Indianapolis – In accordance with a presidential proclamation, Governor Mike Pence is directing flags at state facilities statewide to be flown at half-staff today in honor of Peace Officers Memorial Day, which honors federal, state and local officers killed or disabled in the line of duty. President Obama signed a proclamation ordering flags nationwide to be flown at half-staff on Friday, May 15. Flags should be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset .

Governor Pence also asks businesses and residents to lower their flags to half-staff to pay tribute to the brave men and women in law enforcement across Indiana and our nation.

Indianapolis – Governor Mike Pence concluded business in Hangzhou today by meeting with prospects interested in investing in Indiana and renewing and commemorating Indiana’s 28-year sister-state relationship with Zhejiang Province.

“Indiana’s sister-state bond with Zhejiang Province has fostered a relationship that’s making an impact across our state,” said Pence. “By renewing this agreement today, Hoosiers unite with the people of Zhejiang Province to support educational exchanges, cultural understanding and more job-creating opportunities. With the interconnected nature of our world today, it is relationships like this one that will continue to promote shared growth both in China and back at home in Indiana.”
The Indiana-Zhejiang Province relationship dates back more than three decades to 1987 when Governor Robert Orr signed a sister-state agreement Zhejiang Governor Shen Zulun in Indianapolis. Today, Governor Pence renewed the sister-state agreement between Indiana and Zhejiang Provincial Secretary Xia Baolong, the highest-ranking government official in the province and chairman of the Zhejiang Provincial People’s Congress, the provincial legislative body. They signed a memorandum of understanding reaffirming efforts to promote economic relations and industrial innovation, as well as cultural, educational and healthcare cooperation and exchanges between the two states.

Governor Pence and the delegation also attended a banquet in the evening celebrating the 28^th anniversary of the sister-state relationship. Indiana’s ties to Zhejiang are strong with 12 Hoosier communities cherishing sister-city relationships with communities in Zhejiang Province. Also, some of Indiana’s top universities, including Indiana University, Purdue University and the Rose Hulman Institute of Technology have educational partnerships with Zhejiang Province.

The Governor will close the jobs mission tomorrow, traveling to Shanghai to visit Indianapolis-headquartered Eli Lilly’s research and development center and China International Marine Container, the parent company of Monon, Indiana-based Vanguard National Trailer Corporation. He will also host a Friends of Indiana reception for Chinese executives and alumni of Indiana universities tomorrow night.

Indianapolis – Today First Lady Karen Pence visited the Hangzhou Public Library, located in Hangzhou, the capital of Indiana’s sister-state Zhejiang Province, where she presented Hoosier literature and music recordings to library officials, continuing the cultural exchange she initiated in April in Indianapolis.

“What an honor today has been to experience the tremendous Chinese culture through the gracious hospitality of Mr. Chu, his staff and the beautiful surroundings of the Hangzhou Public Library,” said First Lady Karen Pence. “It is my sincere pleasure to receive on behalf of Jackie Nytes, CEO of the Indianapolis Public Library, Library staff and all Hoosiers Collections of Books and Documents of the West Lake including 39 books composed of  local annals, operas and novels regarding the West Lake, which illustrates the long history and the development of the city of Hangzhou. It was a privilege to receive a stone seal, with my name beautifully engraved in Chinese. Mr. Chu and Jackie Nytes have developed a relationship that has built a cultural bridge between Hangzhou and Indiana. It gives me great pride to continue this important relationship.”

Mrs. Pence presented Mr. Chu Shuqing, Hangzhou Public Library’s director, and other library leaders with music recordings of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Nico Muhly Cello Concerto as well as a book entitled “Hoosiers, A New History of Indiana” by James H. Madison. In exchange, the Hangzhou Public Library gave her a collection of books about Hangzhou’s West Lake as well as an engraved stone seal. Both libraries will showcase the gifts as part of the exchange.

“Indianapolis and Hangzhou became sister cities in 2007. Since then, lots of meaningful communications and cooperation between the two cities have been developed and expanded,” said Mr. Chu Shuqing, the director of the Hangzhou Public Library. “Under this friendly environment, Indianapolis Public library and Hangzhou Public Library started their friendship in 2011. The two parties have enhanced mutual understanding and relation by holding cooperative cultural activities, exchanging books and staff members ever since. We were so excited that the “Taste of Indianapolis 2013” exhibition which was displayed in Hangzhou Public Library won a Most Innovative Award by Sister Cities International last year. This time, We are very honored and privileged by the visit of Mrs. Pence, the First Lady of Indiana State, and very glad to learn that she has great interests in Chinese culture and art. I believe that our relation will be steadily improved through the upcoming cultural exchange event which I’m really expecting.”

On April 28, the first lady kicked off the exchange at The Indianapolis Public Library where Jackie Nytes, chief executive officer of The Indianapolis Public Library, presented Mrs. Pence with a music recording and book to bring with her to China to present to Mr. Chu.

In addition to furthering the Hoosier State’s ties with its sister-state of Zhejiang Province, the exchange also strengthens the ongoing sister-city relationship shared between Indianapolis and Hangzhou. The Indianapolis Public Library has an ongoing relationship with the Hangzhou library and has historically participated in ambassadorial exchanges of library staff, with Hangzhou Public Library and The Indianapolis Public Library alternating sending staff to spend time in the other’s library programs.

“The library is thrilled that Mrs. Pence is reaching out to our partners at the Hangzhou Public Library to continue this ongoing exchange of culture and understanding that is beneficial to citizens in each city,” said Jackie Nytes, chief executive officer of The Indianapolis Public Library. “The gifts she will present in Hangzhou on behalf of the library represent the latest in Hoosier literature and music, and thanks to Mrs. Pence we know they will be well received.”

This is the latest exchange in the first lady’s ongoing efforts to build and strengthen Indiana’s international relationships through cultural ties. During Governor Mike Pence’s trip to Germany last year, the first lady traveled to Löhne, Germany to meet with the mayor of the city and present him with a banner created by Columbus, Indiana elementary school students. In 2013, on the Governor’s inaugural jobs and economic development mission to Japan, the first lady initiated an art exchange between third grade students in Lafayette and its Japanese sister-city, Ota City.

Jennifer Nelson for www.theindianalawyer.com

Deciding an issue of first impression stemming from a fire that heavily damaged the Jefferson County courthouse in 2009, the Indiana Supreme Court on Wednesday decided Indiana should follow the “any insurance” approach in deciding when property owners waive subrogation rights in certain cases. In doing so, the justices rejected the “work versus non-work” approach that the Court of Appeals has used.

While renovating the Jefferson County courthouse six years ago, a roofing contractor sparked a fire that destroyed much of the courthouse. The damages were fully covered by Jefferson County’s property insurer, but the county, contractors and subcontractors involved in the renovation work dispute whose insurance company should cover the loss.

The contract between the county and Teton Corp. incorporated a 1987 version of the American Institute of Architects’ standard form into their contract for repair. The AIA contract waives subrogation rights for all “damages caused by fire or other perils to the extent covered by property insurance.”

The county sought to subrogate all damages unrelated to repairs, arguing the waiver only applies to construction-related damages. The contractors argued that all damages covered by the county’s property insurance policy are waived.

The trial court ruled in favor of the contractors, and the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed in a split decision. The appeals court applied the “any insurance” approach, but Judge Elaine Brown believed the court should continue using the “work versus non-work” approach, under which the county would waive subrogation only for losses related to the work.

“We must decide whether, under the plain meaning of the AIA contract, property owners waive subrogation rights for construction damages by maintaining ‘all-risk’ property insurance policies that cover both their construction-related damages and their entire property. Our Court of Appeals has offered two competing approaches to resolve this question, mirroring a national split of authority. In a matter of first impression for this Court, we adopt the ‘any insurance’ approach, which applies the plain meaning of the waiver, and therefore hold Jefferson County’s subrogation claim is barred,” Chief Justice Loretta Rush wrote.

The plain meaning of the AIA subrogation waiver defines the scope of the waiver by the source and extent of the insurance coverage, not by the property damaged, the justices held.

Rush noted that the plain meaning of the AIA waiver is consistent with the majority of other courts that have interpreted similar AIA waivers.

“The ‘Work versus non-Work’ approach does have support in several other jurisdictions, but we believe that the ‘any insurance’ approach more faithfully tracks the plain meaning of the contract. We therefore resolve the split in authority created by the Court of Appeals (now-vacated) decision in this case and apply the ‘any insurance’ approach to bar Jefferson County’s claim,” Rush wrote in The Board of Commissioners of the County of Jefferson v. Teton Corporation, Innovative Roofing Solutions, Inc., Gutapfel Roofing, Inc., and Daniel L. Gutapfel, 72S04-1410-CT-642.

750,000 Indiana customers may be eligible for refund

INDIANPOLIS – Attorney General Greg Zoeller announced Indiana’s involvement in two more multi-state settlements with major mobile phone carriers – Sprint and Verizon – resolving allegations that the companies placed unauthorized charges for third-party services on peoples’ cell phone bills, a practice known as “mobile cramming.” Zoeller announced similar settlements with AT&T and T-Mobile in 2014.

An estimated 750,000 Indiana customers of Sprint and Verizon combined may be eligible for refunds that could exceed $120 million nationally.

Indiana is joined in the Sprint and Verizon settlements by the attorneys general of the other 49 states and the District of Columbia, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Phone customers who have been “crammed” often have charges, typically $9.99 per month, for “premium” text message subscription services (also known as “PSMS” subscriptions) such as horoscopes, trivia, and sports scores that the consumers have never heard of or requested. All four mobile carriers announced they would cease billing customers for commercial PSMS in the fall of 2013.

“These collective settlements with the major cell phone providers for alleged mobile cramming will hopefully prevent overcharging schemes like this from occurring again,” Zoeller said. “However, people should always be on the lookout for unfair or deceptive billing practices. Read and understand the terms and charges of your monthly bills with all of your service providers. If something isn’t right, work with your provider to get it fixed or, if that doesn’t work, file a complaint with our office.”

Under the terms of the settlements, Sprint will pay $68 million and Verizon will pay $90 million.  Of these amounts, Sprint and Verizon are required to provide $50 million and $70 million, respectively, to customers who were victims of cramming. Sprint and Verizon will each distribute refunds to harmed consumers through redress programs that will be under the supervision of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Sprint will also pay $12 million to the participating states and $6 million to the FCC, while Verizon will pay $16 million to the states and $4 million to the FCC.

Sprint and Verizon customers who believe they were “crammed” can submit claims under the redress programs by visiting www.SprintRefundPSMS.com and/or www.CFPBSettlementVerizon.com. On those websites, consumers can submit claims, find information about refund eligibility and how to obtain a refund, and can request a free account summary that details PSMS purchases on their accounts. Individuals with questions about the redress programs can visit the program websites or call the settlement administrators at: (877) 389-8787 (Sprint), and/or (888) 726-7063 (Verizon).

The settlements, like the settlements entered into by AT&T and T-Mobile in late 2014, require Sprint and Verizon to stay out of the commercial PSMS business – the platform to which law enforcement agencies attribute the lion’s share of the mobile cramming problem. Under each of the four settlements, the carriers, including Sprint and Verizon, must also take a number of steps designed to ensure that they only bill consumers for third-party charges that have been authorized, including the following:

·         The carriers must obtain consumers’ express consent before billing consumers for third-party charges, and must ensure that consumers are only charged for services if the consumers have been informed of all material terms and conditions of their payment;

·         The carriers must give consumers an opportunity to obtain a full refund or credit when they are billed for unauthorized third-party charges;

·         The carriers must inform their customers when they sign up for services that their mobile phone can be used to pay for third-party charges, and must inform consumers of how those third-party charges can be blocked if the consumers do not want to use their phone to pay for third-party products; and

·         The carriers must present third-party charges in a dedicated section of consumers’ mobile phone bills, must clearly distinguish them from the carrier’s own charges, and must include in that same section information about the consumers’ ability to block third-party charges.

Under the court ordered agreements, Indiana received $451,937.81 for its participation in the Sprint and Verizon settlements ($193,663.88 from Sprint, $258,273.93 from Verizon) to be deposited in the Consumer Protection Fund for use in future consumer protection enforcement, education, litigation or restitution.