Scott Roberts for www.theindianalawyer.com

The 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of an Indiana prisoner’s claim that he wasn’t being provided equal protection compared to prisoners who are in an inmate “honor program” because he failed to state a claim.

Terrance Flynn has been denied admission to the prison’s honor program twice, once because he did not meet the program’s age requirement, and the second because he claims the program was full, as was the waiting list. Prisoners in the program have twice as many visits, more time outside their cells and exclusive access to video games, among other perks.

The district court construed his argument as an age discrimination motion and dismissed it for failure to state a claim. Flynn dropped that argument at the 7^th Circuit but still claims discrimination.

In the per curiam decision, the judges said prison administrators can treat inmates differently as long as unequal treatment is related to penological interest. The panel said there are obvious reasons to extend preferential treatment to prisoners in the honor program, and there’s no reason the program shouldn’t be able to continue.

Flynn claimed there is no valid reason to deny him the same privileges because he has demonstrated the same behavior as the prisoners in the program and meets the criteria for admission, but the panel said “there are many rational reasons for requiring an application to evaluate the prisoner before awarding benefits.”

The case is Terrance Flynn v. Marion Thatcher and Ron Neal, 15-2458.

Scott Roberts for www.theidianalawyer.com

The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a Vanderburgh Superior trial court Friday, ruling a man can claim a refund after the property he bought at a tax sale was reclaimed by the owner due to a clerical error.

Paul Angel bought property at a tax auction for $5,500. However, previous owner Townsquare Media filed a motion for relief from the tax deed order when it found a clerical error resulted in the county assessor’s office sending tax notices to the wrong address, which is why the taxes were not paid. Townsquare’s motion was granted.

Later that year, Angel filed a motion to establish the redemption amount, arguing that he should get a refund from the money he paid for the sale. Townsquare said the motion was final judgment, and he did not submit a timely request for issue of the surplus. The trial court found in favor of Townsquare, and Angel appealed.

Angel argued Indiana Code 6-1.1-25-12 provided he was entitled to recover amounts set forth in the statue and that if he’s not reimbursed, Townsquare would receive an inequitable windfall.

The COA found Angel was a grantee of the deed under the code’s definitions. Moreover, Angel was entitled to recover the amount paid because the code specified as such. The taxes were unpaid at the time of sale and Angel had acquired a lien on the property as grantee of the tax deed.

The court remanded the order to the trial court for a determination of how much Angel should recover. The case is Paul Angel v. Vanderburgh County Treasurer and Townsquare Media LLC, 82A04-1511-MI-1902.