Don’t let the excellence of those around you go unrecognized. It only takes a few minutes to nominate a colleague who stands out in the crowd. The Indianapolis legal community is fortunate to be home to many talented, dedicated professionals, and we need your help in identifying the best of the best. 

Nominations are encouraged for the following IndyBar awards via a single online application form that only takes a few minutes to complete.

Congratulations and best wishes to these IndyBar members on their career moves and accomplishments! Have something to share? Email Julie Armstrong to be featured.

 
Taft welcomes Elizabeth Little as an attorney in the firm's Bankruptcy and Restructuring group in the Indianapolis office. She provides integrated and strategic legal counsel on financial matters, including complex financial transactions, corporate debt restructurings, related litigation matters, and commercial contracts.

 
Chad Oswald has joined Dentons in Indianapolis as of counsel. A member of Dentons’ Commercial Litigation practice, Chad focuses his practice on fiduciary, commercial and real estate disputes. He also represents small businesses, shareholders, closely held business members and large corporations in complex commercial litigation.
 

ChatGPT is all anyone can seem to talk about these days, from grandmas to grade schoolers.  That is how you know when a technology has captured the popular zeitgeist. Now, if you haven’t used it yet, or are unfamiliar with it, ChatGPT is what is called a ‘generative AI’ tool, that is rendered in the form of a chatbot.

By order of the Marion Circuit Court Judge, the Marion Circuit Court, Marion Superior Courts, Marion County Small Claims Courts, and the Marion County Clerk’s Office will be closed on Monday, June 19, 2023, in observance of Juneteenth.

A reminder, when the Court is closed, the Juvenile Detention Center, Initial Hearing Court and Juvenile Probation Intake at 25th & Keystone are still open and operational.

The nomination period has begun for the 2024 Boards of Directors for the Indianapolis Bar Association AND the Indianapolis Bar Foundation. There are also opportunities for service with the Association's Section and Division Executive Committees.  Volunteering with IndyBar is an invaluable opportunity to play a role in the future of our legal community.

A Pennsylvania state court has declined to rule upon motions to dismiss brought by insurers of the Philadelphia Eagles NFL franchise and the Philadelphia 76ers NBA franchise for business interruptions claims due to COVID-19. Two unrelated but similar claims by Pennsylvania businesses are currently under review by the state supreme court, which the trial court judge noted may impact the subject cases. Given the uncertain legal landscape, the judge ruled that limited discovery should commence.

In case you missed it, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) were all the rage for about ten seconds earlier this year. Don’t ask us what they are, but a group of investors has sued Yuga Labs, Inc., and several celebrities including Madonna and Justin Bieber, in a class action suit alleging that they were mislead and induced into purchasing Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs that were artificially inflated in value. Surprisingly, billions of dollars of these NFTs were sold before crashing in value. While similar suits have not been successful, the scope of the losses and the novelty of the marketplace should make for some interesting decisions by insurers.

A recent bench trial found that false insurance claims and unnecessary surgeries led to $31 million in fake claims directed by a New York doctor and an attorney. Between 2013 and 2018, co-conspirators helped to stage slip and fall accidents in order to increase the value of fraudulent personal injury suits, as held by the court. The six counts of wire and mail fraud each carry a maximum term of 20 years in prison.

The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reached an agreement with Wells Fargo & Co. on a $3.7 billion penalty, the largest fine ever handed down by the agency, for mismanagement of car loans, mortgages, and bank accounts. The bank charged illegal fees and interest on loans, wrongly repossessed cars, and imposed wrongful overdraft fees on bank accounts.

In a matter of first impression in Delaware, a court has ruled that a horse-drawn buggy is not a motor vehicle for the purposes of auto coverage.

A woman driving an automobile collided with a horse-drawn buggy that was uninsured. The injured woman sought uninsured motorist coverage under her State Farm policy, which was denied. As the court noted, a vehicle pulled by a horse does not have a motor, and the auto policy at issue provided coverage only for damages arising from the use, maintenance, or ownership of a land motor vehicle.