Memorandum Opinion and Order JON E. DeGUILIO, District Judge. Plaintiffs Grace Schools (hereinafter, "Grace") and Biola University, Inc. (hereinafter, "Biola") have filed their first amended verified complaint [DE 54] seeking declaratory and injunctive relief claiming that the government defendants have violated their rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA), 42 U.S.C. 2000bb et seq., the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, and the...
Memorandum Opinion and Order JON E. DEGUILIO, District Judge. Plaintiffs Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Inc. ("Diocese"), Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Inc. ("Catholic Charities"), Saint Anne Home & Retirement Community of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Inc. ("Saint Anne Home"), Franciscan Alliance, Inc. ("Franciscan"), Specialized Physicians of Illinois, LLC ("Specialty Physicians"), University of Saint Francis ("University"), and Our Sunday Visitor,...
OPINION & ORDER JOSEPH S. VAN BOKKELEN, District Judge. By January 11, 2010, Blue Jeans Bar & Grill, a Mishawaka, Indiana, establishment owned by James Gonsalves through DADA, LLC, had come under false suspicion of serving alcohol to Shawn Devine, whose drunk driving killed a policeman and his canine partner two days earlier. Acting on the misinformation of a local law-enforcement agency that Devine had visited Blue Jeans before the fatal crash, Lieutenant Tim Cleveland of the Indiana Excise...
OPINION AND ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION PHILIP P. SIMON, Chief Judge. Notre Dame seeks a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the part of the Affordable Care Act that requires employers to provide employees with health insurance that covers contraceptive services. Notre Dame objects to providing contraceptive care on religious grounds, and that of course is its prerogative. But the law provides religious employers like Notre Dame an out by allowing it...
OPINION AND ORDER WILLIAM C. LEE, District Judge. This matter is before the court on two motions to dismiss, filed by the defendants, Plumbers & Steamfitters Local No. 166 U.A. ("Local 166") and Shambaugh & Son, L.P. 1 ("Shambaugh"), on September 12, 2013. The plaintiff, Mark Holloway ("Holloway"), filed his response on October 17, 2013, to which the defendants replied on November 1, 2013. For the following reasons, the motions to dismiss will be granted. Discussion The facts, as...
OPINION AND ORDER PAUL R. CHERRY, United States Magistrate Judge. This matter is before the Court on Porter Township School Corporation and Boone Grove Middle School's Motion for Attorney Fees [DE 43], filed on May 29, 2013, by Defendants Porter Township School Corporation and Boone Grove Middle School (collectively, the "Porter Township Defendants"). Defendants seek an award of attorney's fees under Indiana Code 34-50-1-2 and 42 U.S.C. 1988. BACKGROUND On October 24, 2011, Plaintiffs,...
OPINION AND ORDER ROGER B. COSBEY, United States Magistrate Judge. I. INTRODUCTION In April 2011, Plaintiff Elaine Hartman's husband, Robert Hartman, passed away. Mr. Hartman was a former employee of Weatherhead Company ("Weatherhead"), Dana Holding Corporation's ("Dana") predecessor and, at the time of his death, was receiving a pension from Weatherhead. After he died, Mrs. Hartman contacted Dana to inquire about her survivor annuity and was told her husband had elected against it in 1979....
OPINION AND ORDER JOSEPH S. VAN BOKKELEN, District Judge. This matter is before the Court on cross-motions for summary judgment filed by Plaintiff Charles Johns (DE 56) and Defendants Bruce Lemmon and Mark Sevier (DE 62). Plaintiff sued Defendants for declaratory and injunctive relief because Defendants will not accommodate his desire to receive food the day before the Sabbath to store in his cell for consumption on the Sabbath. A. Summary Judgment Standard A motion for summary judgment...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER JON E. DEGUILIO, District Judge. This case arises out of the spate of medical malpractice committed by Dr. Mark S. Weinberger ("Weinberger"), who performed numerous unnecessary surgeries on his patients so as to increase his earnings prior to fleeing the country to escape accountability for his actions. The Medical Assurance Company, Inc. ("Medical Assurance"), Weinberger's malpractice insurance provider, thereafter filed this action seeking declaratory judgment...
OPINION AND ORDER JON E. DEGUILIO, District Judge. Now before the Court is Stacia L. Yoon's appeal from a decision of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Yoon, as the Chapter 7 trustee of Terry L. VanCleef's bankruptcy estate, asks this Court to determine whether the bankruptcy court erred in disallowing claims she submitted on behalf of unsecured creditors. The bankruptcy court entered this order on September 28, 2012, [DE 1-22] and Yoon timely filed her notice of appeal with the bankruptcy court on...
OPINION AND ORDER ROGER B. COSBEY, Magistrate Judge. Before the Court is a Joint Motion for Entry of Protective Order submitted by the parties (Docket # 67), seeking the Court's approval of a proposed stipulated "Protective Order/Confidentiality Agreement Concerning Discovery Information" pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c). Because the proposed order, which extends beyond the discovery phase of the proceedings, is deficient in several ways, it will be DENIED. A protective...
OPINION AND ORDER RUDY LOZANO, District Judge. This matter is before the Court for review of the Commissioner of Social Security's decision denying Disability Insurance Benefits to Plaintiff, Colleen L. Rootes. For the reasons set forth below, the Commissioner of Social Security's final decision is REVERSED and this case is REMANDED for proceedings consistent with this opinion pursuant to sentence four of 42 U.S.C. section 405(g). BACKGROUND On April 1, 2008, Plaintiff filed an...
OPINION AND ORDER JON E. DEGUILIO, District Judge. Kedrice Dorsey, a pro se prisoner, filed an amended habeas petition pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2254 challenging his 2004 drug conviction in LaPorte County. (DE 5.) For the reasons stated below, the petition is denied. I. BACKGROUND In deciding the petition, the court must presume the facts set forth by the state courts are correct. 28 U.S.C. 2254(e)(1). It is Dorsey's burden to rebut this presumption with clear and convincing evidence. Id....
OPINION AND ORDER JON E. DEGUILIO, District Judge. Now before the Court is Continental's objection to Magistrate Judge Nuechterlein's Report and Recommendation ("R&R"). Continental moved for sanctions against G&S for alleged discovery violations [DE 80], and after the matter was fully briefed [DE 85, 86], this Court referred the matter to the magistrate judge [DE 87]. The magistrate judge recommended the denial of Continental's motion in the Report and Recommendation [DE 92], to which...
OPINION AND ORDER ANDREW P. RODOVICH, Magistrate Judge. This matter is before the court on the petition for judicial review of the decision of the Commissioner of Social Security filed by the claimant, Valerie Smith, on July 6, 2012. For the following reason, the decision of the Commissioner is REMANDED. Background The plaintiff, Valerie Smith, filed an application for Social Security Disability Benefits and Supplemental Security Income on March 30, 2010, alleging a disability onset date...
OPINION AND ORDER PAUL R. CHERRY, District Judge. This matter is before the Court on Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment [DE 31], filed by Defendant Liberty Mutual Insurance Company ("Liberty Mutual") on May 24, 2013. For the reasons set forth below, the Court denies the motion. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Plaintiffs Lucille and Frank Dolgos filed their Complaint against Defendant Liberty Mutual on March 21, 2012, in the St. Joseph County, Indiana Circuit Court. Defendant Liberty Mutual...
OPINION AND ORDER ANDREW P. RODOVICH, Magistrate Judge. This matter is before the court on the Motion for Bill of Particulars [DE 609] filed by the defendant, Salvador Chavez, on August 9, 2013. For the reasons set forth below, the motion is DENIED. Background On November 7, 2012, the grand jury returned a forty-one count indictment against the defendant, Salvador Chavez, and fifteen other individuals. Chavez was named in the first two counts of the indictment for conspiracy to...
OPINION AND ORDER WILLIAM C. LEE, District Judge. Before the Court is a Motion to Dismiss (DE 13)pursuant to Fed.R.Civ. P. 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) filed by the defendant, City of South Bend Police Department (hereafter, "South Bend PD") on July 19, 2013. Plaintiff, proceeding pro se, responded on July 29, 2013. The South Bend PD did not reply. For the following reasons, the Motion to Dismiss will be GRANTED. DISCUSSION Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1), a defendant may move...
OPINION AND ORDER CHRISTOPHER A. NUECHTERLEIN, Magistrate Judge. On March 22, 2011, Plaintiff Monica M. Slonaker ("Slonaker") filed her complaint in this Court. On December 14, 2012, Slonaker filed her opening brief requesting this case be remanded for payment benefits, or in the alternative, be remanded with instructions to evaluate the evidence with regard to the plaintiff's physical impairments in a de novo review. On February 21, 2013, Defendant Acting Commissioner Carolyn W. Colvin ("...
OPINION and ORDER ROBERT L. MILLER, Jr., District Judge. This cause is before the court on the motion of The American Insurance Company and Associated Indemnity Corporation (collectively, Fireman's Fund) for summary judgment on its claims against Liberty Homes, Inc. and on the claims of Liberty Homes' counterclaim against Fireman's Fund. A hearing was held on the motion on July 23, and the court took the matter under advisement. Based on its consideration of the parties' briefs and arguments,...
