Thankfully, we at the Harris Firm have been quite busy handling a good docket of cases all over the country. Although we have generally enjoyed good experiences in the courts of the various jurisdictions into which we venture, there was an unexpected setback earlier this year in Indiana.
And this post is to congratulate Laura Sherry and Hope Miranda on a tremendous job in briefing and preparing the appellate arguments to be considered by the Indiana Court of Appeals. Today, we learned that Laura’s oral argument was persuasive and that the Court of Appeals reversed (in part) the ruling of the trial court.
To briefly elaborate, our firm handles some very complex litigation. Laura (with the great help of Hope) drafted a remarkably involved petition, supporting the claims of two Plaintiff’s groups in Indiana. Almost overwhelming, the petition/complaint was almost 400 pages long.
This was necessitated by objections raised by defendants wanting very detailed pleadings. Shockingly, the trial court summarily dismissed our clients’ claims without much explanation; but we felt the Court’s ruling was completely inappropriate and erroneous. Thus, we appealed.
With guidance from Karl Mulvaney, not only a good man, but a very adept appellate lawyer and advisor to our firm, Laura Sherry ably and aggressively attacked every perceptible argument (even down to the nuances and minutiae) to seek a reversal by the Appellate Court of the Trial Court’s improper ruling.
On November 5th, Laura argued before a panel of judges comprising the Indiana Court of Appeals—they probed her with challenging questions relentlessly, but she persevered. We are tremendously proud of Laura. She went toe-to-toe with a slew of lawyers for the multiple defendants and persuasively argued for a reversal.
Despite multiple trials, this was her first appellate argument! Although the Court did not grant all the relief we sought (this was not unexpected), this was a solid victory for Laura and our team. We tell our clients that we will relentlessly fight on their behalves, and Laura lived up to this promise. Congratulations, Laura—Great Job!!!
