TR 53.1 and 53.2 - Missed the memo...

Much to say on this issue and my experience.

Let me again caution here that I am not an attorney by education or licensed to practice law. So if you find yourself in any legal conflict, please talk to someone who can appropriately guide you. Hopefully the following will encourage you even more to seek qualified representation.

About the Rules

Indiana Trial Rules 53.1 and 53.2, are commonly called "The Lazy Judge Rule[s]." They are simply meant to give clear guidance for next steps to parties before a court that is not providing a timely ruling. If a judge has not ruled on a motion within 30 days, or determined an issue held under advisement within 90 days, or has other waivers of the deadlines, a party can request transfer out of that court, which I did. Welch's response, according to the Indiana Supreme Court, constitute breach of judicial conduct, maybe even breaking the law. And she did it twice!

Valeo's Complaint and My Answer

Here is a link to Valeo's Complaint (the original official filing of their lawsuit against me)

BREAK

BREAK

Here is my response to their Complaint

If you ever find yourself the subject of a lawsuit, do not delay! You may only have 30 days to respond. So the time it takes to find a good attorney will eat up time. I believe in Indiana, the Complaint* is supposed to say how long you have to file a response.

And your Answer* could be a big deal when facing multiple claims against you. While in my case it didn't matter like it should have (more later on that), whether you admit or deny a claim and what you do or don't say about it, appears to have the potential to change the course of your entire case.

My understanding is that these court filings are all public record for anyone inclined to visit the Marion County Courthouse in Indianapolis, and pay a fee to get copies of everything. Much easier said than done with the volume of documents that have been filed. I never found anything that says I can't just post it, so I am. I will get all filings posted in the coming weeks for those interested enough to dig through it all. But please be patient given the volume. 

*For some reason all these specific terms are capitalized by those who know what they are doing. For all I know it is something they teach in law school. 😏