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Indiana Supreme Court Asked To Review Rent-To-Buy Agreements

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Indiana Supreme Court Asked To Review Rent-To-Buy Agreements

November 1, 2018
Marilyn Odendahl

Asserting the Court of Appeals’ ruling in a rent-to-own dispute will adversely impact tenants across the state, Indiana Legal Services filed a petition Monday to transfer its litigation against Rainbow Realty Group for the company’s rent-to-own practices.

The petition is the latest turn in a case that began in Marion County small claims court in 2015 and worked its way to the Court of Appeals. Several organizations, including the Economic Justice Project at the Notre Dame Clinical Law Center and the National Consumer Law Center, filed amicus briefs in favor of ILS’s clients, Quentin Lintner and Katrina Carter.

In its transfer petition, Indiana Legal Services argued the rent-to-buy contract is a lease governed by the state’s Landlord-Tenant Act. The legal aid provider called the Act an “unambiguous statute” and urged the Supreme Court to grant transfer because the appellate court’s decision on this statutory question of the first impression will govern rental agreements of “hundreds of other Rainbow tenants and many other tenants across Indiana.”

The case is Rainbow Realty Group, Empire Holding Corp. and/or Cress Trust v. Katrina Carter and Quentin Lintner, 49A02-1707-CC-1473.

Rainbow Realty is the defendant in other lawsuits filed by the Indiana Attorney General’s Office and Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana.

Lintner and Carter entered into a rent-to-buy agreement with Rainbow in 2013 a few weeks after seeing a yard sign that advertised “Own a Home in Three Days. Bad Credit OK.” The house the couple signed for did not have plumbing or electricity, had no working doors or windows and was generally not fit for habitation.

Under the terms of the agreement, Lintner and Carter had to make rental payments for 24 months. They did not accumulate equity in the home during that time and they would be evicted if they fell behind in rent, losing whatever investment they made in refurbishing the residence.

Rainbow Realty had the couple evicted in small claims court, but Lintner and Carter appealed to Marion Superior Court. Ruling Lintner and Carter were treated as “homeowners when it came to maintaining the property and tenants when it came time to evict them,” the trial court found the company violated the Landlord-Tenant Act and granted partial summary judgment to the couple.

Before the Court of Appeals, Rainbow Realty argued the agreement signed by Lintner and Carter is not a lease but a contract for sale.

A unanimous appellate panel agreed with Rainbow, holding the agreement did not have a definite term and the property did not revert to the lessor, which are the statutory requirements of a lease. The Court of Appeals found the definition of “rental agreement” in the Act provided only “limited guidance,” and instead adopted a common law definition of lease from an 1845 case requiring leases to have a definite term and end with reversion to the landlord.

Although the panel acknowledged the agreement does contain elements of a lease, it held that the concern that such agreements prey on unsophisticated “buyers” who stand to lose both their home and their money is best addressed by the General Assembly, not the courts.

Indiana Legal Services believes the Statehouse has already covered the matter.

“The arrangement, in this case, is just the kind of abusive practice that the legislature was trying to outlaw by enacting the Landlord-Tenant Act,” ILS wrote in its petition to transfer. “Rainbow deceptively dressed up as a sale what is actually a rental agreement that provides substandard housing at an inflated price. The arrangement allows Rainbow, which buys hundreds of uninhabitable properties, not only to have them occupied and therefore less prone to vandalism but also in many cases to have them improved by the tenants before they are evicted, improvements Rainbow retains after evictions without compensating tenants.”

INDIANA ARTS COMMISSION OFFERS GRANT TO SUPPORT ARTISTS

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The Indiana Arts Commission (IAC) is accepting grant application process for the Individual Advancement Program.
Artists with eligible projects in the disciplines of dance, literature, music, theatre, folk arts related to these traditional disciplines, and artists with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Artists with disabilities may apply either through the discipline directly or through the access category. Artists may request up to $2,000 in support for projects that will help advance their career and have public benefit.
Application for the Individual Advancement Program grants may only be made through the IAC’s online grant system. The deadline for application is 4:30 p.m. (EST) Feb. 7, 2019.
The Individual Advancement Program also offers an early career category serving artists who have been pursuing their arts career less than five years, excluding formal or apprenticeship training in their discipline. These applicants will be reviewed by a separate panel from those reviewing applications from more experienced artists.
Prospective applicants are encouraged to read through the program guidelines completely before starting the application process. Find the guidelines and important program dates at https://www.in.gov/arts/3119.htm.
For more information about the Individual Advancement Program, contact Artist and Community Services Manager Anna Tragesser at 317-232-1281 or email atragesser@iac.in.gov.
The Indiana Arts Commission is dedicated to the vision of the arts everywhere, every day, for everyone in Indiana.

Death List For Vanderburgh County

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Death List WK 10-29-18 TO 11-02-18

POLL NIGHT

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HOT JOBS IN EVANSVILLE

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Swimming and diving travel to Indiana State

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The Evansville swimming and diving squads are back in action this weekend in a competition against Indiana State and Valparaiso in Terre Haute.

The meet is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET.

The women’s squad are looking to continue their success after last weekend’s win over Arkansas Little Rock.

The Aces started the morning with a win in the 400 Medley Relay. Senior Sam Gowdy, junior Alaina Sylvester, senior Kristen Myers, and freshman Emily Vasquez took to the pool to clock in 3:57.36.

Junior Ashton Adams took the first individual win in the 1000 freestyle. She recorded a final time of 10:51.54. Adams also took 2nd in the 500 freestyle with 5:18.29.

Myers took the next win in the 200 butterfly, her final time a 2:06.06. She was followed by a 50 freestyle win by junior Emma Hennessy, clocking in at 24.74. Freshman Pearl Muensterman took 2nd in 24.86. Myers later returned to also win the 100 butterfly, her time a 57.85.

Gowdy took an individual win in the 200 backstroke with a final time of 2:07.58. Sophomore Kristy Kupfer took a quick 2nd in 2:07.75. Gowdy also took 2nd in the 100 backstroke with a 58.20.

The swimmers rounded out the day with a win in the 400 Freestyle Relay. A final time of 3:35.59 was achieved by Myers, freshman Jessie Steele, senior Madi Jones, and Hennessy.

On the diving side, freshman Maggie Franz led the way on 1-Meter, taking 2nd place with a final score of 226.05 points. Fellow freshman Sarah Kempf took a close 3rd at 224.17. Freshman Fae Keighley took the win on 3-Meter with a decisive 235.20 points, with Franz taking 3rd with 192.45.

Adopt A Pet

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Tilly – 9 month old female, black lab, spayed, $110 adoption fee which includes her spay, vaccines/tests & nationally registered microchip

 

Thirteen Hoosiers Tabbed for Big Ten Roster for ACC/Big Ten Challenge

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A total of 13 Indiana University swimmers and divers were selected for the Big Ten roster for next week’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge hosted by Purdue University at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center on Nov. 10-11.

Representing the Hoosier men will be Zach Apple, Bruno Blaskovic, Andrew Capobianco, James Connor, Gabriel Fantoni, Ian Finnerty, Vini Lanza and Mohamed Samy.

For the women Big Ten squad, Bailey Andison, Ileah Doctor, Christine Jensen, Lilly King and Shelby Koontz will represent the Hoosiers.

Big Ten Network will provide coverage for the entirety of the event. Saturday’s coverage will begin at 5 p.m. ET on BTN2Go and Sunday’s events will begin at 10 a.m. ET live on BTN. Admission is free to the public.

 

Men’s basketball faces New Mexico Highlands in Saturday exhibition

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Cowboys are led by former UE star Craig Snow

 

Exhibition play for the University of Evansville men’s basketball team will take place on Saturday as the Purple Aces welcome former player Craig Snow and his New Mexico Highlands squad to the Ford Center for a 1 p.m. game.

 

Prior to the contest, fans are invited to FanFest, which will be held at Freedom Plaza.  Freedom Plaza is directly across from the front entrance of the Ford Center.  It will take place from 10:30 a.m. through 12:30 p.m. and is free to attend.  Activities include food vendors, beer garden, live music, corn hole and much more.  At 11:45 a.m., UE head coach Walter McCarty along with Craig Snow, will address the crowd.

 

Evansville returns six players from last year’s team while six newcomers and two walk-ons comprise the squad.  K.J. Riley debuted with the Aces last season and finished with 6.8 points per game while getting to the line more than anyone else on the team.  Riley made a team-high 107 free throws while playing in all 32 games, making 18 starts.

 

Noah Frederking is the top returning outside shooter.  Frederking made 24 triples as a freshman while connecting on 81.4% of his free throws.  Evan Kuhlman looks to make a leap as he goes into his sophomore season.  Kuhlman played in 25 games last year and had great success from outside, knocking down 45.5% of his 3-pointers.

 

John Hall saw time in every game as a redshirt freshman in 2017-18 and got the start in seven games.  He posted a career-best 9 points against Oakland City last December, but is looking to improve with increased time on the floor.  Defensively, Dainius Chatkevicius held strong at center.  He was the top rebounder in 2017-18 with 5.4 caroms per game while connecting on 56.9% of his attempts.

 

Limited to eight games due to injury, Marty Hill showed flashes of what he is capable of in his time on the floor.  Hill grabbed seven rebounds in his debut at New Mexico before scoring 12 in his next game against Oakland City, draining four triples.

 

The newcomers who are immediately eligible for UE include Jawaun Newton, Shamar Givance and Shea Feehan.  Newton and Givance are freshman guards while Feehan is the first graduate transfer in program history.  He comes to UE following a career at Eureka.  The Aces have three players who will be sitting out this season before taking the floor next year.  They include: Sam Cunliffe, Artur Labinowicz and DeAndre Williams.  UE will also have a pair of walk-ons – Jared Chestnut and Devan Straub.

 

New Mexico Highlands marks UE’s opponent in its exhibition contest.  The Cowboys are coming off of a 15-13 campaign that saw them finish on a high note, defeating Colorado Mesa University, 98-84.  Their top returning scorer is Chris Lewis, who notched 11.0 points per game last season; he was 4th on the team in scoring as their top three in points do not return.

 

Former UE star Craig Snow is in his 5th year as head coach of the program; Snow remains 10th in program history with 1,530 career points while averaging 12.6 PPG over the span of his career, which spanned from 1997 through 2001.  He was a starter on the 1998-99 team that won the regular season MVC championship before earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament

 

Valpo attorney suspended for failing to refund unperformed work

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Olivia Covington for www.theindianalawyer.com

A Valparaiso attorney who neglected a client’s appeal and failed to refund a fee paid for his unperformed service has been suspended from the practice of law in Indiana for 90 days and cannot be reinstated until he pays full restitution.

The Indiana Supreme Court unanimously suspended attorney Larry W. Rogers on Friday in the disciplinary case In the Matter of Larry W. Rogers, 64S00-1704-DI-251. According to the per curiam opinion, Rogers met with a defendant in March 2015 who had been convicted of murder but not yet sentenced. The two discussed an appeal, and the defendant and/or his family paid Rogers $8,000 as part of his fee.

The defendant was sentenced the following May and his motion to correct error was denied in July. Rogers informed the defendant of the 30-day deadline for filing a notice of appeal and claimed the defendant needed to pay more for the cost of the transcript.

However, Rogers failed to file a notice of appeal, did not notify the defendant of this failure and stopped communicating with the defendant for several months. The defendant eventually fired Rogers and demanded a refund, but he has never received any payment.

The justices agreed with Rogers’ hearing officer that Rogers violated Indiana Professional Conduct Rules 1.3, 1.4(a)(3), 1.4(b) and 1.16(d). Though the court noted Rogers had only recently tarnished his previously “unblemished disciplinary record” and was going through “significant personal hardship” during the defendant’s appeal, it also said it was “deeply concerned about (Rogers’) ongoing and inexplicable failure, now more than three years later, to issue a refund that (Rogers) has consistently acknowledged is owed and that (Rogers) has claimed he is ‘ready, willing and able’ to pay.”

“We also are concerned about the relative lack of attention devoted by Respondent to this disciplinary proceeding and to a contemporaneous proceeding involving Respondent’s noncooperation with another disciplinary investigation, a shortcoming that Respondent’s few pleadings appear to attribute to a heavy caseload,” the court wrote. “We remind Respondent that attorneys have a duty to cooperate with the disciplinary process. We also take this opportunity to remind Respondent (and all attorneys) that although a commitment to helping others is commendable, clients are best served when an attorney has secured his or her own oxygen mask first.”

The justices imposed a 90-day suspension on Rogers, effective Dec. 14. His reinstatement will be conditioned on whether he makes restitution to the defendant and/or his family. If he repays the full $8,000 by March 1, he will be automatically reinstated at the end of 90 days. However, if he fails to pay by that date, he will have to meet the requirements of Admission and Discipline Rule 23(18)(b) prior to resuming his practice.

Further, in a footnote, the court rejected Rogers’ argument that he is entitled to retain a portion of the $8,000 the defendant paid to him. The costs of the proceeding are assessed against him.

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