Kentucky Supreme Court Decisions 2020

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the trial court's grant of summary judgment for the defendants in this insurance dispute, holding that the Legislature has clearly and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's sentence of twenty years' imprisonment and convictions of not guilty by reason of insanity for first-degree murder, not guilty by reason of insanity for first-degree burglary,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that Louisville Metro Government (LMG) and its employees are cloaked in sovereign immunity and qualified official immunity for an alleged violation of Ky. Rev. Stat. 71.040 and that money damages…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the order of the family court in this divorce action, holding that the family court miscalculated the combined…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the circuit court's grant of summary judgment to Big Sandy Area Development District, Inc. (BSADD) in this negligence and wrongful death action,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the opinion of the court of appeals holding that the Department for Community Based Services, Cabinet for Health and Family Services (Cabinet) exceeded its statutory authority by investigating…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reinstated the trial court's summary judgment dismissing Mary Wilson's Kentucky Whistleblower Act (KWA) claims against Northern Kentucky Area Development District, Inc. (NKADD), holding that NKADD is…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the ruling of the court of appeals that the term "person" in Kentucky's Loss Recovery Act, Ky. Rev. Stat. Chapter 372, is limited to a natural person, holding that the Commonwealth had standing…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the opinion of the court of appeals vacating and remanding the circuit court's denial of Defendant's motion to modify the terms of his probation to remove a restriction prohibiting him from…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court convicting Defendant of four counts of first-degree assault and other crimes and sentencing him as a first-degree persistent felony offender (PFO) to forty…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed Defendant's conviction of first-degree and second-degree arson and six counts of attempted murder, of which four were charged as hate crimes, holding that Defendant was denied a fair trial when…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case heard after the Kentucky Medical Review Panel Act (MRPA), Ky. Rev. Stat. 216C.005 et seq., was declared to be unconstitutional, the Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the findings of fact, conclusions of law and final order issuing a public reprimand against Beth Lewis Maze, Judge of the Twenty-First Judicial Circuit, Second Division, holding that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this medical negligence lawsuit, the Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals denying Defendants' application for a writ of prohibition seeking to prevent the trial court from enforcing a protective…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals denying Henderson County Health Care Corporation's (hereinafter, Redbanks) petition for a writ of prohibition prohibiting the enforcement of an order issued…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Judicial Conduct Commission finding misconduct on the part of Judge Dawn M. Gentry and ordered that she be removed from office as a circuit judge for the Sixteenth Judicial…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed Defendant's convictions for first-degree manslaughter, tampering with physical evidence, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, and second-degree persistent felony offender, holding that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals dismissing Upper Pond Creek Volunteer Fire Department, Inc.'s appeal of the trial court's denial of its motion to dismiss a portion of Plaintiffs' claims…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that, in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, Governor Andy Beshear properly declared a state of emergency and validly revoked the emergency powers granted to him in Ky. Rev. Stat. 93A. After…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the circuit court's denial of Appellant's petition to declare his violent offender classification unconstitutional, holding that a defendant…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals requiring Appellant to comply with a subpoena duces tecum issued to him by the Secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet (Secretary), holding that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of wanton murder and four counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, holding that the trial court did not err in denying Defendant's…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the decision of the court of appeals reversing Defendant's conviction for being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun on the grounds that the trial court…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this lawsuit brought against Johnson & Johnson, Inc. and other entities (collectively, Defendants) alleging state tort claims due to injuries caused by a Class III medical device the Supreme Court reversed the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the trial court denying Defendant's motion for DNA testing with respect to hair found at the residence of the victims whom Defendant was convicted of murdering, burglarizing, and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction and sixty-five-year sentence for attempted murder, first-degree robbery, and other crimes, holding that the trial court did to err by denying two of Defendant's directed…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the ruling of the trial court denying Defendant's motion to classify him as a domestic violence victim pursuant to Ky. Rev. Stat. 439.3401(5),…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming Defendant's drug-related convictions, holding that the circuit court did not err in denying Defendant's motion to suppress. After he was arrested…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this dependency, abuse, and neglect proceeding, the Supreme Court held that Ky. Rev. Stat. 620.100(1)(b) does not entitle an indigent parent to state-funded expert assistance in dependency, neglect, and abuse (DNA)…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the opinion of the court of appeals affirming the decision of the Board of Trustees of the Kentucky Retirement Systems denying Edward Elder's application for disability retirement benefits,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the ruling of the trial court granting summary judgment for Insurer on Plaintiff's action seeking a declaration that Insurer was obligated to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the opinion of the court of appeals affirming the trial court's summary judgment in favor of Insurer, holding that the trial court did not err in finding that Plaintiff did not qualify as an…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the court of appeals reversing the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Louisville & Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case considering the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's regulations as applied to historical horse racing the Supreme Court reversed the order of the circuit court determining that the Encore system constitutes a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of murder and sentence of life imprisonment, holding that there was no prejudicial error in the proceedings below. Specifically, the Supreme Court held that the trial…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the court of appeals' decision reversing the circuit court's order dismissing Property Owners' appeal from the decision of the Kenton County Board of Adjustment granting approval of a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed Defendant's conviction of second-degree manslaughter by complicity, holding that the trial court committed reversible error when it allowed the Commonwealth to present a thirty-five-minute…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case related to the disbursement of Purdue Pharma funds, the Supreme Court reversed the court of appeals' grant of summary judgment for the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and Dolt Thompson declaring that a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the court of appeals' opinion affirming the decision of the Workers' Compensation Board, holding that Karen Woodall, the surviving spouse of an employee who died as a result of a workplace…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that Ky. Rev. Stat. 189.390 subsections (3)-(5) do not violate the due process provisions of the United States and Kentucky Constitutions on the grounds that the speed limit statutes are…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals and Workers' Compensation Board affirming the determination of the Chief Administrative Law Judge (CALJ) denying Appellant's motion to reopen his workers'…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court certified that sovereign immunity as to monetary damages was waived neither as to the KRFRA nor in conjunction with Ky. Rev. Stat. 446.070 in this case. Plaintiff was arrested while protesting and was…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the circuit court sentencing Defendant to life in prison plus fifty years, holding that the violent offender statute is not applicable to youthful offenders for purposes of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the decision of the circuit court excluding from evidence a Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and granting a directed verdict in favor of Neurosurgical…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Conrai Kaballah's conviction of criminal attempt-murder, first-degree assault, and other crimes and Ricardo Taylor's conviction of criminal attempt-murder, first-degree assault, and other…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this action brought against a long-term care facility by Kenneth, as administrator of Estate of Tommy Patton, the Supreme Court reversed in part the court of appeals' decision concluding that an arbitration agreement…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of attempted murder and theft by unlawful taking of a firearm, holding that the trial court did not err in instructing the jury and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed Defendant's conviction for first-degree manslaughter, tampering with physical evidence, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, and second-degree persistent felony offender and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals that Ky. Rev. Stat. 413.245, the one-year statute of limitations applicable to the rendering of professional services, does not apply to claims against…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that Plaintiffs, eight members of the Kentucky Retirement System's (KRS) defined-benefit retirement plan, did not have standing to bring claims for alleged funding losses sustained by the KRS plan…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this dispute over a modification of the parenting schedule for two minor children the Supreme Court affirmed the court of appeals' decision finding that the family court's admission and reliance upon certain…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the family court denying Appellant's petition for a writ of prohibition to stay a child custody order entered by the circuit court pending her appeal, holding that the court of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the trial court's judgment in favor of Defendant on Plaintiff's age-discrimination claim, holding that the trial court committed reversible error…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of three counts of first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance, holding that the trial court did not err in refusing to suppress…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's convictions for one count of murder and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, holding that the trial court did not err by failing to give the jury a no duty to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the opinion of the court of appeals reversing the judgment of the circuit court dismissing Plaintiffs' second action against Defendants, the trustees of their parents' trust, because a prior…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court convicting and sentencing Defendants for several counts of first-degree robbery, tampering with physical evidence and of being first-degree persistent felony…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed Defendant's convictions for first-degree fleeing or evading, first-degree wanton endangerment, reckless driving, and being a first-degree persistent felony offender, holding that the trial…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court denying Appellant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea, holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to allow Appellant to withdraw his…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the trial court's grant of summary judgment for Defendants - a hospital and various doctors and nurses - and dismissing Plaintiff's medical…

Justia Opinion Summary: Charlie, the one-year-old son of Breazeale's girlfriend Samantha, was not Breazeale’s son. When he and Charlie had strep, Breazeale babysat Charlie. Breazeale was the only person in the home with Charlie that day. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals denying the Commonwealth's petition for a writ of prohibition challenging the trial court's issuance of an order granting Defendant's request for an in…

Justia Opinion Summary: After the United States Supreme Court vacated Defendant's sentence and remanded Defendant's case to the Supreme Court for reconsideration in light of Moore v. Texas, 137 S. Ct. 1039 (2017), the Supreme Court remanded…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the interlocutory orders of the trial court concluding that Defendants' individual psychological assessments provided further support for the exclusion of the death penalty as to Defendants…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing the decision of the trial court granting partial summary judgment in favor of Paul Mostert and partially dismissing The Mostert Group, LLC's (TMG)…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed Defendant's conviction of murder and vacated her twenty-year sentence, holding that the trial court committed reversible error by failing to grant Defendant's motions for a mistrial and in…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals ruling that the family court abused its discretion by granting Father visitation with his child, holding that substantial evidence supported the family…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing a portion of an order of the family court that modified the parties' timesharing arrangement and recalculated child support, holding that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the court of appeals' opinion affirming the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendants and dismissing Plaintiffs' complaint based on this Court's holding in Gailor v.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of first-degree sexual abuse, first-degree sodomy, and related crimes, and sentencing Defendant to seventy years in prison, holding that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the trial court dismissing as untimely Tracie Williams' complaint against Katelin Hawkins as the administratrix of the estate of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of five counts of possession of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor and five counts of distribution of matter portraying a…