Keith D. Harper v. S&H Leasing, LLC; K&K Real Estate Holdings, LLC; Thomas Hagen; Brian Brisco; and Jeremy Noetzel

Summary

The Indiana Supreme Court held that money need not qualify as “special chattel” or be segregated from other funds to support criminal conversion or a civil claim under the Crime Victim’s Relief Act. The plaintiff must instead prove the statutory elements of criminal conversion, including that the defendant knowingly or intentionally exerted unauthorized control over another’s property. The Court affirmed the treble-damages judgment, remanding only to change the award recipient from S&H Leasing to K&K Real Estate Holdings.

Holdings

1. Money need not be special chattel, a determinate sum entrusted for a specific purpose, or segregated from other funds to constitute criminal conversion under Indiana Code section 35-43-4-3(a). The special-chattel requirement is not a statutory element of criminal conversion.
2. A plaintiff seeking relief under the Crime Victim's Relief Act must prove every element, and only the elements, of the underlying criminal-conversion offense, including that the defendant knowingly or intentionally exerted unauthorized control over another's property. The plaintiff need not prove special chattel or segregation.
3. The evidence supported the trial court's finding that Harper knowingly exerted unauthorized control over K&K's loan proceeds by transferring them for personal use without authorization, disclosure, or accounting.
4. The CVRA judgment must be modified so that K&K, which borrowed the funds and was the victim of the conversion, receives the treble damages rather than S&H.

Questions Presented

1. Whether money must qualify as special chattel or remain segregated from the defendant's other funds to support a finding of criminal conversion under Indiana law.
2. Whether a plaintiff seeking civil treble damages under the Crime Victim's Relief Act must prove only the statutory elements of criminal conversion, including the required mens rea.
3. Whether the evidence supported the trial court's finding that Harper knowingly exerted unauthorized control over K&K's loan proceeds.
4. Whether the CVRA treble-damages award should be payable to K&K rather than S&H.

Disposition

remanded