Reported and Representative Cases: Brian J. Paul

Baude v. Heath, 538 F.3d 608 (7th Cir. 2008) (on brief). Primary Issue: Whether Indiana's wine shipment laws violated the dormant commerce clause of the United States Constitution.

French-Tex Cleaners, Inc. v. Cafaro Co., 893 N.E.2d 1156 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008). Primary Issue: Whether a lease required the tenant to pay a pro rata share of the the gross property taxes imposed without deduction for a certain tax credit.

Daisy Farm L.P. v. Morrolf, 886 N.E.2d 604 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008). Primary issues: (1) whether property subject to a public easement could be adversely possessed; and (2) whether the riparian rights of two lakefront homeowners were properly determined by extending their onshore property boundaries straight out into the lake.

Old Republic Ins. Co. v. RLI Ins. Co., 887 N.E.2d 1003 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008). Primary issue: whether a state statute operated to alter the normal priority of coverage between a primary insurer and three excess insurers.

Allianz Ins. Co. v. Guidant Corp., 884 N.E.2d 405 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008). Primary issue: whether an insurance company had a duty to defend its insured against claims arising out of an allegedly defective medical device.

Jones v. Womacks, 852 N.E.2d 1035 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006), trans. granted and appeal dismissed as moot (Ind. May 21, 2007) (participated at rehearing and transfer stages). Primary issue: whether the petition and remonstrance process for certain tax-based financings violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Cinergy Corp. v. Associated Elec. & Gas Ins. Servs., Ltd., 865 N.E.2d 571 (Ind. 2007). Primary issue: whether an insurer was liable for defense costs as they were incurred for underlying environmental liability claims brought against the insured in a federal lawsuit.

Citizens Gas & Coke Util. v. Local Union No. 1400, Int'l Bhd. of Elec. Workers, 874 N.E.2d 391 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007). Primary issue: whether the arbitrator exceeded her powers by considering documents outside the scope of the arbitration agreement.

Cinergy Corp. v. St. Paul Surplus Lines Ins. Co., 873 N.E.2d 105 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007). Primary issue: whether liability insurers owed coverage for claims that the insured violated the federal Clean Air Act.

Glenn v. Dow AgroSciences, LLC, 861 N.E.2d 1 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007), trans. granted and appeal dismissed as moot (Ind. June 15, 2007). Primary issue: whether a non-competition agreement was so broad as to violate public policy.

Keenan v. Butler, 869 N.E.2d 1284 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007). Primary issue: whether the probate court had exclusive jurisdiction over an action for breach of contract to make a will.

Robert Lynn Co. v. Town of Clarksville Bd. of Zoning App., 867 N.E.2d 660 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007). Primary issue: whether a town planning commission could review the propriety of a variance from the local zoning ordinance.

United States v. Sherrod, 445 F.3d 980 (7th Cir. 2006). Primary issues: (1) whether the government proved beyond a reasonable doubt that a carjacked vehicle had moved in interstate commerce; and (2) whether the government had to prove that the defendant committed first-degree murder beyond a reasonable doubt for the defendant to be sentenced for first-degree murder.

Schultz v. Ford Motor Co., 857 N.E.2d 977 (Ind. 2006). Primary issue: whether a presumption is properly given "continuing effect" under Indiana Evidence Rule 301 by the trial court instructing the jury that when a basic fact is proven, the jury may infer the existence of a presumed fact.

Bonney v. Ind. Fin. Auth. , 849 N.E.2d 473 (Ind. 2006) (of record). Primary issue: whether legislation authorizing the lease of the Indiana Toll Road was constitutional.

Americans for the Arts v. Ruth Lilly Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust No. 1 U/A January 18, 2002, 855 N.E.2d 592 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006). Primary issue: whether a trustee’s authority to retain assets as part of a trust’s general powers clause excused – as a matter of law – the trustee’s statutory duty to diversify.

Williams v. Riverside Cmty. Corrections Corp., 846 N.E.2d 738 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006). Primary issue: whether an employee is entitled to accrued vacation and sick pay if she is terminated prior to the expiration of the vesting period for such pay.

Mid-American Fire & Cas. Co. v. Shoney's Inc., 843 N.E.2d 548 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006) (on rehearing). Primary issue: whether an estate was entitled to insurance coverage under a homeowner's policy for liability arising out of petroleum contamination.

Price v. Am. Cyanamid Co.,No. 2:04-CV-242 PS, 2006 WL 694747 (N.D. Ind. Mar. 14, 2006), aff'd with order to show cause sub nom. Price v. Wyeth Holdings Corp., 505 F.3d 624 (7th Cir. 2007). Primary issue: whether a case removed to federal court in 2004 alleging personal injuries suffered in 1991 had to be remanded to state court.

Allgood v. Meridian Sec. Ins. Co., 836 N.E.2d 243 (Ind. 2005) (participated at intermediate appellate level only). Primary issue: whether a standard automobile insurance policy obligates an insurer to compensate for a vehicle's diminished value after the vehicle has been adequately repaired.

Knightstown Banner, LLC v. Town of Knightstown, 838 N.E.2d 1127 (Ind. Ct. App. 2005). Primary issue: whether a settlement agreement created, received, and retained by an attorney hired by a town's reciprocal insurer was subject to inspection under Indiana's Access to Public Records Act.

Nickels v. Bryant, 839 N.E.2d 1211 (Ind. Ct. App. 2005). Primary issue: whether a truck driver's exclusive remedy for personal injuries alleged to have been caused by an independent contractor was under the Indiana Worker's Compensation Act.

U.S. Land Servs., Inc. v. U.S. Surveyor, Inc., 826 N.E.2d 49 (Ind. Ct. App. 2005). Primary issue: whether an injunction was over broad when it prohibited the defendants from engaging in the survey management business.

Osler Institute, Inc. v. Forde, 386 F.3d 816 (7th Cir. 2004) (on brief). Primary issue: whether an attorneys' fees provision in a covenant not to compete agreement was enforceable when other, essential portions of the agreement had been previously invalidated.

Jennings v. AC Hydraulic A/S, 383 F.3d 546 (7th Cir. 2004). Primary issue: whether a Danish company could be sued in Indiana for an accident allegedly involving its product when the plaintiff had not proven that the defendant had engaged in deliberate, purposeful contact with the State.

East Coast Fasteners & Closures, Inc. v. Employers Mut. Cas. Co., 93 Fed. Appx. 948 (7th Cir. 2004). Primary issue: whether a building manufacturer was entitled to insurance coverage for claims alleging that the metal screws used to construct the buildings were rusting.

Butler Univ. v. In re Unsupervised Estate of Verdak, 815 N.E.2d 185 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004). Primary issue: whether the probate court abused its discretion by reopening an estate that had been closed for nearly a decade.

Ziliak v. AstraZeneca LP, 324 F.3d 518 (7th Cir. 2003) (on brief). Primary issue: whether the warning accompanying an asthma drug was adequate as a matter of law.

Caffey v. Mansur Group, Inc., 67 Fed.Appx. 370 (7th Cir. 2003). Primary issue: whether the doctrine of res judicata barred an employee's claims under ERISA against the administrator.

Murray v. Conseco, Inc., 795 N.E.2d 454 (Ind. 2003). Primary issue: whether a director of a corporation elected by a voting group of shareholders could be removed without cause by the corporation's board under the Indiana business code.

E & S Mems, L.L.C. v. Eagen, 795 N.E.2d 508 (Ind. Ct. App. 2003). Primary issue: whether the trial court had jurisdiction to enforce a settlement agreement when the underlying case had been dismissed with prejudice.

St. Mary's Med. Ctr. v. Loomis, 783 N.E.2d 274 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002). Primary issue: whether the evidence supported a $16 million judgment against a hospital for negligently injuring a neurosurgeon.

Huntington County Commun. Sch. Corp. v. State Bd. of Tax Comm'rs, 757 N.E.2d 235 (Ind. Tax Ct. 2001). Primary issue: whether the statutory requirement that a taxpayer verify his petition to initiate a remonstrance process could be waived.