By Jacob Rund
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS – Amanda Banks officially stepped into her husband’s Senate seat Tuesday, taking the oath from Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush as her husband serves in Afghanistan.

Jim Banks, who was reelected in November, will miss the 2015 session due to his service in the Navy Reserves.

In adherence with state law, a caucus of precinct committeemen voted on Dec. 4 to elect Amanda Banks to temporarily represent her husband’s district in his stead.

“It’s an exciting day,” Amanda Banks said. “I’m really looking forward to this opportunity to serve and represent the district.”

Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R- Fort Wayne, called the swearing in – the first ever under a state law that allows lawmakers to take a leave of absence – a significant event.

“This is a historic moment in the sense that I don’t think we’ve seen in modern times, maybe ever, a situation… where we are seeing his (Jim Banks’) spouse step forward,” Long said. “I will say that Amanda has a great deal of experience and history in politics, knows the district well and I know she will do an outstanding job.”

Amanda Banks, who majored in public policy at Indiana University, spent several years before the birth of her children serving in the fields of both government policy and communications. Her past work experience includes stints as a federal policy analyst for Focus on the Family and as a communications manager for the Indiana-Ohio region of the American Red Cross.

“I think I have a lot to offer from my experience there,” Banks said. “I’m a full-time mom, I’m a military wife, and I think those perspectives will bring a fresh view to this Statehouse, to this body, and I look forward to offering that.”

Banks said Tuesday that her legislative style should line up closely to that of her husband’s.

“I think it’s going to be very similar. We share the same conservative values,” she said. “I can’t imagine there’s not anything we’ll disagree on, but it will be small if it is.”

Banks made it clear that both her husband’s deployment and her election to take his place in the senate were not anticipated circumstances.

“My husband’s deployment was a surprise,” Banks said. “Being here today and being sworn in as a state senator is also a surprise. I am grateful that I have this opportunity while Jim is serving our country, I can serve our state.”

“This is an interesting moment in time and in history,” Long said.

Sen. Mike Delph, R- Carmel, and Sen. Karen Tallian, D- Portage, were also sworn in to their senate positions Tuesday, after they were not able to attend to original swearing-in ceremony.

Jacob Rund is the assistant editor of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.

Marilyn Odendahl for www.theindianalawyer.com

Reviewing a conflict in precedent in state caselaw regarding child support, the Indiana Supreme Court upheld the resolution reached by the Indiana Court of Appeals.

Mark Rolley appealed the ruling by the Warrick Superior Court to increase his child support obligation.

His former wife, Melissa Rolley, had petitioned for modification on the grounds that more than 12 months had passed since the support order was issued. In addition, she noted there was more than a 20 percent difference between the amount Mark Rolley was paying and the amount called for under the Indiana Child Support Guidelines.

Mark Rolley argued the child support terms could not be modified without a substantial and ongoing change in his circumstances that would render the original terms unreasonable.

The Indiana Court of Appeals pointed to the conflicting precedent. In two cases the court found a support court could be altered only upon a showing of substantial and continuing change in circumstances while in another case the court ruled child support could be modified if a 20 percent deviation exists after 12 months.

In a per curiam opinion issued in Mark Rolley v. Melissa Rolley, 87S01-1412-DR-739, the Supreme Court agreed with Judge Rudolph Pyle’s analysis and the opinion of the Court of Appeals.

Marilyn Odendahl for www.theindianalawyer.com

Subcontractors successful in their dispute against the general contractor over the construction of a northern Indiana IMAX movie theater are not entitled to attorney fees, the Indiana Court of Appeals has reaffirmed.

Fostcorp Heating and Cooling Inc., Wilson Iron Works Inc. and Johnson Carpet Inc. were each granted judgment on their complaint to foreclose mechanic’s liens and asserting other claims. In addition, Porter Superior Court awarded the trio attorney fees.

The general contractor, Roncelli Inc., appealed and in an August decision a unanimous Court of Appeals reversed the awarding of fees.

The subcontractors filed a petition for rehearing on the sole issue of the attorney fees but the Court of Appeals reaffirmed the ruling in Goodrich Quality Theaters, Inc. and Roncelli, Inc. v. Fostcorp Heating and Cooling, Inc., Wilson Iron Works, Inc, et al., 64A03-1308-PL-318.

On rehearing, the subcontractors argued that Roncelli had posted a bond that would pay any judgment recovered including costs and attorney fees. The Court of Appeals reiterated its original decision that the mechanic’s lien statute applies only to property owners and since Roncelli is not the owner of the property, it is not liable for attorney fees.

“Although Roncelli’s undertaking assures payment of any judgment plus costs and fees allowed by the court, it does not give the appellees greater rights or impose greater liability on Roncelli than the underlying obligation,” Judge Margret Robb wrote for the majority.

Judge Cale Bradford concurred. Judge Patricia Riley voted to deny rehearing.