City of Lawrence Utilites Service Board, City of Lawrence, Indiana, and Mayor Dean Jessup, Individually and in his Official Capacity v. Carlton E. Curry, 68 N.E.3d 581

Carlton Curry was appointed superintendent of Lawrence Utilities by the Utility Service Board (USB) in 2009; he worked closely with then-mayor Ricketts on utility policy.
Dean Jessup defeated Ricketts, sought resignations of prior appointees, and ultimately instructed that Curry be terminated after policy disagreements (notably over a proposed wastewater treatment plant).
Curry was notified of termination by the new mayor and a letter; he sued claiming wrongful discharge under the utility superintendent statute, unpaid wages under Indiana’s Wage Payment Statute (WPS), and tortious interference by the mayor.
Federal claims were dismissed on summary judgment and remaining state-law claims proceeded; the trial court granted summary judgment for Curry on wrongful discharge, denied summary judgment on intentional interference, and entered summary judgment for the City on the WPS claim.
The Indiana Supreme Court affirmed: the USB (not the mayor) has exclusive statutory authority to remove a superintendent under Ind. Code § 8-1.5-3-5(d) (only after notice and a hearing); Curry was not entitled to wages under the WPS because he did not perform work after termination; a genuine factual dispute existed on intentional interference.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the mayor had authority to remove the utility superintendent	Curry: statute gives board removal power; mayor lacked authority to terminate him	City: mayor had authority (Morrison dictum is not binding); mayor could remove Curry	Held: Mayor lacked authority; only USB may remove superintendent for cause after notice and hearing (summary judgment for Curry affirmed)
Whether Curry is owed wages under the Wage Payment Statute	Curry: he remained "ready, willing and able" to work and thus is owed wages	City: Curry performed no labor after termination; WPS protects unpaid wages for labor actually performed	Held: Curry not entitled to WPS wages (summary judgment for City affirmed)
Whether the mayor tortiously interfered with Curry’s employment contract	Curry: mayor intentionally interfered by terminating him, lacking justification	City: a public entity cannot interfere with its own employee; termination was justified	Held: Genuine issue of material fact exists about intentional interference; denial of summary judgment for City affirmed
Effect of USB appointing superintendent and later appointing replacement	Curry: USB appointment means removal requires USB action; replacement does not cure lack of notice/hearing	City: USB’s later appointment ratified termination	Held: USB’s appointment of a replacement did not cure absence of statutorily required notice and hearing; wrongful discharge stands

Morrison v. McMahon, 475 N.E.2d 1174 (Ind. Ct. App. 1985) (prior case discussing board’s discharge power over superintendent)
Elrod v. Burns, 427 U.S. 347 (U.S. 1976) (patronage hiring practices and public policy considerations)
City of Clinton v. Golder, 885 N.E.2d 67 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008) (Wage Payment Statute requires actual labor or service to recover wages)
SCI Propane, LLC v. Frederick, 39 N.E.3d 675 (Ind. 2015) (standard of review for summary judgment)