BEDFORD - OCTOBER 27, 2022 - Monroe County Judge Holly Harvey has ordered both North Lawrence Community School Corporation attorney James Pittman and attorneys for defendants James Evans, Gearld Ford, and Jason Johnson, represented by Alex Robbins, and Deanna and Jerry Ford represented by Glen Koch to file a dipositive motion.
This comes after attorney's participated in a telephone conference on October 24, 2022.
In the court order the North Lawrence Community School Corporation should file their motion no later than February 15, 2023.
The defendants shall file a motion no later than March 15, 2023
The North Lawrence Community School shall file a reply to the response or cross-motion no later than April 15, 2023.
Dispositive motions are something a lawyer files with the court on behalf of their client that can, potentially, put an end to all legal proceedings in that court. They can either wipe out your case entirely or just certain portions of it. Most of these motions can fall under two categories: a motion to dismiss or a motion for summary judgment.
Typically, a motion to dismiss involves procedural issues, like whether or not the court has jurisdiction, whether or not the venue is proper, and whether or not proper service procedures were followed. These motions are usually filed towards the start of legal proceedings, though some of them may require some discovery to be conducted for the attorney to have the evidence necessary to present the motion to the court.
Motions for summary judgment usually involves a decision by the judge based on the facts before the court. For example, in a claim for negligence, you must prove that you suffered damages caused by the other party. If you are claiming damages that the opposing parties think are unrelated to the accident, they could potentially file a motion for summary judgment on your negligence claim. If the judge agrees with them that you did not prove all the elements of your claim, they can dismiss your claim.
The North Lawrence Community School filed a lawsuit against the defendants who requested public access to who the persons selected as Visionary Committee. The Indiana Public Access Counselor stated the North Lawrence Community School violated the Public Access Law, especially in a matter such as important as the consolidation of school buildings.
All the defendants filed for Freedom of Information Act information on the Visionary Committe to which the North Lawrence Community Schools did not provide the information.
The lawsuit requested a summary judgment on the matter following the Indiana Public Access Councilors ruling. This was the only remedy to challenge the opinion because the Indiana Public Counselor only serves as an advisory role.
The committee was selected by NLCS Dr. Ty Mungle, who also made in agreement with the members that their names would not be released to the public.
The Visionary Committee recommended three plans for the North Lawrence Community School board to consider.