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A recent Indiana Court of Appeals decisions held that both a borrower’s knowledge of a lender’s claim against him and service at the borrower’s parents’ house, when borrower did not reside at the residence, were insufficient to confer personal jurisdiction over the borrower. In Norris v. Personal Finance, 957 N.E. 2d, 1002 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011) the financial institution attempted to assert personal jurisdiction over the borrower by serving the borrower’s parents’ address, where such address was included in borrower’s application as his references’ address and was never listed as the borrower’s home address.
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During a corporate merger or acquisition, companies should inspect the I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form policies of the soon-to-be merged or acquired company, as failure to do so may expose the company to fines and penalties from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Since November 6, 1986, employers have been required to use the I-9 form in order to verify that each employee hired is authorized to work in the United States.
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The Indiana Court of Appeals recently handed down two decisions regarding the liability of a city or municipality for damage caused to real and personal property as the result of a sewer defect. The cases examine when a city or municipality may be held liable for sewer malfunctions that cause property damage.
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In Surrisi v. Bremner, a 2011 Indiana Court of Appeals decision, the court held the Bill of Sale issued to the buyer (Bremner) invalid, as the Bill of Sale named business personal property which was not included in the Notice of Sheriff’s Sale.

Bremner, a creditor of the sellers (Surrisis), was the highest bidder at the Sheriff’s Sale and the sheriff issued a Bill of Sale that included business personal property that was not included in the Notice of Sale. The court noted that although the Agreed Judgment between the two parties stated the Sheriff’s Sale would include both real and personal property, the Notice of Sheriff’s Sale, praecipe of sale, and tax documentation, only listed the real property as being sold at the sale. Relying on a 2000 Colorado Court of Appeals decision, the court found that no notice of sale was given with respect to the business personal property, so such property could not have been sold at the sheriff’s sale. The court also stated that nothing in the settlement agreement prevented the business personal property from being sold at another sheriff’s sale, leading the court to further presume that only real property was to be sold at the Sheriff’s Sale in question.

Jeremy Fetty is a partner in the law firm of Parr Richey Frandsen Patterson Kruse with offices in Lebanon and Indianapolis. He often advises businesses and utilities (for profit, non-profit and cooperative) on organizational, human resources, and transactional matters and drafts and reviews commercial contracts.

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The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced in a final rule in August a new poster requirement for both union and non-union employers that communicates employees’ rights to organize. Although originally effective November 14, 2011, the NLRB has delayed the implementation of this requirement until January 31, 2012 due to outcry from employer organizations.

Only “covered employers” must display the posters. Certain employers are exempt, such as agricultural, railroad, or airline employers and certain very small employers and retailers. If you are unsure of your requirement to post, please consult legal counsel. Noncompliance can be treated as an unfair labor charge.

To obtain a copy of the new poster, you may visit: https://www.nlrb.gov/poster

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Many co-ops use outside companies for pole testing and inspection. These companies often propose a form agreement with “standard” terms. Pricing is sometimes addressed in a separate letter with the base agreement remaining in effect for years.

Beware of standard terms proposed by some companies. For example, the contract utilized by one prominent company requires the utility to give it written notice within thirty days of any incident resulting in the breakage of a pole. Also the utility is required to retain the pole in storage for inspection by the company. Should the notice not be given or the pole not be preserved and the inspection company would later be sued on some theory, the contract requires the utility to bear the company’s defense costs and any liability that might result.
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The Indiana Court of Appeals clarified the requirements necessary for a lawsuit to be considered a public lawsuit in Buse v. Trustees of the Luce Township Regional Sewer District, 953 N.E.2d 519 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011). In this case, a group of property owners filed suit against the Spencer County Sewer District to block it from laying a sewer line adjacent to the plaintiffs’ properties, which already had functioning septic tanks. The Sewer District argued that this lawsuit should be considered a public lawsuit under Indiana Code § 34-6-2-124. This statute was designed to end costly serial litigation against municipalities that could threaten to block nearly every proposed action of a municipality. The trial court found the plaintiffs’ lawsuit to be a public lawsuit since the allegations in the complaint directly or indirectly questioned the validity and construction of public improvements. This finding would have required the plaintiffs to post a surety bond in the amount of $9,000,000 (the amount of a grant the county received to defray construction costs) within ten days or the trial court’s order or the case would be dismissed.
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The specificity requirements of Indiana zoning decisions were discussed in The Kroger Co. v. Plan Commission of Plainfield, 953 N.E.2d 536 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011). In that case, Kroger wanted to construct a gas station next to its retail store. Kroger submitted a zoning petition seeking approval to begin construction, but the Plan Commission denied Kroger’s petition. Kroger sought judicial review. Both parties filed motions for summary judgment, with the trial court granting the Plan Commission’s motion for summary judgment. Kroger appealed, arguing that the denial did not satisfy the specificity requirement of the Zoning Enabling Act and also arguing that the Commission’s findings were not sufficient to support the denial of Kroger’s petition to construct a gas station.
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Recently in a Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals case, Verkuilen v. Mediabank, LLC, the court analyzed the administrative employee exemption to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). 646 F.3d 979 (7th Cir. 2011). Penny Verkuilen was an account manager for Mediabank, which “provides computer software to advertising agencies.” An account manager’s job is to “go out, understand [the customer’s requirement], build specifications, [and] understand the competency level of [the] customers.” Penny spent much of her time on the customers’ premises, training their staff on the software and answering any questions that came up.
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This past summer, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued a series of decisions regarding whether employees were unlawfully discharged for making comments about their employment on Facebook. In all of the cases, the NLRB determined that the employees’ comments were not protected under the National Labor Relations Act. In each case, the NLRB found that the employee’s comments were not considered “concerted activity,” a protected activity where employees may sustain an allegation of unlawful discharge if they are fired for talking with other employees seeking to induce some action regarding their employer.

In Martin House, an employee of a residential facility for homeless and mentally ill patients was fired after making comments on Facebook regarding patients. (Case 34-CA-12950) 2011 WL 3223853 (N.L.R.B.G.C. 2011) . While on duty, the employee had a short online “conversation” on Facebook with a friend. In it, the employee said of a patient, “I don’t know if shes laughing at me, with me or at her voices . . . I don’t need to restrain anyone, we have a great rapport . . . .” The employee was fired shortly after the employer was made aware of the comments, with the employer citing reasons of protecting patients from stigma and protecting their privacy. The NLRB said these comments were not “concerted activity” because the employee did not discuss her comments with co-workers. Co-workers also did not respond to her posts. She was “merely communicating . . . about what was happening on her shift.” For these reasons, NLRB determined she was not unlawfully discharged.
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