Dave Stafford FOR WWW.THEINDIANALAWYERE.COM

The LaPorte County auditor’s failure to check records that would have revealed the actual address of a Michigan City property owner whose land was sold without notice for back taxes was a denial of constitutional due process, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday. The appeals court reinstated the landowner’s challenge to the tax sale results and remanded the case.

The appellate panel’s ruling in Indiana Land Trust Company, f/k/a Lake County Trust Company TR #4340 v. XL Investment Properties, LLC, and LaPorte County Auditor, 18A-MI-2150, could void the tax deed issued after 30 acres known as Trust 4340 were sold for unpaid taxes in 2015. According to the record, unpaid property taxes in excess of $230,000 dating to 2009 were owed on the land.

The owner of the land that used to be part of a municipal airport, Chicago developer Peter Dellaportas, had moved his business, Midwest Investment, over the years. Dellaportas never received notice of the tax sale until the buyer, XL Investment Properties, filed a quiet title action in December 2016, after the county had issued a tax deed.

In March 2017, Dellaportas’ entities sued XL and the LaPorte County auditor seeking to set aside the quiet title and tax deed, but the trial court affirmed for XL and the auditor. It found, among other things, that after certified and first-class mail to the owner was returned, the auditor was under no obligation to take additional steps to notify the property owner. “Due process does not require that a property owner receive actual notice before the government may take his property,” LaPorte Superior Judge Richard Stalbrink wrote as a finding of fact in his order.

The trial court also found Dellaportas’ suit was untimely filed, but the appeals panel ruled the court erred in both instances. Judge John Baker took particular aim at the LaPorte auditor’s reading of 2015 amendments to Indiana Code § 6-1.1-24-4, which the office cited for its insistence that it owed no duty to search its records for the landowner’s actual address before selling the property.

Marilyn Odendahl for www.theindianalawyer.com

Editor’s note: This story has been updated.

A second teacher is suing the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, claiming she was subjected to a hostile work environment and discrimination because she is a lesbian and married to another woman.

Lynn Starkey filed a complaint Monday in the Southern Indiana District Court against the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and Roncalli High School. She had worked at Roncalli for 39 years, including 21 years as a guidance counselor, and received Teacher of the Year recognition in 2009. However, after she confirmed to the school principal that she was in a same-sex marriage, she was informed she had breached her employment contract and would not be offered an employment contract for the 2019-2020 school year.

“I dedicated my professional career to Roncalli,” Starkey said in a statement. “To be treated this way after 39 years has been devastating to me. I look forward to pursuing justice through my case.”

Responding to the lawsuit, the Archdiocese of Indianapolis maintained to accomplish its mission of teaching the Catholic faith, it asks the teachers, administrators and guidance counselors in its schools to uphold the teachings by word and action.

“As head guidance counselor, Ms. Starkey signed a contract acknowledging her role as a leader and committing to promote Catholic teaching, including the traditional Catholic teaching on marriage,” the Archdiocese said. “She knowingly violated that contract by entering a same-sex civil union — making clear that she disagrees with the Church’s teaching on marriage and will not be able to uphold and model it for her students. Thus, her lawsuit is clearly barred by (U.S.) Supreme Court precedent.”

Starkey is being represented by Kathleen DeLaney of DeLaney & DeLaney LLC in Indianapolis.

This is the second lawsuit filed this summer against the Indianapolis Archdiocese by a teacher. Joshua Payne-Elliot filed a complaint in Marion Superior Court after his contract at Cathedral High School was not renewed because he is in a same-sex marriage. DeLaney is also representing him.

Starkey is asserting Roncalli and the Archdiocese violated Title VII by discriminating against her on the basis of her sexual orientation and by retaliating against her after she filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Also, in Lynn Starkey v. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis, Inc. and Roncalli High School, Inc., 1:19-cv-3153, she claims she was retaliated against in violation of Title VII and Title IX.

Starkey contends she has suffered damages including lost pay, loss of future earning capacity, and loss of employer-provided benefits as well as emotional distress including mental anguish, pain and suffering.

According to her complaint, Starkey became concerned about her employment after her colleague, Shelly Fitzgerald, was removed from her job in August 2018 because she also, is in a same-sex marriage. A short time later, Starkey was then asked about her marital status by Roncalli Principal Chuck Weisenbach.

She told the principal she had a same-sex spouse.

Fearing she would be targeted next, Starkey filed charges of discrimination with the EEOC in November against the Archdiocese and Roncalli. In May 2019, she received a letter starting her contract would not be renewed for the following school year because her “civil union is a violation (of her) contract and contrary to the teach of the Catholic Church.”

While she worked at Roncalli, Starkey claims she had no ministerial functions. Her job did not include any religious duties nor was she required to perform any important religious functions for the church. She was not required to be a Catholic, attend mass or make a financial contribution to the church.

The defendants’ actions, according to the complaint, caused Starkey to suffer physical and emotion problems. She had to take leave from her job twice during the 2018-2019 school year to receive medical and mental health treatment.

Starkey is seeking compensatory damages, emotional distress damages and punitive damages along with attorney’s fees and costs.

IL FOR www.theindianalawyer,com

State Sen. Randy Head is stepping down from his elected position to become a northern Indiana prosecutor, the Logansport Republican announced Monday.

Head, who was elected to the Indiana Senate in 2008, will leave his post Aug. 12 and will become the chief deputy prosecutor of Pulaski County.

“First and foremost, I want to say that I am grateful to the people of Senate District 18 for putting their faith in me and allowing me to represent them at the Statehouse over the years,” Head said in a statement. “I have worked on a lot of different issues during my service, authoring more than 70 bills that became law, but now it’s time for me to step away from the Statehouse in order to pursue a new public service opportunity as the chief deputy prosecutor for Pulaski County.

“I appreciate all that I have learned and been a part of thanks to the leadership of our caucus,” he continued. “It has truly been an honor to serve the people of Indiana.”

Head’s district includes Cass, Fulton and Miami counties and parts of Carroll, Kosciusko and Marshall counties. He’s the current chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and has previously chaired the Local Government and Civil Law committees.

Among the issues Head has worked on are legislation to increase penalties for child abusers and creators/distributors of child pornography, a 2016 bill giving pharmacists discretion to deny sales of pseudoephedrine products for suspected meth making, and a 2019 bill to increase penalties for ignoring school bus laws.

Also in 2019, Head authored SEA 516, a measure that aligns Indiana’s definition of hemp with federal guidelines, making it an agricultural crop.  And in 2017, the Republican led legislation to overhaul Indiana’s vaping rules.

“Randy’s practical knowledge and experience in the courtroom have made him a tremendous asset to our team as we have worked to improve our criminal justice system, but this impact on the state of Indiana goes far beyond the improvements he made to Indiana’s criminal laws,” Senate President Pro Tem Rod Bray, R-Martinsville, said in a statement. “His ability to articulate a concise, coherent message combined with his work ethic and eye for detail allowed him to positively impact many areas of the state’s business.

“Beyond his practical knowledge, everyone who knows Randy knows, though he’s never one to be short on a joke, he is passionate about the people of Indiana and making our state a better place for Hoosiers to call home,” Bray continued. “We will miss Sen. Head’s leadership, service and friendship, but we certainly wish him the best in his new endeavor.”

In 2016, the senator sought the Republican nomination for Indiana Attorney General, which ultimately went to current AG Curtis Hill.

Head has been admitted to the practice of law in Indiana since October 1994 and has never been the subject of a disciplinary action. He is listed as an attorney with the Tribbett Law Office in Logansport.

He earned a bachelor’s degree from Wabash College in 1991 and his law degree from Indiana University in 1994.