Olena Bahler v. Citizens Water of Westfield, LLC

── Olena Bahler v. Citizens Water of Westfield, LLC ── Court: Indiana Court of Appeals Date: April 20, 2026 Author: Dana Kenworthy Category: General FILED Apr 20 2026, 10:01 am CLERK Indiana Supreme Court Court of Appeals and Tax Court IN THE Court of Appeals of Indiana Olena Bahler and Robert T. Bahler, Appellants-Defendants v. Citizens Water of Westfield, LLC, Appellee-Plaintiff April 20, 2026 Court of Appeals Case No. 25A-PL-1922 Appeal from the Hamilton Superior Court The Honorable J. Richard Campbell, Judge Trial Court Cause No. 29D04-2504-PL-4597 Opinion by Judge Foley Chief Judge Tavitas and Judge Kenworthy concur. Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-PL-1922 | April 20, 2026 Page 1 of 11  Foley, Judge.1 [1] In this eminent domain action, Citizens Water of Westfield, LLC (“Citizens”)2 sought an easement across real estate belonging to Robert T. Bahler (“Robert”) and Olena Bahler (“Olena”) (collectively, “the Bahlers”3) as part of a water line project. The Bahlers appeal from an order (1) overruling their objections to Citizens’ complaint appropriating their real property and (2) granting Citizens an easement that included rights for sewer, gas, and other utility services in addition to the water line. We find a single issue dispositive: whether the easement granted to Citizens included use rights that exceeded the scope of Citizens’ identified purpose of a water line extension. [2] We conclude as a matter of law that Citizens did not establish a need for the additional utility uses. We therefore reverse the order overruling the objections to the scope of the easement sought and reverse the order of appropriation.4 1 We held oral argument on Thursday, March 19, 2026, at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. We thank Dean Bravo, the law school, and the Moot Court Board for their generous hospitality, and we thank counsel for modeling skilled oral advocacy. We also thank the attending students, who posed incisive questions to the bench and the advocates following the oral argument. 2 The complaint referred to Citizens Water of Westfield, LLC, but in appellate filings Citizens instead identifies itself as Citizens Wastewater of Westfield, LLC. The parties do not address this discrepancy. 3 At times, this term refers only to Robert. 4 Our disposition renders the remaining issues moot. We therefore do not address the timeliness of Olena’s objections or the merits of any other objection to the complaint at issue on appeal; should Citizens amend its complaint pursuant to Indiana Code section 32-24-1-8(d), there will be a new timeline to file objections. Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-PL-1922 | April 20, 2026 Page 2 of 11  Facts and Procedural History 5 [3] Citizens—an Indiana public utility—filed a Complaint for Appropriation of Real Estate Interest on April 25, 2025, seeking a permanent, non-exclusive easement across the Bahlers’ real property in Westfield, Indiana. Citizens