Court Opinion

ID: 9782474
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-30 18:50:41.048868+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:35:02.926397
License: Public Domain

BRADFORD, Judge,
concurring.
I concur fully with the majority’s opinion but write separately to emphasize that our decision is not to be seen as providing the State immunity from the provisions of Trial Rule 41(E). Only in unusual circumstances such as this, where there is no discernible prejudice and the proceeding in question is not subject to normal time limitations, should the State be able to neglect its case for as long as it did here without it being dismissed. What it all comes down to, I suppose, is that it would make little sense to order a 41(E) dismissal when the State could file another lawsuit at any time addressing the exact same issues. In other contexts, however, the State should be — and is — subject to the provisions of Rule 41(E). See, e.g., State v. McClaine, 261 Ind. 60, 64, 300 N.E.2d 342, 345 (1973) (“[w]e believe that the State has an obligation to diligently prosecute all eminent domain claims. When the State condemns the property of its citizens, it must do so in an expeditious manner, avoiding all unnecessary delays. Citizen-landowners should avail themselves of the T.R. 41(E) remedy whenever the State fails to meet this requirement of due diligence.”); State v. Hardman, 542 N.E.2d 230, 231 (Ind.Ct.App.1989) (allegation of Class C infraction speeding); State ex rel. Murray v. Heithecker’s Estate, 167 Ind.App. 156, 157-58, 338 N.E.2d 313, 313-14 (1975) (State claim against estate).
I would also like to echo the majority’s desire to decide this case on the merits. If, indeed, DNR’s claim is superior, the property in question would be preserved on behalf of all Hoosiers as parkland. This is not a case where the State is seeking to act on behalf of a small subset of Indiana residents or a favored constituency. If, on the other hand, the Ritzes’ claim is superior, they could exclude the public from the land entirely if they chose to do so, as would be their right. Nobody has greater respect for property rights than I do, and I believe that questions involving those rights should be fully litigated before they are granted or taken away. Although I express no opinion on the strength of either side’s claim to the land at issue, I much prefer that questions affecting the interests of all Hoosiers be decided on the merits.