riding in a car driven by their father. There was an accident and the father's breath test showed .15% blood alcohol content. The children, through their mother, sued their father. While the case was still going on, the father died from unrelated causes. The Indiana Supreme Court found that the children were not allowed to obtain punitive damages after the death of the father. The Court did permit the injured children to seek compensatory damages for their actual injuries, including medical bills.




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