Kentucky Supreme Court Decisions 2021

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the trial court's conclusion that the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government (LFUCG) and two of its divisions were entitled to sovereign…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the opinion of the court of appeals reviewing an appeal from an interlocutory order in a civil action denying immunity under Kentucky's "Stand Your Ground" law, Ky. Rev. Stat. 503.085, holding…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the decision of the circuit court denying Defendant's motion to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP) with his application for expungement, holding that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court denying Appellant's motion for relief from his conviction, holding that the circuit court did not err. After a second trial, Defendant was convicted of two…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court denying Defendant's motion to suppress evidence of cocaine discovered after a dog sniff of the vehicle in which Defendant was a passenger, holding that the stop…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing Defendant's conviction and sentence and ordering a new trial, holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding that a proposed…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the trial court's denial of Defendant's motion to suppress evidence found in a drug dog sniff search during a traffic stop of the vehicle in which…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of first-degree assault and being a second-degree persistent felony offender, holding that any error in the proceedings below did not warrant reversal. Specifically, the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the order of the Board vacating an order of the administrative law judge (ALJ) and remanding the claim back to him to enter an award terminating…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appealsaffirming the judgment of the trial court denying a motion to compel arbitration in this insurance dispute, holding that the trial court did not err in…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the trial court's judgment awarding Borders Self-Storage & Rentals, LLC the sum of $140,000 in this highway condemnation action, holding that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of sodomy in the first degree, victim under twelve years old, and three counts of sexual abuse in the first degree, victim under twelve…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals finding that Plaintiff was an invitee when she was injured while visiting the monument marking her son's grave at a cemetery maintained by the City of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the trial court convicting Defendant of four counts of first-degree sexual abuse, incest, and other crimes, holding that the trial court gave…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals denying Petitioners' petitions for writs of mandamus seeking dismissal of their respective criminal indictments for various felony and misdemeanor offenses,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the circuit court's judgment in favor of Defendants in this suit against healthcare providers seeking damages for alleged breach of duties,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the court of appeals' decision that invalidated Ky. Rev. Stat. 341.470(3) on constitutional grounds, holding that Appellant lacked standing to question the validity of the statute. After he…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court denying Appellant's Ky. R. Crim. P. 11.42, 10.02, 60.02, and 60.03 motion for relief, holding that the circuit court did not err in dismissing the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the circuit court's determination that the Board of Trustees of the Kentucky Retirement Systems' (Board) investment authority with respect to the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the trial court's order of summary judgment determining that a county jail may both retain monies collected from a prisoner and further bill the same prisoner for the cost of his confinement…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's judgment convicting Defendant of murder, holding that there was no prejudicial error. On appeal, Defendant argued that the trial court erred by granting a partial Fifth…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the order and judgment of the circuit court enforcing a settlement agreement, holding that the Statute of Frauds was applicable in this…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the court of appeals' decision dismissing Appellant's appeal from a circuit court order terminating her parental rights, holding that the court of appeals erred in holding that Appellant's…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the court of appeals' decision affirming the opinion, workers' compensation award, and order of the administrative law judge (ALJ) determining that Appellee was permanently and totally…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decisions of the court of appeals denying Plaintiffs' petitions seeking writs of prohibition in these medical malpractice actions, holding that Plaintiffs established that they were…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals vacating Defendant's conviction for robbery in the first-degree and complicity to murder and affirmed the trial court, holding that the trial court did not…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and remanded in part the judgment of the trial court upholding the decision of the Retirement Systems's Administrative Review Board affirming the decision of the Kentucky Retirement…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the circuit court denying a writ of prohibition seeking to prohibit enforcement of the district court's suppression order in this case, holding that the Commonwealth failed to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court denying Defendant's motion for relief under Ky. R. Crim. P. 22.42 and 10.02 and Ky. R. Civ. P. 60.02 and 60.03, holding that the circuit court did not err in…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the trial court denying Defendant's motion to suppress, holding that the traffic stop in this case was extended, and the extension was not justified by reasonable, articulable…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendants in this action alleging negligent operation of a resident swimming pool,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the trial court granting Defendant's motion to suppress evidence, holding that substantial evidence supported the trial court's…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the circuit court concluding that Zurich American Insurance company had a reasonable basis to deny James Nichols' claim for…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the decision of the Workers' Compensation Board reversing the decision of the administrative law judge (ALJ) granting permanent partial disability…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed Defendant's convictions on forty counts of possession or viewing of a matter depicting a sexual performance by a minor, seven counts of the use of a minor under sixteen in a sexual performance,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated one of Defendant's convictions on twenty counts of possession of matter portraying the sexual act of a minor, holding that the conviction violated double jeopardy. At issue before the Supreme…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part a decision of the court of appeals that vacated the orders of the circuit court regarding the adoption and custody of two children, holding that the adoption…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the decision of the court of appeals reversing the circuit court's order on revocation of probation which ran Defendant's sentence in her Kenton County case sentence consecutive to, rather than…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals concluding that a police officer was entitled to qualified official immunity from liability for the decision to initiate a police pursuit that ended in a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the circuit court holding that substantial evidence supported the $200,000 assessment of Kentucky Retirement Systems in actuarial…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court sentencing Defendant to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in connection with his conviction for murder, robbery in the first degree, and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the decision of the court of appeals affirming the decision of the trial court denying Defendant's motion to vacate the judgment convicting her for the murder of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing the judgment of the trial court granting summary judgment to Defendants and dismissing Plaintiff's action alleging that her consent to certain…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of first-degree assault, attempted murder, and other offenses and sentencing him to a total of thirty-five years' imprisonment, holding…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendants in this personal injury action, holding that the trial court properly granted…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals upholding the 2018 amendment to Ky. Rev. Stat. 342.730(4), holding that the statutory amendment did not violate the Contracts Clause of the federal and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction and sentence for two counts of trafficking in a controlled substance in the first degree and being a persistent felony offender in the second degree, holding that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing the opinion and order of the circuit court which upheld the district court's entry of an interpersonal protection order (IPO) between an…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals upholding the constitutionality of the 2018 amendment to Ky. Rev. Stat. 342.730(4), which terminates workers' compensation income benefits when the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the circuit court finding that the natural, minor children of Father were abused or were at risk of being abuse while in his care…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the court of appeals granting Defendant's petition for a writ of prohibition of the first class, thereby vacating the circuit court's denial of Defendant's motion to dismiss…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals remanding this case to the trial court and reinstated the circuit court's domestic violence protective order in this case, holding that the trial court's…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the circuit court granting a temporary injunction against implementation of House Bill 1, Senate Bill 1, Senate Bill 2, and House Joint Resolution 77, which the General Assembly…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the trial court's order granting a temporary injunction enjoining Defendants from enforcing against only the individual Plaintiffs multiple specifically enumerated executive orders,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the trial court's dismissal of this third-party bad-faith case against Arch Specialty Insurance Company and National Union Fire Insurance Company,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the trial court's mandatory injunction in this property dispute, holding equitable relief was not available under the circumstances of this…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the court of appeals vacating the order of the trial court denying Ford Motor Company's motion for summary judgment, holding that neither the court of appeals nor this Court had…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the trial court upholding that decision of the Retirement Systems's Administrative Review Board affirming the decision of the Kentucky Retirement Systems applying the Ky. Rev.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming Defendant's conviction of sodomy in the first degree and rape in the first degree and his sentence of seventeen years' imprisonment, holding that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the opinion of the court of appeals reversing the decision of the circuit court granting summary judgment in favor of Defendant pursuant to Kentucky's Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this administrative appeal brought by the Kentucky Retirement Systems from the decision of the circuit court in two consolidated cases concerning application of Ky. Rev. Stat. 61.598 the Supreme Court held that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that the amendments that the legislature made in 2017 to Ky. Rev. Stat. Chapter 109 to give home rule cities located in a county containing a consolidated local government certain rights with…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the order of the circuit court denying Appellant's petition for a writ prohibiting the Jefferson Circuit Court from enforcing its order allowing the use of a root-cause analysis report (RCA) at…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals vacating an arbitration award and affirmed the circuit court's denial of the motion to vacate the arbitrator's award, holding that the court of appeals…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the circuit court's order that Defendant forfeit $3,759 in cash that law enforcement officials seized the day Defendant and her co-defendant were…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the order of the circuit court granting summary judgment in favor of State Farm Fire and Casualty Insurance Company in the underlying personal…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted motions to dismiss this appeal from the court of appeals' denial of a petition for a writ of mandamus directing Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Olu A. Stevens to rule on a summary judgment motion,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the ruling of the court of appeals excluding from the definition of a "motor vehicle" or "trailer" a horse-drawn wagon for insurance coverage purposes, holding that the insurance policy was…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the holding of the Workers' Compensation Board that the Administrative Law Judge properly found that Plaintiff's claim for workers' compensation…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the order of the court of appeals affirming an order of the circuit court granting Father unsupervised overnight visitation with two minor daughters, holding that the trial court abused its…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals denying Plaintiff's petition for a writ of mandamus to direct Judge Stockton Wood of the Fleming Circuit Court to issue various orders in her favor, holding…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the circuit court compelling Plaintiff to arbitrate his claims of wrongful death and negligence against Signature HealthCARE of East Louisville,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing the judgment of the circuit court reversing Plaintiff's termination from his employment with the Commonwealth of Kentucky Cabinet for Health and…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal addressing the ramifications of Defendant's refusal to take a blood test when he was stopped for driving under the influence (DUI) the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals reversing…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals holding that Defendant, Plaintiff's employer, timely filed an appeal with the Worker's Compensation Board, holding that Defendant's second petition for…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the holding of the court of appeals that Plaintiff was not a "person employed in agriculture" under Kentucky's Workers' Compensation Act, holding that Plaintiff was a person employed in…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the family court terminating Father's parental rights to Child, holding that the court's findings were not supported by substantial evidence. Through two dependency, neglect and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reinstated the judgment of the circuit court finding that Mother neglected her daughter and terminating Mother's parental rights, holding that the circuit court's termination of Mother's parental rights…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court remanded this case to the Workers' Compensation Board, holding that Mark Ivey's pre-employment lower back disc herniation and two surgeries required an impairment rating to be carved out of his…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing the circuit court's denial of summary judgment in favor of the University of Louisville in this breach of contract action, holding that Plaintiff…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of one count of theft of mail matter and of being a persistent felony offender in the first degree and sentencing him to twenty years'…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court's judgment convicting Defendant of complicity to murder and tampering with physical evidence, holding the trial court did not err in admitting unreacted out-of-court…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court denied Petitioner's request for a writ of prohibition and/or mandamus directing the circuit court to vacate the denial of her motion to stay discovery in a wrongful death/negligence action, holding that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the opinion of the court of appeals affirming the decision of the Workers' Compensation Board upholding the order of the administrative law judge (ALJ) denying Plaintiff a thirty percent…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the decision of the Workers' Compensation Board affirming the decision of the administrative law judge (ALJ) dismissing Appellant's workers'…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the order and judgment of the trial court terminating the parental rights of Mother and Father to their two boys, holding that the court of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals and vacated the judgment of the family court terminating Father's parental rights to S.A.A., his now sixteen-year-old son, holding that the court's findings…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming denial of disability retirement benefits by the Board of Trustees of the Kentucky Retirement Systems, holding that the lower courts misinterpreted…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the opinions of the court of appeals and the circuit court in this case involving the issues of the mandatory recusal of the trial judge and the interpretation of deeds, holding that the circuit…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this insurance dispute, the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the insureds (Insureds) but remanded the case to the trial…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court convicting Defendant of murder and sentencing her to life imprisonment, holding that Defendant was not entitled to reversal of her convictions. Defendant was…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the trial court dismissing this complaint brought under the Kentucky Civil Rights Act (KCRA), Kentucky Revised Statutes Chapter 344, holding that the KCRA does not bar an employer…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the opinion of the court of appeals rejecting the trial court's conclusion that Defendant was not required to register under the Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA) but nevertheless affirming…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of murder and tampering with physical evidence and sentencing him to forty-three years' imprisonment, holding that the trial court erred…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of trafficking in a controlled substance (heroin) in the first degree and of being a persistent felony offender in the first degree and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court convicting Defendant of two counts of first-degree sexual abuse and two counts of first-degree sodomy and sentencing him to life imprisonment, holding that there…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing the decisions of the administrative law judge (ALJ) and the Workers' Compensation Board that the twelve percent interest on workers' compensation…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals denying Petitioner's original action seeking a writ of mandamus against Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Tara Hagerty, holding that the court of appeals did…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the trial court's ruling that Ky. Rev. Stat. 391.033 and Ky. Rev. Stat. 411.137 (together, "Mandy Jo's Law") precluded Appellant from recovering…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court convicting Defendant of murder, first-degree assault, and first-degree wanton endangerment of a child, holding that there was no prejudicial error in the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the court of appeals' decision upholding an administrative law judge's (ALJ) award of benefits to Deborah Duckworth, holding that the ALJ had the authority to determine the manifestation date…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the court of appeals' decision affirming the circuit court's summary judgment in favor of Kentucky Tax Company, LLC on Kentucky Tax's suit to foreclose its lien on certain property and to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the circuit court dismissing Appellant's petition for grandparent visitation on grounds that Appellant lacked standing to seek…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals denying Elderserve, Inc.'s petition for a writ of mandamus directing the family court to grant its motion to amend an annulment petition to include a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the family court's finding of neglect against M.C. regarding his three teenaged children and vacated the family court's orders, holding that the…