Indiana ruled not liable in groping suit vs. ex-top lawyer

By TOM DAVIES
Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A federal appeals court has ruled the women who claimed Indiana’s former attorney general drunkenly groped them cannot pursue a lawsuit against the state under federal sexual harassment laws. The appeals court said in a decision issued Wednesday that the women worked for Indiana’s legislative branch as House or Senate staffers and agreed with a lower court ruling that then-Attorney General Curtis Hill had no employment authority over them despite his elected position as state government’s top lawyer. The three female staffers allege that the Republican attorney general inappropriately touched them and made unwelcome sexual comments during a 2018 party. The lawsuit remains pending against the Indiana House and Senate.