CLC Represents Clients in Oral Argument at the Indiana Supreme Court
[Update: on March 22, the Supreme Court, upon consideration of the oral arguments, issued an order reversing its decision to grant transfer, thereby denying IKEC's petition and reinstating the opinion of the Indiana Court of Appeals favorable to CLC's clients.]
The CLC's Jeff Hyman represented three Indiana environmental groups in oral arguments before the Indiana Supreme Court (video) on Thursday, March 15, in a case that will have repercussions for advocacy organizations throughout Indiana. The case came before the Supreme Court after the plaintiff, Indiana-Kentucky Electric Corporation (IKEC), appealed the rulings of the Indiana Court of Appeals and the Marion County Superior Court that IKEC could not relitigate whether environmental groups can initiate administrative proceedings in the Indiana Office of Environmental Adjudication on behalf of aggrieved members, an issue that had been decided in 2005. In his oral argument, Jeff defended the finality of the 2005 decision and addressed the Justices' broader questions regarding the proper role of advocacy organizations in vindicating the interests of their members in courts and tribunals. Assisting at oral argument were CLC's Director, Bill Weeks, and Graduate Fellow Andy Williams.