What changed
- The court granted the joint motion to dismiss filed August 10, 2026 by Hobart Owner LLC, Tuhaus LLC, and the City of Hobart Plan Commission. The basis was procedural: under Indiana Code 36-7-4-1613, petitioners must file the administrative record within 30 days of their June 8, 2026 petition or timely request an extension. All parties agreed the record was never filed, and the court found the petition's “Wherefore” paragraph did not constitute a timely extension request.
- The court denied the plaintiffs' August 31 motion to enforce transmission of the board record.
- The court granted the defendants' September 29 motion to reconsider and vacated the September 28, 2026 order on transmission of the board record, which the court described as incorrectly entered. The October 20, 2026 record-transmission deadline set by that order was vacated.
- Final judgment was entered on the Soriano II claims as to the named plaintiffs and the three defendants, with the court finding no just reason for delay of appeal — any party may appeal immediately.
The order also records that the September 30 case-management order had already stayed transmission while the court considered reconsideration.
What this update does not establish
- This dismisses only the Soriano II claims — the site-plan review portion of the case (formerly 45D10-2606-RA-000007). It does not dismiss the Soriano I zoning claims against the Plan Commission and Common Council.
- The October 19, 2026 dismissal hearing at 1:30 p.m. remains on the docket as listed; this order does not cancel it.
- The dismissal was procedural — failure to file the administrative record — not a merits finding that the underlying zoning challenge is right or wrong.
- Northshore is not inferring what any party will do next. An appeal is permitted, not reported.
Primary source
Signed 4-page court order, “Order on Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to Trial Rule 12(B)(6),” Lake Superior Court Civil Division Room Seven, Judge Bruce D. Parent, Cause No. 45D11-2512-MI-000644 (consolidated lead case), docket entry dated October 15, 2026. Signed orders control over docket summaries and reporting.
Open the signed order with Research Pass →Opening a source uses no Research Brief credits. Indiana MyCase is a public docket summary; the Lake County Clerk maintains the official court record. This record will enter the Source Library after the 48-hour notice ends.
Read the permanent docket record →
Northshore will update this page if an appeal is docketed, the October 19 hearing changes the case posture, or another official court record clarifies the remaining claims.