Jeri L. Knox v. Winnie J. Walker, Individually and as Trustee of the Frank R. Walker and Winnie J. Walker Living Trust

Indiana law treats actual fraud and constructive fraud as distinct torts. Actual fraud requires a showing of an intent to deceive. Constructive fraud does not, and the presence or absence of that intent is what differentiates them. Here, the trial court’s fraud determination pointed to both standards, along with the rule that intent distinguishes the two torts, and entered judgment on a finding that petitioner “fraudulently misrepresented her ownership interest,” without identifying which standard its findings satisfied. The Court of Appeals affirmed, treating the judgment as one for actual fraud. The question presented is: Whether the Due Process Clause permits a judgment for intentional fraud to stand when the court that entered it cited both the actual fraud and constructive fraud standards, acknowledged that an intent to deceive is what distinguishes them, and never determined which standard its findings satisfied.