The recent property assessment battle for big-box retail stores may turn out to be short lived. In the December 2014 case of Meijer Stores v. Marion County Assessor (available here), the Indiana Board of Tax Review (“IBTR”) ruled that big-box stores like Meijer are allowed to use vacant or abandoned big-box retail stores when using...Read More

The Fall/Winter 2014/2015 issue of the KDDK Advantage Newsletter, which provides timely legal information on a wide range of topics of interest to KDDK clients, is now available. Click to download PDF version» Would you like to receive news and information from KDDK in the future? Sign up now! 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Read More

The Indiana Court of Appeals today affirmed a trial court’s ruling in favor of a congregation that broke away from a church denomination. The case, Church of the Brethren, South/Central Indiana District v. Roann Church of the Brethren, Inc., Roann Break-Away Group and the Roann Church, Inc., involved allegations from the denomination that it was entitled...Read More

The Indiana Court of Appeals recently ruled in Hi-Tec Props., LLC v. Murphy that a rental agreement clause, which immunized the landlord from damages caused by mold, was contrary to public policy, inconsistent with common-law principles of tort law, and void altogether.  The Court concluded that it is well-settled that a landlord may be held...Read More

As part of its efforts to implement regulatory reform, the Indiana Legislature has repealed the Indiana Responsible Property Transfer Law (“IRPTL”) effective July 1, 2014.  The repeal of IRPTL eliminates the statutory requirement that sellers of real property disclose potential environmental defects. IRPTL previously required sellers to disclose certain environmental conditions to buyers on the...Read More

In Rogan v. U.S. Bank, N.A. (In re: Partin), Adv. No. 14-5015 (E.D. Ky., Sept.9, 2014), a bankruptcy case in the Eastern District of Kentucky, the bankruptcy trustee sought to avoid three mortgages filed on the debtor’s property in Jessamine County.  The trustee argued that the mortgages were invalid because the bank had not properly...Read More

On March 25, 2014, Indiana Governor Pence signed into law Senate Enrolled Act 420 (“SEA 420”), which became effective on July 1, 2014. SEA 420 instituted several date changes concerning the assessment of tangible property in the State of Indiana. The following is a list of most substantial changes to Indiana’s property tax assessment timeline,...Read More

Recent changes to an Indiana law affect how condominium associations collect unpaid assessments when a unit is sold. The buyer of the condominium has to make sure the prior unit owner has paid all of the assessments or the condominium association has the ability to file a lien against the buyer’s newly-acquired condo. Prior to July...Read More

In a case that may have implications on thousands of miles of former railroads that have since been converted to recreational trails, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision on March 10, 2014, in favor of the property owner and against the U.S. Government.  In Marvin M. Brandt Revocable Trust et al. v. United States,...Read More

Due to a recent decision by the Indiana Tax Court in Joseph and Jeanne Hutcherson v. Robin L. Ward, Hamilton County Assessor, Indiana taxpayers may petition to correct errors under Indiana Code 6-1.1-15-12 relating to their property tax assessment beyond the former three (3) year limitation period. The Indiana Tax Court itself noted that its...Read More