Kentucky Supreme Court Decisions 2019

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of murder, first-degree assault, and first-degree wanton endangerment and sentencing him to thirty-five years' imprisonment for these…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the opinion of the court of appeals affirming Defendant's convictions for first-degree fleeing or evading police and first-degree wanton endangerment, holding that the evidence was sufficient…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this action brought by Great Lakes Minerals, LLC against the State of Ohio and Joseph Testa, the Supreme Court reversed the decision of the circuit court denying Ohio's motion to dismiss, holding that Ohio was…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of first-degree rape and imposing a twenty-year term of imprisonment, holding that the trial court did not err by denying Defendant's…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of one count of first-degree sodomy, victim under twelve years old, and Defendant's sentence of forty years' imprisonment, holding that the trial court did not commit…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the court of appeals' opinion concluding that the trial court's alleged error of failing to strike a juror for cause was properly preserved for appellate review, holding that a one-to-one ratio…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the Bingham Greenebaum Doll law firm that enforced the mortgage on Meredith Lawrence's Gallatin County property, holding that there were…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed, albeit on different grounds, the decision of the court of appeals dismissing Appellant's appeal from a trial court order not authorizing payment of the full amount of an interpreter's invoiced…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Court of Appeals determining that the Jefferson Circuit Court had concurrent jurisdiction over Appellee's breach of trust claims, holding that the Jefferson District Court…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case concerning discrimination against individuals because of their actual or imputed sexual orientation or gender identity the Supreme Court dismissed the matter, holding that the original party to bring this…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance and other offenses, holding that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the opinion of the court of appeals insofar as it vacated the trial court's judgment convicting Defendant of tampering of physical evidence but reversed insofar as the court reversed…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed Defendant's conviction of several sex-related crimes, holding that the trial court erred by not striking one of the jurors for cause. A jury found Defendant guilty of three counts of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of murder, assault in the first degree, tampering with physical evidence, fleeing or evading…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this action seeking a declaration that the University of Kentucky is not an agency within the executive branch the Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court's decision that sovereign immunity did not bar this action…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of leaving the scene of an accident and sentencing him to twenty years' imprisonment, holding that there was no prejudicial error in the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals concluding that a promissory note executed by Ronny Stamper in April 1997 qualified as a negotiable instrument and, consequently, applying the six-year…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the trial court's order revoking Defendant's probation and imposing her cumulative sentence of thirty years' imprisonment in accordance with her…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing the circuit court's denial of Dr. Senad Cemerlic and ABG Pain Management's motion to set aside a default judgment and reinstated the trial court's…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the judgment of the family court naming Terry Garvin and Donna Krieger K.R.K.'s de facto custodians and awarding them sole permanent custody,…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this wrongful death suit the Supreme Court overruled Chambers v. Ideal Pure Milk Co., 245 S.W.2d 589 (Ky. 1952), and its per se no proximate cause rule and adopted the majority rule that will allow juries to determine…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this wrongful termination case, the Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the decision of the court of appeals reversing the circuit court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendants, holding that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction and sentence for first-degree sexual abuse and of being a first-degree persistent felony offender (PFO1), holding that there was no reversible error in the proceedings…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the opinion of the court of appeals affirming an order of the circuit court dismissing Plaintiff's claims for personal injuries in a civil action against her landlords, holding that summary…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals vacating and remanding the family court's decision determining that K.S.'s son was a neglected child and terminating K.S.'s parental rights, holding that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the decision of the Workers' Compensation Board affirming the decision of the administrative law judge (ALJ) denying benefits to Appellant for a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals concluding that the circuit court had jurisdiction in this matter and denying a writ of prohibition preventing the circuit court from adjudicating an action…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the opinion of the court of appeals affirming a workers' compensation board opinion that affirmed in part, vacated in part, and remanded the order and opinion of the administrative law judge…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated Defendant's conviction and sentence for the murder of her mother and remanded this case for a new trial, holding that the trial court's application of the principles in Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U.S.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's convictions but reversed and remanded for a new penalty phase, holding that palpable error occurred when the Commonwealth gave the jury incorrect parole eligibility…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the appellate court's opinion reversing Defendant's murder conviction and ordering a new trial, holding that there was not a reasonable probability that the outcome of the trial would have been…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court convicting Defendant of murder and being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun and sentencing him to life imprisonment, holding that there was no error in…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the opinion of the court of appeals reversing in part the judgment of the circuit court in favor of the Contestants in this will-contest case, holding that the court of appeals erred by failing…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this declaratory judgment action the Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the circuit court in favor of the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) on its action seeking to vindicate its right to contract with outside…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the decision of the court of appeals granting in part and denying in part Appellant's petition for a writ to prohibit the trial court from compelling her husband's…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of murder and sentencing him to thirty years in prison, holding that there was no error in the proceedings below. Specifically, the Court…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the decision of the court of appeals concluding that the searches and seizures leading to Defendant's conviction were illegal under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this medical malpractice action, the Supreme Court reversed the opinion of the court of appeals reversing the judgment of the trial court granting summary judgment in favor of Dr. Paul Wesley Lewis and Ashland…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this real property dispute, the Supreme Court affirmed the opinion of the court of appeals reversing a jury verdict and resulting judgment in favor of Defendants, holding that the trial court erred by failing to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the Bingham Greenbaum Doll law firm (Bingham) in this ongoing dispute between Bingham and Meredith Lawrence, holding that the trial court…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court accepted certificate of a question of law from a federal district court and answered that Seven Counties Services, Inc.'s participation in and its contributions to the Kentucky Employees Retirement…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this dependency, neglect, and abuse proceeding the Supreme Court vacated the order of the court of appeals reversing the family court's decision denying an indigent mother's request for expert funding and finding the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals upholding an Administrative Law Judge's (ALJ) award of six percent permanent partial disability benefits to Appellant because of a work-related injury,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals ruling that the family court erred in declining to conduct a special immigrant juvenile (SIJ) hearing at the disposition phase of a dependency, neglect and…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this workers' compensation enforcement action the Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the decision of the court of appeals dismissing in part and reversing in part the circuit court's order granting…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the opinion of the court of appeals affirming the administrative law judge's (ALJ) award of permanent partial disability benefits based on Employee's treating…

Justia Opinion Summary: In a whistleblower action, the Supreme Court affirmed in part and remanded in part the order of the court of appeals denying the petition for a writ of prohibition/mandamus sought by the University of Louisville and Ruby…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that an offender placed on post-incarceration supervision does not receive a constitutionally sufficient final revocation hearing before the Kentucky Parole Board under the current…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated Defendant's conviction and twenty-seven-year sentence for the murder of her mother and remanded this case for a new trial, holding that the trial court's application of principles in Ake v.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court upholding the validity of the Governor exercising its authority under Ky. Rev. Stat. 12.028 in issuing Executive Order (EO) 2017-364, holding that there was no…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the decision of the court of appeals in this interlocutory appeal from the denial of a judicial statements privilege in litigation between two physicians, holding that the matter at issue was…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the ruling of the trial court denying Defendant's motion to suppress blood test results obtained via a court order directing the hospital at which Defendant was treated after an accident to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the portion of the opinion of the court of appeals holding that the section of Ky. Rev. Stat. 342.7305 treating hearing loss workers' compensation claimants differently from other types of…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this wrongful death suit, the Supreme Court overruled Chambers v. Ideal Pure Milk Co., 245 S.W.2d 589 (Ky. 1952), insofar as it holds a police officer cannot be the proximate or legal cause of damage inflicted on a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the order of the circuit court granting a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim in favor of Employer on Employee's complaint alleging…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals concluding that the trial court lacked jurisdiction over Defendant's motion for shock probation, holding that the Commonwealth waived its ability to raise…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court that invalidated the submission of a proposed constitutional amendment to Kentucky voters in a single-sentence ballot question, holding that the proposed…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the court of appeals' decision holding that the family court erred in declining to conduct a special immigrant juvenile (SIJ) hearing at the disposition phase of a dependency, neglect and abuse…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court accepted the United States District Court, Western District of Kentucky's request for certification of law on the following issue, holding that a pre-injury liability waiver signed by a parent on behalf…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and dismissed in part the appeal brought by Judge Beth Lewis Maze from the denial of the Judicial Conduct Commission (JCC) denying Judge Maze's motions in JCC proceedings stemming from…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the opinion of the court of appeals affirming the decision of the Workers' Compensation Board reversing the determination of an administrative law judge (ALJ) denying Roger Hall's claim for…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this lawsuit between AllyAlign Health, Inc. and Signature Advantage, LLC the Supreme Court granted AllyAlign's motion for an order to compel arbitration of all claims, holding that a carve-out provision in the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the circuit court dismissing this medical malpractice action, holding that summary judgment was improper. Plaintiff, as next friend of her child, brought this suit alleging…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals concluding that Appellee's aggregate sentence for three separate crimes could be separated into discrete parts and that, after completion of a portion of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court that the agreement furnished to Carol Greissman for signature did not violate Kentucky Rules of the Supreme Court 3.130, Rule 5.6 as a matter of law, holding…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals in this case alleging tortious interference involving a parent corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiary, holding that a parent company has a qualified…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court convicting Appellant of four counts of first-degree sodomy and two counts of first-degree sexual abuse and accepting Appellant's Alford plea as to other severed…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the opinion of the court of appeals reversing the circuit court's order requiring the Energy and Environment Cabinet to pay the outstanding balance owed to the court-appointed receiver after…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court finding Defendant guilty of multiple counts of sexual abuse and sodomy, holding that the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in the proceedings…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this custody dispute, the Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the decision of the court of appeals reversing the circuit court's finding that Appellant qualified as the child's de facto custodian under…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the opinion of the court of appeals affirming the decision of the Workers' Compensation Board affirming the ALJ's determination that Appellant was not entitled to benefits pursuant to Ky. Rev.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the portion of the trial court’s judgment that contained Defendant’s first-degree murder conviction and affirmed the remainder of the judgment, holding that errors made by the trial court…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of first-degree sodomy, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, and being a persistent felony offender in the first degree, holding…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this negligence action, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgments of the circuit court and court of appeals that Defendants were protected by the immunity doctrine, holding that Louisville Metro Housing Authority…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court sentencing Defendant to twenty-five years for first-degree robbery, reckless homicide, and tampering with evidence, holding that there was no error in…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the opinion of the court of appeals affirming the decision of the Workers’ Compensation Board (Board) affirming the administrative law judge’s (ALJ) denial of Appellant’s claim for benefits…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals in this grandparent visitation case affirming the judgment of the trial court awarding limited grandparent visitation to Bruce Tipton, the paternal…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the court of appeals’ decision reversing the judgment of the circuit court in favor of Defendants, the doctors and hospital in this medical negligence litigation, holding that there was no…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Appellant’s convictions and their corresponding sentences, holding that Appellant’s claims of trial error did not warrant reversal of his convictions. A jury convicted Appellant of seventeen…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of murder and two counts of tampering with physical evidence, holding that no reversible error occurred in the proceedings below.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court convicting Defendant of various crimes for his role as a complicitor in a home invasion, holding that there was no merit to the arguments Defendant raised in…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal from the decision of the court of appeals reversing Defendant’s conviction the Supreme Court exercised its discretion under Ky. R. Civ. P. 76.12(8)(a) and ordered the Commonwealth’s brief before this Court…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals to grant Dr. Robert Kleinfeld’s writ petition precluding the discovery of certain information, holding that the court of appeals did not properly apply the…