Our Firm

Lyle Hardman is a partner in the South Bend, Indiana office. He practices in the areas of professional and medical malpractice defense including legal malpractice, construction law, products liability, personal injury insurance defense, insurance coverage, and state and federal appellate practice. He also participates in all aspects of civil litigation, including sole, first, and second chair jury and bench trials in federal and state courts, as well as before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Office of Civil Rights, the Indiana Civil Rights Commission, and local agencies, as well as conducting oral arguments before the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, United States District Courts, state courts, and administrative law judges. Mr. Hardman received his B.A., cum laude, from DePauw University in 1988 followed by his Doctorate of Jurisprudence from Indiana University School of Law in 1991.

Practice Emphasis

• Medical Malpractice
• Employment Law
• Civil Rights
• Title VII
• Title IX
• ADEA
• ADAAA
• FMLA
• PDA
• USERRA
• School Law and Liability
• Due Process
• Professional Liability
• Complex Litigation
• Commercial Litigation
• Municipal Law
• Environmental Litigation
• First, Eighth, Fourteenth Amendment
• Contract Law
• Insurance Coverage
• Mass Torts
• Toxic Torts
• Products Liability
• Construction Litigation
• Insurance Coverage
• Magnuson-Moss
• UCC
• Intellectual Property
• General negligence and tort law

Professional Associations and Memberships

• St. Joseph County Bar Association
• Indiana State Bar Association (Legal Ethics Committee, Federal Judiciary Committee, Appellate Practice, Litigation, Health and Medicine)
• Michigan State Bar Association (Insurance and Indemnity, Litigation, and Appellate Practice Sections)
• American Bar Association
• Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana

Bar Admissions

• Indiana (1991 – Present)
• Michigan (2006 – Present)
• United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (1993 – Present)
• United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana (1991 – Present)
• United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana (1991 – Present)
• United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois (2007 – Present)
• United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan (2019 – Present)

Education

• DePauw University, B.A., cum laude, 1988
• Indiana University School of Law, J.D., 1991

Additional Experience / Awards

• Indiana Super Lawyer, 2013 to present
• Best Lawyers in America, 2015 to present
• Best Lawyers in America, Lawyer of the Year, Indiana Insurance Law – 2022
• U.S. News and World Report – Best Firms in America
• Very High Rating for Legal Ability and Ethics by Martindale-Hubbell

Publications

Mr. Hardman is a regular contributor to the Hunt, Suedhoff, Kalamaros, L.L.P., newsletter and frequent speaker at the firm’s seminar. He is also the author of “A Defendant’s Guide to the Indiana Medical Malpractice Act,” and he has given many presentations on risk management to professional groups and societies. 

Reported Cases

• Groves v. South Bend Community School Corporation, 51 F.4th 766 (7th Cir. 2022)
• Uylaki v. Town of Griffith, 878 N.E.2d 412 (Ind.App. 2007)
• Bonds v. Rutt, 877 N.E.2d 227 (Ind.App. 2007) (unpublished)
• Monroe Guaranty Insurance Company v. Bucko Construction Co., 868 N.E.2d 962 (2007) (unpublished)
• Sword v. NKC Hospitals, 714 N.E.2d 142 (Ind. 1999)
• Northern Indiana Public Service Co. v. G.V.K. Corp., (Ind.App. 1999)
• Ozinga Transportation Systems, Inc. v. Michigan Ash Sales, Inc., (Ind.App. 1997)
• Bonaventura v. Leach, 670 N.E.2d 123 (Ind.App. 1996)
• Rivers v. Methodist Hospitals, Inc., 654 N.E.2d 811 (Ind.App. 1995)
• Pivarnik v. Northern Indiana Public Service Co., 636 N.E.2d 131 (Ind.App. 1994)
• Wozniak v. Northern Indiana Public Service Co., 620 N.E.2d 33 (Ind.App. 1993)
• Northern Indiana Public Service Co. v. Sell, 597 N.E.2d 329 (Ind.App. 1992)
• Bridge v. New Holland Logansport, 815 F.3d 356 (7th Cir. 2016)
• Rice ex. rel. Rice v. Correctional Medical Services, 675 F.3d 650 (7th Cir. 2012)
• Herndon v. South Bend Community School Corporation, 2017 WL 3526614 (7th Cir. 2017), not for publication
• Dactelides v. Board of School Trustees for the South Bend Community School Corporation, 562 Fed.Appx. 534 (7th Cir. 2014)
• Robertson v. Anonymous Clinic, 63 N.E.3d 349 (Ind.Ct.App. 2016)
• Van Daele v. Concord Community School Corporation, 2016 WL 786652 (Ind.Ct.App. 2016), not for publication
• Estate of Mayer v. Lax, Inc., 998 N.E.2d 238 (Ind.Ct.App. 2013)
• Dwyer Instruments, Inc. v. Keller, 900 N.E.2d 508 (Ind.Ct.App. 2008), not for publication