Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 49A02-1702-DR-239 | June 13, 2017 Page 1 of 3

MEMORANDUM DECISION

Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), 

this Memorandum Decision shall not be 

regarded as precedent or cited before any 

court except for the purpose of establishing 

the defense of res judicata, collateral 

estoppel, or the law of the case.

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT

Lisa M. Joachim

Mann Law, P.C.

Indianapolis, Indiana

I N T H E

COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

In Re: The Marriage of

Wendi L. Lanford,

Appellant-Respondent/

Counter-Petitioner,

v.

Stuart D. Lanford,

Appellee-Petitioner/

Counter-Respondent

June 13, 2017

Court of Appeals Case No.

49A02-1702-DR-239

Appeal from the Marion Superior 

Court

The Honorable David J. Dreyer, 

Judge

The Honorable Patrick Murphy, 

Magistrate

Trial Court Cause No.

49D10-1504-DR-12545

Baker, Judge.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 49A02-1702-DR-239 | June 13, 2017 Page 2 of 3

[1] Wendi and Stuart Lanford were married and, on April 16, 2015, Stuart filed a 

petition to dissolve the marriage. Following a final hearing, the trial court 

issued a final order and decree of dissolution on August 30, 2016. On 

September 29, 2016, Wendi and Stuart each filed a motion to correct error. 

Over three months later, on January 6, 2017, the trial court granted Stuart’s 

motion to correct error. The order was signed only by a magistrate and not 

approved by a judge. Appealed Order p. 2. Wendi now appeals from that 

order.

[2] Motions to correct error are governed by Indiana Trial Rule 53.3, which 

provides, in relevant part, as follows:

In the event a court fails for forty-five (45) days to set a Motion to 

Correct Error for hearing, or fails to rule on a Motion to Correct 

Error within thirty (30) days after it was heard or forty-five (45) 

days after it was filed, if no hearing is required, the pending 

Motion to Correct Error shall be deemed denied. Any appeal 

shall be initiated by filing the notice of appeal under Appellate 

Rule 9(A) within thirty (30) days after the Motion to Correct 

Error is deemed denied.

Ind. Trial Rule 53.3(A) (emphases added). There are limited exceptions to this 

general rule, none of which are relevant to this case. See T.R. 53.3(B) 

(exceptions where party failed to serve the judge personally, parties stipulated 

that time limitation set forth in section (A) does not apply, or time limitation is 

extended by section (D)); T.R. 53.3(D) (trial court may extend time limitation 

up to thirty days by filing an entry in the chronological case summary before 

expiration of original time period).
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 49A02-1702-DR-239 | June 13, 2017 Page 3 of 3

[3] Here, the trial court did not rule on Stuart’s motion within thirty days or set it 

for a hearing within forty-five days of the date it was filed. As such, the motion 

was deemed denied on November 14, 2016, and Stuart’s thirty-day window to 

appeal that deemed denial lapsed on December 14, 2016. The trial court’s 

order granting the motion was not issued until January 6, 2017; therefore, the 

order was belated.

[4] In this case, after Stuart’s motion was deemed denied, he did not file a notice of 

appeal within thirty days of the deemed denial. As such, the trial court had no 

authority to rule on the motion months after it was filed, and the order is a 

nullity.1

[5] The judgment of the trial court is reversed.

Barnes, J., and Crone, J., concur.

 

1 Additionally, we note that the order on the motion to correct error was signed only by a magistrate and not 

approved by a judge. See Ind. Code §§ 33-23-5-5 (listing powers of magistrates, which does not include 

entering a final order on a motion to correct error), -8 (magistrate may not enter a final appealable order 

unless sitting as a judge pro tempore or a special judge with limited exceptions), -9 (magistrate may enter 

final order in a criminal proceeding).