(A) Pursuant to IC 34-28-5-1, an action to enforce a city ordinance shall be brought in the name of the city. The city need not prove that it or the ordinance is valid unless validity is controverted by affidavit. An action to enforce an ordinance of the City of Peru may be filed either in the Peru City Court or on the Minor Offenses and Violations Docket of the Miami Superior Court.
(B) All actions to enforce an ordinance:
(1) Shall be conducted in accordance with the Indiana Rules of Trial Procedure; and
(2) Must be brought within two years after the alleged conduct or violation occurred.
(C) The city must prove the commission of the ordinance violation by a preponderance of the evidence.
(D) The summons and complaint described in IC 9-30-3-6 may be used in any ordinance violation case.
(E) Pursuant to IC 34-28-5-2, in an action for a moving traffic violation, the pleadings are as follows:
(1) A summons and complaint.
(2) Entry by a defendant of a) an admission to the violation, b) a denial of the violation, or c) a declaration of nolo contendere in which the defendant consents to entry of judgment for the plaintiff without admitting to the violation.
(F) Pursuant to IC 34-28-5-4, a judgment up to the amount requested in the city's complaint may be entered for an ordinance violation.
(G) Pursuant to IC 34-28-5-5, a defendant against whom a judgment for an ordinance violation is entered is liable for costs. Costs are part of the judgment and may not be suspended except under IC 9-30-3-12. However, whenever a judgment is entered against a person for the commission of two or more civil violations (infractions or ordinance violations), the court may waive the person's liability for costs for all but one of the violations.
(H) A judgment may be entered against a defendant upon a finding by the court that the defendant:
(1) Violated an ordinance; or
(2) Consents to entry of judgment for the plaintiff upon a pleading of nolo contendere for a moving traffic violation.
(Ord. 8, 2018, passed 3-5-18)