Simon unit suing Stir Crazy chain for unpaid rent
The owner of Castleton Square Mall is suing its former tenant for $471,031 following the restaurant’s closing late last month.
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Defense attorneys turn tough in Bales trial
The legal team representing real estate broker John M. Bales and partner William E. Spencer haven't called their first witness and already they're putting up a spirited fight as federal prosecutors seek to prove 13 charges including bank, mail and wire fraud.
Families sue to recover lost investments
A central Indiana county commissioner, his wife and members of three other families who lost more than $700,000 they invested in businesses state officials say were shell companies are suing two men accused of orchestrating the scheme.
Barnes & Thornburg’s longtime chief gives suitors cold shoulder
Alan Levin has been managing partner of Barnes & Thornburg LLP for 16 years, far longer than the heads of most major Indianapolis law firms. But what most sets him apart is that he’s built his firm into a national practice by taking the maverick approach of going it alone instead of merging with an out-of-state rival.
Law firm adds pharmacy practice
Hall Render Killian Heath & Lyman will draw on existing expertise within the firm to create the 10-member group.
Jury selected in Marsh civil trial
Don Marsh, the former supermarket-chain CEO, went on trial in civil court Monday morning over millions of dollars in expenses he charged to the company. Proceedings got underway with attorneys selecting five men and four women for the jury before breaking for lunch.
Pence ‘loser pays’ tort-reform bill withdrawn from Senate
A tort reform measure from Gov. Mike Pence's first-year agenda has gone down in defeat amid opposition in a key Senate committee.
Former Venture employee turns on Bales during testimony
An FBI investigation into Venture Real Estate Services and principals John Bales and Bill Spencer had already begun when Matthew Dyer signed on as the company's controller in December 2009. Bales told him the company had done nothing illegal, Dyer testified Wednesday.
Defense attorneys in Bales case trash former co-defendant
Attorney and developer Paul J. Page is no longer a co-defendant in the fraud trial of real estate broker John M. Bales and partner Bill Spencer. But you wouldn’t know it from the action Tuesday in U.S. District Court. Only now, rather than federal prosecutors, it’s defense attorneys for Bales and Spencer who are targeting Page.
Judge clears two horsemen from defamation suit
A federal judge has released two Indiana horsemen from the ongoing defamation and conspiracy case brought by Ed Martin Jr., a former car dealer and thoroughbred breeder.
Bales defense: Elkhart deal was a ‘scheme to help’
Facing a looming deadline to find suitable office space for the state Department of Child Services, Indianapolis real estate broker John M. Bales and partner Bill Spencer in 2008 dipped into their own pockets to help close a difficult lease deal, their defense attorneys contend.
Sale of family-owned business leads to lawsuit
Deborah Ecksten, a former shareholder of Indianapolis-based Createc Corp., is suing her brother and mother, claiming they earned multimillion-dollar profits at her expense by selling the company without her knowledge.
Fraud trial for broker Bales begins in South Bend
The federal fraud trial of Indianapolis real estate broker John M. Bales and a partner began Monday morning in South Bend with a jury-selection process that may not have run as smoothly if it took place in central Indiana.
NFL harpoons Pendleton man’s trademark application
Thinking that brothers Jim and John Harbaugh might go head to head in this year’s Super Bowl, Roy Fox last year filed applications to register “Harbowl” and “Harbaugh Bowl” as U.S. trademarks.
Michigan lawyer claims Indiana prosecution was political
A Michigan attorney claims in a lawsuit that former Indianapolis prosecutor Carl Brizzi and former Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita used unwarranted charges against her in a cemetery theft scheme to enhance their political reputations.
Trial date set for local attorney facing fraud charges
William Conour is accused of engaging in a scheme to defraud clients by keeping settlement proceeds for his own use. A new trial date has been set for Sept. 9.
Bales’ trial could turn on definition of ownership
The jury trial in South Bend for real estate developer John Bales and his general counsel, William E. Spencer, is scheduled to begin Jan. 28 and last up to two weeks. Bales and Spencer, both 45, are facing 13 counts, including wire and mail fraud.
Ex-councilor Bateman agrees to plead guilty to fraud charges
Paul C. Bateman Jr., a former Democrat city-county councilor, agreed to plead guilty Wednesday to 13 counts of money laundering and wire fraud for his part in defrauding an Indianapolis physician of $1.7 million.
Lampoon paid for Durham’s defense, trustee alleges
Fair Finance bankruptcy trustee Brian Bash, charged with recovering funds for Fair investors, alleges in a court filing that National Lampoon funded convicted Ponzi schemer Tim Durham’s defense. Durham is a former CEO of the film company.
Judge dismisses Indiana right-to-work law challenge
U.S. District Court Judge Philip Simon in Hammond ruled that none of the union's arguments against the law could succeed in federal court, although a challenge could still be made in state courts.