Kentucky Supreme Court Decisions 2012
Date: December 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000397-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: While Brenda Osborne was at home alone, an airplane pilot crashed his airplane into Osborne's home. Osborne subsequently hired Attorney to assist her recovering her losses from the pilot, but when the lawsuit was finally…
Date: December 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000572-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: In March 1991, Appellee's predecessor corporation obtained a default judgment against Appellant for over $13,000. To collect on the judgment, Appellee caused a writ of execution to issue against Appellant in April 1991.…
Date: December 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000685-CL
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was indicted for being a persistent felony offender (PFO) 2. The PFO 2 count was based on an earlier conviction for which Defendant was granted diversion. Defendant was still on diversion when the grand jury…
Date: December 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000810-MR
Date: December 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000001-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of murder and sentenced to forty years in prison. On appeal, the Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the trial court erred when it allowed into evidence the fact that Appellant…
Date: December 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000085-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants Marcus Swan and D'Andre Owens were convicted of multiple crimes related to a violent home invasion they carried out. The Supreme Court affirmed Swan's judgment of conviction and sentence in its entirety, and…
Date: December 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000104-MR
Date: December 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000141-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to armed robbery and murder and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for twenty-five years. After Defendant's conviction was affirmed, Defendant filed a pro se motion…
Date: December 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000157-CL
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee was charged with assault in the fourth degree. Before Appellee was arrested but after an arrest warrant was issued, Appellee's attorney made an ex parte request to a different district court judge from the one…
Date: December 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000202-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, an adult citizen, filed a petition for a declaration of rights seeking a declaration that the statutory and regulatory provisions associated with the Cabinet for Health and Family Services and its sub-unit the…
Date: December 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000275-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, a licensed attorney, was found in criminal contempt by the circuit court for failing to appear at a client's arraignment. The court of appeals affirmed. Appellant argued on review (1) he was under no duty to…
Date: December 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000393-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of wanton murder and initially sentenced to forty years' imprisonment. The Supreme Court vacated Appellant's sentence and remanded for a new sentencing phase. At Appellant's…
Date: December 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000478-MR
Date: December 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000634-MR
Date: December 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000665-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Timothy and Theresa LaMarre and their two children filed a personal injury action against Michael and Kimberly Plummer and the Fort Mitchell Country Club after a golf cart Mr. Plummer was driving accelerated while Mr.…
Date: December 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000694-WC
Date: December 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000706-WC
Date: December 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000736-MR
Date: December 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000221-CL
Justia Opinion Summary: Hospital purchased from Assurance Company of America a "builder's risk" insurance policy and contracted with Wehr Constructors for installation of subsurfaces and floors as part its project. After installation, a portion…
Date: December 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000688-KB
Date: December 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000758-KB
Date: November 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000768-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant appealed from a judgment of the circuit court convicting him of attempted murder, two counts of first-degree assault, one count of first-degree wanton endangerment, and of being a first-degree persistent felony…
Date: November 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000279-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: A circuit court jury found Appellant guilty of murder, first-degree wanton endangerment, first-degree criminal mischief, and driving under the influence. For these crimes, Appellant received a thirty-five year prison…
Date: November 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000383-MR
Date: November 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000594-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: A circuit court jury found Appellant guilty of two counts of attempted murder and one count of being a first-degree persistent felony offender (PFO). For these crimes, Appellant received a fifty-year prison sentence. The…
Date: November 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000644-MR
Date: November 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000117-MR
Date: November 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000397-KB
Date: November 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000413-KB
Date: November 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000611-KB
Date: November 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000648-KB
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2008-SC-000864-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pled guilty to, among other offenses, five counts of first-degree robbery. First-degree robbery is a "violent offense" under Ky. Rev. Stat. 439.3401, and under that statute, a person convicted of a violent…
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000349-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Employee's employment was terminated by Employer after Employee refused to sign an agreement acknowledging her repeated tardiness violated Employer's code of conduct. Employee subsequently filed a claim for unemployment…
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000351-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: A circuit court jury found Appellant guilty but mentally ill of murder and first-degree assault. Appellant received sentences of life in prison for the murder conviction and twenty years in prison for the assault…
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000466-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: This was a medical malpractice action brought by the administrator of the Estate of Mindi Tucker, who died of complications from an infection that developed after a caesarian delivery of her child. Her obstetrician was…
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000478-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: This case began when Appellants brought an action against Appellee, a medical center, alleging medical malpractice in a surgical procedure. The first trial ended in a verdict favorable to Appellants. The trial court…
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000515-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury found Appellant guilty of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and of being a second-degree persistent felony offender. The trial court sentenced Appellant to eighteen years in prison. The court of appeals…
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000818-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: This case interpreted Ky. Rev. Stat. 620.050, which provides civil and criminal immunity to the reporters of suspected child dependency, neglect, and abuse. On the basis of that immunity, the circuit court granted…
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000833-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was tried on two counts of first-degree sodomy and was convicted of one count. The trial court imposed a sentence of forty-five years incarceration. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded for a new trial,…
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000042-MR
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000126-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted discretionary review in two cases to consider related questions concerning the constitutional guarantee to the effective assistance of counsel in light of Padilla v. Kentucky, which held that…
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000191-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: A circuit court jury found Appellant guilty of first-degree fleeing or evading police, fourth-degree assault, possession of marijuana, and being a first-degree persistent felony offender (PFO). The trial court imposed a…
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000220-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant shot and killed Christopher Tolliver. At trial, the defense argued that Appellant was acting under an extreme emotional disturbance (EED) at the time of the shooting. The trial court ruled that Dr. Peter…
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000255-MR
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000257-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of multiple counts of first-degree sexual abuse and sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment. On appeal, Appellant challenged the adequacy of the notice of the charges against him, the trial…
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000330-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Upon the dissolution of the marriage of Rachel Ford and Keith Perkins, the circuit court determined that money held in an individual retirement account (IRA) maintained by Keith was marital property and ordered the funds…
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000346-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant appealed from an opinion of the court of appeals which affirmed an order of the circuit court dismissing Appellant's petition for review of a decision of the Kentucky Unemployment Insurance Commission (KUIC).…
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000379-DGE
Justia Opinion Summary: Ky. Rev. Stat. 189.820 regulates safety on the public highways by requiring slow-moving vehicles to display a particular brightly colored emblem to warn of the vehicles' slow speed. Appellants, all members of the Old…
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000467-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of first degree trafficking in a controlled substance, second or subsequent offense. The circuit court sentenced Appellant to twenty years imprisonment. Appellant appealed,…
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000493-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy, and of being a first-degree persistent felony offender. The circuit court sentenced him to thirty years' imprisonment. The Supreme…
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000514-KB
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000531-MR
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000558-RR
Justia Opinion Summary: Russell Alred, judge of the judicial court, became the focus of a lengthy investigation by the judicial conduct commission culminating in formal charges consisting of twenty allegations of misconduct in office. Following…
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000574-KB
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000602-MR
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000770-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant filed a medical negligence and wrongful death lawsuit against Hospital after Appellant's husband, who had been admitted to a psychiatric unit in Hospital where suicide precautions were taken, hung himself and…
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000781-OA
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner's second trial on charges of capital kidnapping, attempted murder, arson, and receiving stolen property ended when the trial court declared a mistrial for the Commonwealth's violation of a pretrial order.…
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000004-DGE
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court accepted review of this case to consider how to interpret Kentucky's grandparent-visitation statute consistently with the constitutional principles articulated in the U.S. Supreme Court's decision,…
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000040-MR
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000054-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant petitioned the court of appeals for a writ of mandamus directing the circuit court to enter an order releasing expert witness funds for an evidentiary hearing regarding his post-conviction ineffective…
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000221-CL
Justia Opinion Summary: Hospital purchased from Insurer a "builders risk" insurance policy which included a provision requiring Hospital to obtain Insurer's written consent before assigning a claim for an insured loss. Hospital contracted with…
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000254-KB
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000283-KB
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000287-MR
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000575-KB
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000576-KB
Date: October 25, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000597-KB
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2009-SC-000843-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: This was a medical malpractice claim for the wrongful death of Rosalie Stamper. At issue on appeal was a discovery violation question about the use of deposition testimony of a treating physician, who was originally a…
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000116-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted discretionary review of two probation revocation cases to consider whether the trial court may proceed to hold evidentiary hearings to revoke or modify probation when the grounds for revocation…
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000678-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants and Appellees were adjoining landowners who disputed the rights to the use and maintenance of a road or access easement across Appellees' property. The circuit court ordered Appellees to permit Appellants to…
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000001-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of murder and sentenced to forty years in prison. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court, holding (1) while the trial court erred by admitting two handguns Appellant owned,…
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000085-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants Marcus Swan and D'Andre Owens were tried and convicted of multiple crimes related to a violent home invasion they carried out in 2008 in which they stole money and threatened to kill the home's inhabitants,…
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000095-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: This case required the Supreme Court to determine whether a state employee, after receiving notice of her employer's intent to dismiss her, waived her right to a pre-termination hearing by repeatedly engaging in conduct…
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000108-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed from a judgment of the circuit court convicting him, following a jury trial, of robbery in the first degree. Defendant was found guilty of having robbed at gun point the manager of a cash advance…
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000141-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to armed robbery and murder and was sentenced to life in prison. Defendant subsequently filed in the trial court a pro se motion seeking relief from the court's judgment. Defendant also requested an…
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000157-CL
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with assault in the fourth degree. Before Defendant was arrested, Defendant's attorney made an ex parte request to a different district court judge from the one who issued the warrant, requesting to…
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000167-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee pled guilty to fraudulent insurance acts by complicity. Pursuant to a plea agreement, the circuit court sentenced Appellee to a five-year probated sentence and ordered restitution to Amica Mutual Insurance…
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000250-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Kathy and Curtis Rice were married approximately four months before separating and filing for divorce. While they were separated but still married, Curtis died in a work-related accident. Jackie Griffin, Curtis's mother…
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000264-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: A circuit court awarded Appellant $120,864 in his simple negligence action against Appellee, House of Imports, after he fell down a set of stairs at the retailer's business establishment. The court of appeals reversed…
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000277-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: This case required the Supreme Court to decide whether a mortgage lienholder has standing to an agreed judgment between the property owner and the purchaser of the property owner's delinquent property tax liens. The…
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000318-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of murder, assault in the first degree, assault in the fourth degree, driving under the influence of intoxicants, and tampering with physical evidence. The trial court…
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000562-MR
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000604-MR
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000627-MR
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000658-DGE
Justia Opinion Summary: The parents of fourteen Jefferson County schoolchildren brought this action claiming Ky. Rev. Stat. 159.070 grants their children a statutory right to attend the public school nearest their home. The Jefferson County…
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000021-MR
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000142-KB
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000263-MR
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000380-KB
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000386-KB
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000400-KB
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000465-KB
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000478-KB
Date: September 20, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000480-KB
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2008-SC-000789-DG, 2009-SC-000390-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, filed a class action complaint against their Internet service providers (Providers). Providers' Internet service agreement contained an arbitration…
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2009-SC-000660-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Under Kentucky's dog-bite liability statutes, the owner of a dog is strictly liable for damages caused by the dog. This case presented the questions whether a landlord can be liable under the statutory scheme's broad…
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2009-SC-000821-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: This case presented two constitutional questions related to Kentucky's prevailing wage law. The first question was whether the law violates procedural due process by failing to afford contractors a hearing before the…
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000087-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants, attorney Barbara Bonar and her law firm, claimed entitlement to a portion of the attorney's fees awarded in a class action settlement. Bonar and Appellees, a law firm and attorneys, initiated the class action…
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000144-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants James Baldwin and Ronda Reynolds allegedly sustained injuries in separate highway incidents after objects came loose from unidentified vehicles and collided with their vehicles. Both Appellants sought…
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000252-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee was injured during the course of his employment. When his workers' compensation benefits ceased, Appellee applied for and received unemployment insurance benefits. The Kentucky Unemployment Insurance Commission…
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000520-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with several offenses. Defendant entered a plea of not guilty to all charges, and the district court set his bail at $10,000. At the preliminary hearing, the district court made a finding of…
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000558-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this appeal was the question of an agent's authority to bind his or her principal to an arbitration agreement presented with other documents upon the principal's admission to a long-term care facility. Agent…
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000564-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court in this case granted review to decide whether the City of Florence violated the Open Meetings Act when it agreed in private discussions to settle a pending lawsuit in a zoning matter when the settlement…
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000791-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury convicted Defendant of theft by unlawful taking over $10,000 and three counts of first-degree criminal mischief. The trial court sentenced Defendant to twenty years' imprisonment. The Supreme Court affirmed…
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000085-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants Marcus Swan and D'Andre Owens were tried and convicted of multiple crimes related to a violent home invasion they carried out in 2008 in which they stole money and threatened to kill the home's inhabitants,…
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000108-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Following a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of robbery in the first degree. The trial court sentenced Defendant to twenty years' imprisonment enhanced to thirty years by virtue of Defendant's status as a…
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000110-TG
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant appealed his convictions in two separate cases. In the first case, Appellant was found guilty of trafficking in a controlled substance, possession of marijuana, feeing or evading, and being a persistent felony…
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000111-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant entered into a plea agreement with the Commonwealth, whereby he agreed to a sentence of five years' imprisonment. In addition, the circuit court imposed a $1,000 fine, which the Commonwealth later conceded was…
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000119-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Pursuant to a guilty verdict, Defendant was convicted of one count of murder and three counts of wanton endangerment in the first degree. The trial court sentenced Defendant to thirty-five years' imprisonment. Appellant…
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000140-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of eight counts of first-degree sodomy, one count of use of a minor in a sexual performance, and one count of first-degree sexual abuse, for which he received a total sentence of seventy years'…
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000338-MR
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000507-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Several weeks after Defendant was convicted of first-degree sodomy he moved for a new trial based upon an unsworn, unauthenticated note purportedly written by a member of the jury panel that convicted him. The note…
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000509-WC
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000558-RR
Justia Opinion Summary: Russell D. Alred, judge of the 26th judicial circuit of Kentucky, became the focus of a lengthy investigation by the judicial conduct commission, culminating in formal charges consisting of twenty allegations of…
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000588-WC
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal concerned an ALJ's decision to award the claimant temporary total disability (TTD) benefits for his work-related shoulder injury from the date he left work, May 10, 2007, until May 8, 2009. The ALJ also…
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000589-WC
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal concerned the method for excluding impairment from a non-compensable disability when calculating a worker's permanent disability benefit under the post-1996 version of Kan. Rev. Stat. 342.730(1)(b). The ALJ…
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000605-WC
Justia Opinion Summary: An ALJ determined that Claimant sustained a work-related hearing loss and that Kan. Rev. Stat. 342.7305(4) placed the entire liability for income and medical benefits with Appellant, the last employer with whom Claimant…
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000684-MR
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000686-WC
Justia Opinion Summary: Claimant sustained a work-related injury in 2003, for which he was awarded temporary total disability (TTD) benefits followed by 425 weeks of permanent partial disability benefits. In 2007 Claimant sustained another…
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000744-KB
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000006-KB
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000082-MR
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000147-MR
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000255-KB
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000302-KB
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000406-KB
Date: August 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000473-KB
Date: June 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2009-SC-000660-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Under Kentucky's dog-bite liability statutes, the owner of a dog is strictly liable for damages caused by the dog. This case presented the questions whether a landlord can be liable under the statutory scheme's broad…
Date: June 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2009-SC-000790-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants Tanya and Jeffrey Childers filed this action against Appellees, Dr. Sandra Geile and Marshal Emergency Services Associates, PSC, claiming severe emotional distress caused by the outrageous and intentional or…
Date: June 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000332-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: The circuit court granted Appellants' motion for summary judgment in a partition action for the sale of jointly owned real estate, having found that the statute of frauds prevented enforcement of an alleged oral…
Date: June 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000375-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this appeal was whether a district court acted outside the scope of its jurisdiction when it issued an order requiring a guardian to provide all financial records related to a court-ordered accounting and to…
Date: June 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000415-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered a conditional plea to first-degree possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, reserving the right to appeal the denial of her motion to suppress the evidence found during…
Date: June 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000559-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: This case required the Supreme Court to determine whether Appellee, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) had "good cause" for failing to timely release a satisfied real estate lien it held on Gary and…
Date: June 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000560-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: This case presented the question of whether an automobile insurance policy's permissive user step-down provision was valid and enforceable. Specifically, the Supreme Court addressed whether the particular provision at…
Date: June 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000669-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Michael Elery was convicted of murder, tampering with physical evidence, and violating a protective order and sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of probation or parole. The Supreme Court affirmed…
Date: June 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000749-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: This matter involved the ability to recover attorney's fees based on a contingency fee arrangement when an attorney withdraws from representation of the client for what the lawyer believes is a valid cause. The district…
Date: June 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000040-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Brian McGuire appealed from a judgment of the circuit court convicting him of first-degree manslaughter and unlawful possession of a weapon on school property and sentencing him to twenty years' imprisonment.…
Date: June 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000059-MR
Date: June 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000088-WC
Date: June 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000103-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Kenneth Hudson was convicted of murder as an accomplice by the circuit court. Appellant appealed, arguing that the trial court erred (1) in declining to instruct the jury on theories of accomplice liability for…
Date: June 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000109-MR
Date: June 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000154-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Travis Smith was convicted of first-degree burglary by complicity, first-degree robbery by complicity, and second-degree assault by complicity and was sentenced to a total of twenty-two years' imprisonment. The…
Date: June 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000265-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: The underlying case here was a divorce action between Appellant John Lee and Jill Stanley. Judge Stephen George of the family court heard the divorce proceedings. Because of Appellant's pattern of litigation, Stanley…
Date: June 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000443-WC
Date: June 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000449-WC
Justia Opinion Summary: When calculating the income benefit for he claimant's work-related injury, the ALJ apportioned sixty-three percent of the twenty-one percent permanent impairment rating that existed at maximum medical improvement (MMI)…
Date: June 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000465-WC
Date: June 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000705-MR
Date: June 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000183-KB
Date: June 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000196-KB
Date: June 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000237-KB
Date: June 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000283-KB
Date: June 21, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000301-KB
Date: May 24, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000069-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: This case presented the question of whether the doctrine of equitable subrogation may be used to reorder the priority of a mortgage lien where the mortgage holder had constructive but not actual knowledge of a…
Date: May 24, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000283-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: This case presented the question of whether the Department of Corrections could correct an alleged error in the calculation of a presentencing custody credit after the calculation was incorporated into the court's final…
Date: May 24, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000295-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: After serving eighteen months as the superintendent of Bourbon County public schools, Appellant Arnold Carter transferred into the position of consultant to the school district pursuant to an "exit strategy." The details…
Date: May 24, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000573-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1988, Gregory Wilson was convicted of, inter alia, murder and kidnapping and received the death sentence. In 2010, Wilson moved the trial court to prohibit execution of the death sentence because of his mental…
Date: May 24, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000639-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Lloyd Hammond was convicted by a jury of three counts of murder, one count of first-degree burglary, one count of first-degree unlawful imprisonment, and retaliating against a participant in the legal process.…
Date: May 24, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000695-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Daniel Newman was convicted of two counts of first-degree sodomy and one count of attempted first-degree sexual abuse. The jury recommended a life sentence for each of the sodomy convictions, and Appellant was…
Date: May 24, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000754-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: William Louis Rogers was convicted, following a jury trial, of two counts of trafficking in a controlled substance and one count of possessing a controlled substance. The charges for which Rogers was indicted - three…
Date: May 24, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000043-DGE
Justia Opinion Summary: The family court granted the petition of Appellant, Samantha Daugherty, and issued a domestic violence order (DVO) against Appellee, John Telek, to remain in effect for three years. Telek appealed. The court of appeals…
Date: May 24, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000056-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Thomas Bowling petitioned for a declaratory judgment seeking to challenge the implementation of his two twenty-two year-old death sentences upon the grounds that he was mentally retarded. Appellant had…
Date: May 24, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000295-WC
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this appeal was whether Ky. Rev. Stat. 342.730(6) entitled UPS Airlines to receive credit against its liability under section 342.730(1) for the payment of loss of license benefits that were the product of a…
Date: May 24, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000298-WC
Justia Opinion Summary: In this workers' compensation case, an ALJ determined that injuries Claimant sustained in an automobile accident while returning to Kentucky from yearling sales held in New York came within the course and scope of his…
Date: May 24, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000356-WC
Date: May 24, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000511-MR
Date: May 24, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000532-WC
Date: May 24, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000744-KB
Date: May 24, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000192-KB
Date: April 26, 2012
Docket Number: 2008-SC-000274-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Police made a warrantless entry into an apartment occupied by Appellant Hollis King and discovered drugs and drug paraphernalia. The circuit court denied King's motion to suppress. King entered a conditional guilty plea…
Date: April 26, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000078-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Joseph Singleton was charged with several drug-related offenses. All of the charges were based on evidence obtained by police officers after they stopped Appellant at a traffic checkpoint and searched his…
Date: April 26, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000100-DGE
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants Mother and Father were the natural parents of Child. Child was removed from home in 2004 and committed to the custody of the Cabinet for Health and Human Services after an abuse petition was filed. The…
Date: April 26, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000108-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: A circuit court jury convicted Frederick Davis of first-degree manslaughter and first-degree attempted manslaughter. Davis appealed, contending (1) the trial court erred by empanelling a new jury to determine whether to…
Date: April 26, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000343-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: After Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services found Appellee Patrick O'Conner's children in filth, unsanitary living conditions, and misery in Appellee's home, Appellee was indicted by a grand jury for three…
Date: April 26, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000376-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Prestonsburg Industrial Corporation (PIC) was founded in 1968 as a private, nonprofit corporation to attract business and industry to the City for economic development. To accomplish this goal, PIC would buy property,…
Date: April 26, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000394-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Charles Wilson worked at the Central City Water Works Department. During his tenure there, Wilson reported several safety issues to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Kentucky Division of…
Date: April 26, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000491-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Kenneth Malone was convicted of murder and sentenced to thirty-two years in prison. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Malone was not denied an opportunity to present a complete defense when the trial court…
Date: April 26, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000630-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Following a bench trial, Appellant Raymond Clutter was convicted of murder and tampering with physical evidence and was found to be a persistent felony offender in the first degree. Clutter appealed, claiming that the…
Date: April 26, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000713-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: A circuit court jury found Appellant Derryl Blane guilty of several drug-related offenses and of being a first-degree Persistent Felony Offender (PFO). The Supreme Court (1) reversed Appellant's conviction for…
Date: April 26, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000762-TG
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Michael Mitchell, who had a valid license to carry a concealed deadly weapon, was employed at the University of Kentucky medical center when hospital administrators reported that Mitchell had a firearm in his…
Date: April 26, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000002-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Patricia Buster entered a conditional guilty plea to four counts of complicity to first-degree rape. Appellant's conditional guilty plea preserved her right to appeal the adverse ruling of the trial court on…
Date: April 26, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000175-WC
Justia Opinion Summary: Claimant worked for Employer as an underground coal miner. Claimant filed claims for work-related injuries and filed an occupational hearing loss claim. An ALJ tripled the income benefits awarded for Claimant's injury…
Date: April 26, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000335-WC
Justia Opinion Summary: Claimant filed an application for workers' compensation, alleging injuries while working for Employer as a roofer. Having become a party because Employer was uninsured, the Uninsured Employers' Fund (UEF) denied the…
Date: April 26, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000386-MR
Date: April 26, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000482-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Citizen Plaintiffs gave notice of their intent to sue Frasure Creek Mining and another coal mining company pursuant to the citizen suit provision of the Clean Water Act. At the close of the statutory sixty-day notice…
Date: April 26, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000752-MR
Date: April 26, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000779-KB
Date: April 26, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000056-KB
Date: April 26, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000091-TG
Justia Opinion Summary: After applying legal precedent establish in Fischer v. State Board of Elections (Fischer II), the trial court found the legislative redistricting plans of H.B. 1 facially unconstitutional and issued a temporary…
Date: April 26, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000122-KB
Date: March 22, 2012
Docket Number: 2009-SC-000115-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant James Jackson was charged with felony drug trafficking and several misdemeanors, including possession of a handgun by a minor, in the juvenile court. The district court certified him as a youthful offender and…
Date: March 22, 2012
Docket Number: 2009-SC-000289-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: After Michael Beglin's wife, Jennifer, died during surgery at University Hospital, Michael sued the hospital. The jury found that the hospital, through its employees and agents, acted negligently in causing the death of…
Date: March 22, 2012
Docket Number: 2009-SC-000639-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Stephen Driver was convicted of first-degree assault and sentenced to a prison term of fifteen years. The court of appeals affirmed the circuit court's judgment. The Supreme Court reversed the first-degree…
Date: March 22, 2012
Docket Number: 2009-SC-000768-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant William Goldsmith pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument in Hickman Circuit Court. Goldsmith's sentence was probated, but he violated the terms of his…
Date: March 22, 2012
Docket Number: 2009-SC-000814-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellees conducted a renovation project near Appellant's place of work. Appellant filed a complaint against Appellees, alleging that Appellees negligently caused her to have occupational asthma and other injuries…
Date: March 22, 2012
Docket Number: 2009-SC-000821-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, TECO Mechanical Contractor, Inc., filed a complaint and petition for declaration of rights against the Labor Cabinet, asserting that Kentucky's prevailing wage law (1) violated due process by authorizing the…
Date: March 22, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000584-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Billy Mash was convicted in the circuit court of one count of first-degree sodomy and was sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the trial court did not err by (1)…
Date: March 22, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000681-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Desean Maynes pled guilty to third-degree burglary pursuant to a plea agreement. The trial court approved the agreement subject to the condition that Maynes pay the statutory costs of $130 to the circuit court clerk.…
Date: March 22, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000816-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Michael Knox entered pleas of guilty to eight counts of second-degree robbery. The plea agreement provided that, until the sentencing hearing, Knox would be released on home incarceration subject to the…
Date: March 22, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000063-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Ronald Copley was sentenced to twenty years in prison after pleading guilty to murdering his wife. Copley appealed, alleging that the trial court erred when it denied his motion to suppress evidence seized…
Date: March 22, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000129-MR
Date: March 22, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000144-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury found Appellant Johnny Smith guilty of first-degree robbery and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and of being a second-degree persistent felony offender (PFO). Appellant received a thirty-year prison sentence,…
Date: March 22, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000196-MR
Date: March 22, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000285-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Robert Smith was convicted of first-degree robbery and of being a first-degree persistent felony offender and was sentenced to thirty-two years' imprisonment. The Supreme Court (1) affirmed Smith's conviction…
Date: March 22, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000294-WC
Justia Opinion Summary: Claimant Randy Lewis sought benefits for work-related lumbar spine injuries sustained in 2001 and 2002 and a work-related cervical spine injury sustained in 2005. An ALJ awarded 425 weeks of partial disability benefits…
Date: March 22, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000326-WC
Justia Opinion Summary: Claimant injured his shoulder during his employment. Claimant and Employer agreed to settle the matter. Claimant subsequently underwent a surgery, which Employer failed to pre-authorize. Claimant then filed several…
Date: March 22, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000023-KB
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2009-SC-000641-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Bradley Day was convicted of first-degree sexual abuse. The court of appeals affirmed Day's conviction. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the trial court erred by telling the jury the penalty…
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2009-SC-000819-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Creditor attempted to collect on debt incurred by a wholly-owned subsidiary, but the subsidiary had been deprived of all income and rendered asset-less by the acts of its parent and grandparent corporations (Appellees).…
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000067-MR
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000076-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was charged with complicity to commit assault in the first degree, attempted burglary in the first degree, and tampering with physical evidence in a juvenile proceeding. Appellant was sixteen years old at the…
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000094-MR
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000162-MR
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000183-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: General Electric (GE) obtained a judgment against Intra-Med for breach of contract. Thomas Schultz was the president and sole shareholder of Intra-Med. After collecting only a portion of the judgment, GE intervened in…
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000184-MR
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000234-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Michael Dunn was convicted of five counts of first-degree sodomy. The Supreme Court affirmed Appellant's convictions, holding (1) the trial court did not err when it refused to suppress the condom seized from…
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000275-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of first-degree rape, first-degree unlawful imprisonment, fourth-degree assault, violating a protective order, and being a persistent felony offender. The Supreme Court affirmed Appellant's…
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000379-MR
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant Britton McPherson was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction and sentence, holding (1) Defendant was not denied a fair trial…
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000645-MR
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-SC-000722-DG
Justia Opinion Summary: Kathleen and Richard Mitchell divorced in 1990. In 2008, Richard filed a motion to modify spousal maintenance. In 2009, Kathleen filed a motion for attorney fees and costs incurred as a result of defending Richard's…
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000188-WC
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000345-MR
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000464-MR
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000472-MR
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000606-KB
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000608-KB
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000654-KB
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000657-KB
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000734-KB
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000743-KB
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-SC-000746-KB
Date: February 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-SC-000011-KB
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