[APPEALS] State of Indiana v. William J. Pfister, et al., 25A-PL-614

This appeal concerns events that occurred from 1999 to 2014 when William J. Pfister was the Superintendent and Richard A. Sopko was the Assistant Superintendent for the School Town of Munster. In 2016, the Indiana State Board of Accounts (SBOA) issued a report that while Pfister and Sopko were officers, they received nearly $850,000 more than their contracts allowed in violation of the SBOA's uniform compliance guidelines. Most of the alleged overpayments were related to their annuities. The next year, the State of Indiana, through the Attorney General, filed a complaint to recover public funds under Indiana Code section 5-11-5-1(a) against Pfister,
Sopko, and several companies that had issued insurance policies and bonds covering their conduct, alleging that Pfister and Sopko had engaged in malfeasance, misfeasance, and/or nonfeasance. Over the next seven years the trial court issued a series of summary-judgment orders in favor of Pfister, Sopko, and the companies that resolved this case. The State now appeals.

The scheduled panelists are Judge Bailey, Judge Vaidik, and Judge DeBoer.