Sec. 28. (a) A determination of the management committee concerning the validity and reasonableness of a claim is a final administrative determination.

(b) A creditor aggrieved by a final determination of the management committee may appeal the determination by filing a petition with the circuit or superior court of the county in which the creditor resides or in the county in which the distressed township is located. The petition must be filed not more than thirty (30) days following the date of the management committee's determination. The court shall try the cause de novo. Except as provided in section 52(3) of this chapter, a final court judgment that orders a payment to be made to a creditor under this subsection may be collected upon and paid from the distressed township's township assistance account as provided in section 40 of this chapter. An action brought under this section is governed by IC 34-13-5, except that a change of venue is governed by the Indiana Rules of Trial Procedure rather than IC 34-13-5-4.

(c) A claim under this article that is pending in court at the time the township becomes a distressed township is stayed and the claimant must file the claim with the management committee as provided in this chapter. A claimant who has a final court judgment on a claim under this article before the township becomes a distressed township may proceed to collect on that judgment as provided by law.

(d) An action under this section is subject to the defense that the claim may violate Article 13, Section 1 of the Constitution of the State of Indiana.

[Pre-1992 Revision Citation: 12-2-14-23.]

As added by P.L.2-1992, SEC.14. Amended by P.L.1-1998, SEC.104; P.L.73-2005, SEC.129.