Full Opinion (html_with_citations)

                                                                       FILED
                                                                   Dec 13 2023, 3:11 pm

                                                                       CLERK
                                                                   Indiana Supreme Court
                                                                      Court of Appeals
                                                                        and Tax Court




                              IN THE

      Indiana Supreme Court
                Supreme Court Case No. 23S-CT-378

                           Brent Taylor,
                           Appellant-Plaintiff,

                                  –v–

    Allen County Board of Commissioners, et al.,
                         Appellees-Defendants.


                      Decided: December 13, 2023

                Appeal from the DeKalb Superior Court
                         No. 17D02-2207-CT-35
                 The Honorable Monte L. Brown, Judge
       On Petition to Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals
                            No. 23A-CT-131



                          Per Curiam Opinion
Chief Justice Rush and Justices Massa, Slaughter, Goff, and Molter concur.
Per curiam.

  Brent Taylor sued the Allen County Board of Commissioners, the Allen
County Public Defender’s Office, and two individual Allen County public
defenders.

   The trial court dismissed Taylor’s action against the Allen County
Board of Commissioners and granted judgment on the pleadings to the
Allen County Public Defender’s Office and the individual public
defenders. Taylor appealed the trial court’s order. Following extensions of
time, his appellant’s brief and appendix were due to be filed by June 9,
2023. Taylor timely filed a “Motion to File Appellant’s Brief and
Appendix” on June 7 and tendered his brief and appendix with that
motion. The Clerk then issued a Notice of Defect that specified three
issues with Taylor’s brief and appendix that he needed to correct. The
Notice of Defect gave Taylor, who is housed in the Indiana Department of
Correction, twenty business days to submit corrected documents. Three
days after the Clerk issued the Notice of Defect, the Indiana Court of
Appeals issued an order dismissing Taylor’s appeal with prejudice. Taylor
now seeks transfer and asks this Court to review the dismissal of his
appeal.


Discussion & Decision
     Indiana Appellate Rule 23 addresses correction of documents that are
not compliant with the appellate rules: “Individuals who are incarcerated
. . . and are not represented by an attorney must correct defect(s) no later
than twenty (20) business days from the date of the Notice of Defect.” Ind.
Appellate Rule 23(D)(1)(a). Indiana Appellate Rule 45 allows for an appeal
to be summarily dismissed when an appellant’s brief is not timely filed.
App. R. 45(D). The record here indicates that Taylor timely tendered his
brief and appendix, and he had twenty days from the date on the Notice
of Defect to cure the defects in those documents, making them due by July
19, 2023. The record also shows the Notice of Defect’s deadline had not yet
expired at the time Taylor’s appeal was dismissed.




Indiana Supreme Court | Case No. 23S-CT-378 | December 13, 2023     Page 2 of 3
Conclusion
   Under these circumstances, we find Taylor’s appeal was prematurely
dismissed. We grant transfer, vacate the Court of Appeals’ order
dismissing Taylor’s appeal, and remand for the Court of Appeals to
resume jurisdiction over this appeal. See App. R. 58(A).


Rush, C.J., and Massa, Slaughter, Goff, and Molter, JJ., concur.



APPELLANT PRO SE
Brent Taylor
Michigan City, Indiana

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE ALLEN COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Theodore T. Storer
Alison M. Yeager
Beers Mallers, LLP
Fort Wayne, Indiana

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEES WILLIAM LEBRATO AND
GREGORY FUMAROLO
John C. Theisen
Nathaniel O. Hubley
Theisen Hubley Law
Fort Wayne, Indiana




Indiana Supreme Court | Case No. 23S-CT-378 | December 13, 2023   Page 3 of 3