Year in Review: Our work at Court of Appeals

Truth: I hate appeals. 

I heard someone say once that there are two kinds of lawyers: those who did most of their work at desk, and those that did most of their work on their feet. I prefer the latter, but appeals are a fact of life and a good appeal is the difference between winning and losing.  

We aren’t just trial lawyers here at Schad & Schad, PC. We represent clients at every stage of the legal process, including at the appellate level. Over the past 2+ years we have earned 2 significant victories for our clients in published decisions. Our firm advocates for our clients at every level and we currently have 2 cases on appeal in Indiana. 

When we win a big verdict, the defense almost always appeal. Good work on appeals is vital to helping our clients. 

In Heritage Operating, L.P. d/b/a Empire Gas v. Mauck and Thomas, our firm represented 2 victims of a devastating gas explosion. Our clients occupied a rental property that contained a half full propane gas tank owned by Empire Gas. The tank had been left there by a prior tenant. When our clients moved onto the property, there was noted confusion as to who owned the gas and whether our clients could use the gas for heating purposes. When our clients utilized the gas, escaped gas later caused a massive explosion that left our clients with severe and permanent injuries. We sought recovery from both the owner of the property and the gas company. The gas company attempted to have the case dismissed at the trial court level, which was the basis for this appeal. Ultimately, as to the central issue of the case, the Indiana Court of Appeals stated that a gas company owes the public a general duty of reasonable care to persons who might be injured by the propane. This matter later resolved out of court.

In Nolan v. Clarksville Police Department and Town of Clarksville, we sought recovery for a young woman who was injured while serving as a volunteer in a police training exercise. This was a difficult case and was initially dismissed at the trial court level on technical pre-suit notice issues regarding injuries caused by governmental entities. However, we vigorously argued on behalf of our client in the Indiana Court of Appeals, which ultimately reversed the trial court’s dismissal. While both parties sought further review by the Indiana Supreme Court, the case resolved out of court and the appeal was dismissed.

In Harrison County Sheriff’s Department v. Leandra Ayers, Personal Representative of the Estate of Christine Britton, Deceased, our client was the surviving daughter of a woman who lost her life in a tragic set of circumstances involving her husband. The central issue in the case was whether the husband of the deceased woman, who was a deputy sheriff for the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, was furthering his employer’s interests at the time of his wife’s death. Although a jury rendered a verdict for our client in the amount of $1.2 million, the Indiana Court of Appeals overturned that result. Currently, the matter is awaiting final adjudication before the Indiana Supreme Court.  

At Schad & Schad, we are proud of the fact that we successfully handle cases from pre-suit negotiations all the way to arguing appeals in the Indiana appellate court system. We are prepared to advocate for our clients every step of the way.