Kentucky Supreme Court Decisions 2015

Justia Opinion Summary: The Council on Developmental Disabilities, Inc. filed a request with the Cabinet for Health and Family Services seeking information about the death of Gary Farris, a ward of the Commonwealth who was transferred from an…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Michael and Janie Young placed their unborn child up for adoption. Defendants received payments totaling $4,000 from Act of Love Adoptions of Boston, Massachusetts and $6,000 from Jeff and Tracey Scholen. When…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was driving her uninsured vehicle when she collided with another vehicle, allegedly causing $3,600 in damages. Appellant entered a conditional guilty plea to the charged offense of Failure of Owner to Maintain…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol (DUI) after being stopped at a police roadblock conducted by the Kentucky State Police (KSP) at a highway intersection. The court of…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the dependency, neglect, and abuse actions and subsequent termination of parental rights (TPR) actions underlying this appeal, the family court held the Cabinet for Health and Family Services in contempt for…

Justia Opinion Summary: While he was married to Barbara Van Buskirk, Richard Van Buskirk established an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) with the Dreyfus Family of Funds. Richard identified Barbara as the beneficiary on the account. When…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Department of Revenue assessed additional inheritance taxes on an estate. The court of appeals affirmed the Department’s assessment of tax. At issue on appeal was whether inheritance taxes may be deducted from the…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of second-degree manslaughter. The Supreme Court reversed, concluding that the language of the provocation qualification in the jury instructions was patently erroneous. On…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, second-degree manslaughter, and other crimes. Before final sentencing, Appellant moved to withdraw his guilty plea, arguing that he was provided ineffective…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Defendant was tried and convicted on the handgun charge. After his trial on this charge,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of second degree manslaughter, tampering with physical evidence, and of being a first-degree persistent felony offender. The Supreme Court reversed Appellant’s convictions, holding that the trial…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Cabinet for Health and Family Services petitioned the family court to involuntarily terminate the parental rights of Mother with respect to her four children. The family court terminated the parental rights of Mother…

Justia Opinion Summary: Each of these three consolidated cases originated with the filing of an action in the circuit court asserting claims against nursing home facilities for personal injuries suffered by a nursing home resident, violations…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of first-degree sodomy and first-degree sexual abuse and sentenced to twenty years’ imprisonment. The Supreme Court reversed the judgment and remanded the case for a new trial, holding (1) the…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of murder and was sentenced to forty years in prison. The Supreme Court affirmed Appellant’s conviction, holding (1) Appellant’s responses to the police’s questions at the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Brent Horn, who was not an employee of B&B Contracting, LLC and did not receive compensation for his work, volunteered to drive one of the company’s trucks on a day that B&B was short-staffed. While Horn was driving a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Employee was employed by Employer for three months as a bulldozer operator. On April 16, 2012, Employee filed a workers’ compensation claim against Employer, alleging cumulative trauma and an injury date of February 7,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant owned land that was adjoined by Plaintiff’s property. In the course of cutting timber for Defendant, a logger trespassed on Plaintiff’s property and cut and sold a substantial amount of timber on her property.…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of first-degree sexual abuse and first-degree sodomy. Appellant was sentenced to imprisonment for twenty years. The two jury instructions under which Appellant was convicted…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of second-degree manslaughter. Defendant was sentenced to ten years in prison. On appeal, the court of appeals vacated Defendant’s conviction and remanded for a new trial,…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of two counts of intentional murder, two counts of assault in the first degree, and one count of wanton endangerment in the first degree. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of seven counts of first-degree robbery. The trial court sentenced Appellant to a total of twenty-four years’ imprisonment. The Supreme Court affirmed Appellant’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, the Campbell County Fiscal Court adopted an ordinance replacing a monthly subscriber fee per landline telephone to fund the emergency 911 service in the County with an annual service fee levied upon each…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1989, Appellant was injured in the course of her employment with Appellee. Appellant was awarded workers’ compensation benefits, including lifetime medical benefits for treatment of the injury. In 2012, Appellee filed…

Justia Opinion Summary: Wife filed a domestic violence petition against Husband. Following a hearing, the family court entered a domestic violence order (DVO) against Husband, finding by a preponderance of the evidence that acts of domestic…

Justia Opinion Summary: David McCarty, the employee of an independent contractor, was killed during the installation of a garage door on a building at a coal mine site operated by Covol Fuels. McCarty’s estate brought a wrongful death action…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of possession of a handgun by a convicted felon and of being a second-degree persistent felony offender. Appellant was sentenced to twenty years in prison. On appeal, Appellant argued that that…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against Richmond Health Facilities-Madison, LP (Richmond Health) and Extendicare, Inc. (Extendicare) alleging wrongful death, nursing-home abuse, and corporate negligence. During discovery, Plaintiff…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant’s two-year-old son died when she left him in the car overnight and into the afternoon. Appellant was convicted of wanton murder, second-degree criminal abuse, and first-degree wanton endangerment. The Supreme…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed suit against William Shaffer, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon, alleging that Dr. Shaffer failed to obtain her informed consent before operating on her. The jury returned verdicts in favor of Dr. Shaffer, and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, Keith Randall Sparkman and In-Depth Sanitary Service, Inc., filed a complaint against Defendants, CONSOL Energy Inc. and CONSOL of Kentucky, Inc. for breach of contract and tortious interference with…

Justia Opinion Summary: In a joint trial, Defendants Jared Futrell and Kayla Lord were each convicted of wanton murder for having participated in the killing of Lord’s seventeen-month-old son. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) in both…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first-degree stalking, violation of a protective order, and being a first-degree persistent felony offender. Relying upon post-trial comments attributed to jurors implying…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant sued Appellee, the operator of a hotel, for injuries he suffered in a fall on ice on the hotel property, alleging negligence in Appellee’s entryway of the hotel during or after a severe snow storm. The trial…

Justia Opinion Summary: When a mentally disabled man who had been in the care of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services died, the Council on Developmental Disabilities, Inc. filed a request with the Cabinet under the Kentucky Open Records…

Justia Opinion Summary: Each of these three cases originated with actions asserting claims against nursing homes for personal injuries suffered by nursing home residents and for wrongful death of the residents. In each case, an attorney-in-fact…

Justia Opinion Summary: In a prosecution under the 2000 version of Ky. Rev. Stat. 508.032, Defendant entered a conditional guilty plea to fourth-degree assault, third or subsequent offense within five years. On appeal, Defendant argued that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of murder and intimidating a participant in the legal process for shooting and killing Troya Sheckles. Appellant was sentenced to fifty-five years’ imprisonment. The Supreme Court affirmed the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Amanda Maddox and her then-husband, Dwyane Maddox, where traveling in their 2001 Nissan Pathfinder when their vehicle was hit by a drunk driver. Amanda sustained serious injuries in the accident. Amanda filed suit…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a bench trial, Defendant was convicted of driving under the influence, first offense. Before Defendant was arrested, a police officer administered a preliminary breath test (PBT) but did not record the numerical…

Justia Opinion Summary: William Bennett was indicted for first-degree assault and first-degree wanton endangerment. Bennett moved for dismissal of his indictment contending that he acted in self-defense. Bennett also requested a hearing so that…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was indicted for first-degree possession of a controlled substance. Defendant filed a motion to suppress evidence collected from the search of the bedroom of a residence that police officers entered while…

Justia Opinion Summary: Ronnie Lee Bowling, who is currently on Kentucky’s death row for two murder convictions obtained in 1992, was also convicted in 1996 of attempted murder. Bowling was sentenced to a twenty year term for the attempted…

Justia Opinion Summary: Osie Goodgame, Jr., a Kentucky resident, worked for Consol of Kentucky, Inc. in both Kentucky and Virginia. After Goodgame resigned, he filed an injury claim alleging that, while employed by Consol, he suffered…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of five counts of trafficking in prescription blanks and being a first-degree persistent felony offender for securing and selling five forged prescriptions for a controlled…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty but mentally ill of murdering Lisa Tackett and Alan Tackett and of the first-degree wanton endangerment of the victims’ four children. The Supreme Court reversed Defendant’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and transported to a corrections facility for a court admissible breathalyzer test. Defendant submitted to the breathalyzer test, which registered a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Mary Banker filed a retaliatory discharge claim against the University of Louisville Athletic Association, Inc. (ULAA), alleging that ULAA discharged her for engaging in a protected activity under the Kentucky Civil…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued Defendant, a medical doctor, claiming that Defendant failed to obtain her informed consent before operating on her. The jury returned a verdict for Defendant, and the trial court entered judgment…

Justia Opinion Summary: Keith Randall Sparkman filed a complaint against CONSOL Energy, Inc. (CONSOL) and CONSOL of Kentucky, Inc. (CKI), as well as certain individuals, for breach of contract and tortious interference with contract. The jury…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of complicity to first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance and of being a second-degree persistent felony offender. The court of appeals reversed and remanded for a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of three counts of first-degree robbery, two counts of second-degree robbery, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, and being a persistent felony offender. The Supreme Court affirmed,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Beverly Miller’s employment with the COJ (Court of Justice) ended when she was terminated in 2001. Miller filed suit, claiming that she was a tenured employee of the COJ and therefore, before she was terminated, she was…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, Dr. Daniel Bailey and Katherine Bailey began divorce proceedings. In 2010, two of Daniel’s former patients and their spouses (collectively, the Intervening Parties) filed medical negligence claims against…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, Appellant pleaded guilty to one felony count of receiving stolen property. In exchange for Appellant’s guilty plea, the prosecutor promised not to pursue revocation of Appellant’s conditional discharge from his…

Justia Opinion Summary: Two sets of landowners brought suit seeking damages and a declaration of their rights under oil and gas leases executed with with predecessor to an oil and gas producer. Additionally, the landowners sought a declaration…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a trial, Appellant was found guilty of manufacturing methamphetamine. The Department of Corrections (DOC) originally classified Appellant as a non-violent offender but later reclassified Appellant as a violent…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was the apportionment of natural gas severance taxes for purposes of calculating royalties when a producer-lessee severs natural gas from the earth. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals certified a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, the administrate of the estate of Lula Belle Gordon, filed suit against several nursing home entities (collectively, “Kindred”), alleging that Kindred violated several provisions of Ky. Rev. Stat. 216.515 in…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of the murder of her husband and of tampering with physical evidence for hiding the gun used in the shooting. The Supreme Court reversed Appellant’s convictions, holding (1) the trial court erred…

Justia Opinion Summary: An Indiana court entered a decree dissolving the marriage of Mother and Father. The parties then entered into an agreed order signed by the Indiana court resolving property matters, including tax exemptions for the…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of second-degree escape and of being a first-degree persistent felony offender. Defendant’s sentence was enhanced from five years in prison on the escape conviction to twenty…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of wanton murder and sentenced to twenty years’ imprisonment. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the trial court did not commit reversible error by (1) instructing the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant injured his left shoulder while working for Appellee. Appellant underwent three shoulder surgeries and returned to work on light duty between the surgeries. After Appellant returned to work without…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first-degree robbery and first-degree assault. Defendant was sentenced to consecutive terms of ten years for the former offense and eighteen years for the latter offense.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The trial court in this case ordered that Father get a dollar-for-dollar credit against his monthly child support obligation for any monies his dependent child received as a result of Father’s Social Security retirement…

Justia Opinion Summary: Julie Camps worked as a full time paramedic for the Garrard County Fiscal court and was concurrently employed as a paramedic with Clark County EMS. Camps later quit her job with Clark County, intending to obtain another…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine, first-degree possession of a controlled substance, and of being a first-degree persistent felony offender (PFO). The Supreme Court (1)…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant filed suit against her former manager and then amended her complaint to assert direct claims against Appellees, her employer and related corporate entities. The trial court entered a summary judgment dismissing…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, two miners died in a mining accident while employed by Webster County Coal, LLC. That same year, another miner died in a mining accident while employed by River View Coal, LLC. Both River View and Webster County…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs were two death-row inmates who filed a complaint for a declaratory judgment seeking an order requiring the Governor and/or the Department of Corrections and/or the Kentucky Parole Board to adopt…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2004, AT&T Corp. filed refund claims with the Finance and Administration Cabinet arguing that, under Ky. Rev. Stat. 139.505, AT&T was entitled to refunds for tax years 2002 and 2003. The Cabinet granted a partial…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant suffered a work-related injury and filed a claim for benefits. An administrative law judge (ALJ) concluded that Appellant was entitled to benefits. At issue before the Supreme Court was whether the ALJ properly…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, the circuit court entered a decree of dissolution dissolving the marriage of Lydia and Kevin Addison. The decree provided that Lydia have sole custody of the parties’ two children, with Kevin having reasonable…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff in the underlying medical malpractice action sought a writ of prohibition to prevent the trial court from enforcing its order permitting counsel for the defendant in the underlying action (Dr. Castro) to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Pursuant to a plea agreement, Defendant pleaded guilty to murder. Defendant made numerous unsuccessful attempts to contact his attorneys to request their assistance in withdrawing the plea, but defense counsel never…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, Defendant was charged in the Warren District Court with driving under the influence (DUI) second offense. However, earlier in 2010, Defendant had twice been charged with DUI in the Barren District Court.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Employer discharged Plaintiff after coworkers reported that Plaintiff made racist comments in the workplace. Plaintiff sued Employer and the coworkers for defamation. The trial court directed a verdict for Employer and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Coppage Construction Company, Inc. filed a third-party complaint raising a number of contract, tort, and statutory claims against Sanitation District No. 1 (SD1), a public sewer utility serving three Northern Kentucky…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, who was fifteen years old at the time, was charged with third-degree sexual abuse. Appellant was released from detention on a conditional order of release. The district court ordered that Appellant’s case be…

Justia Opinion Summary: Keith Justin Conley (Conley) was convicted of murder his girlfriend, Jessica Newsome, whom he fatally shot in the home of his father. At the time of the shooting, Conley’s father’s home was insured through a homeowner’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: Dr. Daniel Bailey (Appellant) and his wife, Katherine, began divorce proceedings in 2008. Because the file included sensitive information, the trial court ordered that the file be sealed. In 2010, two of Appellant's…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of various sex offenses and sentenced to twenty years in prison. Appellant appealed, arguing, among other things, that his right to an impartial jury was violated when a probation and parole…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, a member of a fraternity at the University of Kentucky, leased a room at the fraternity house. When a police detective learned that Appellant was selling marijuana at the fraternity house, he and two other…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol, third offense. Defendant moved to dismiss the DUI charge, claiming that the arresting officer violated Kentucky’s implied consent law by denying…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. The trial court sentenced Appellant to twenty years’ imprisonment for the…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first-degree unlawful transaction with a minor and first-degree sexual abuse. The trial court sentenced Defendant to a total of forty years’ imprisonment. The Supreme Court…

Justia Opinion Summary: Randy Ellington owned and operated R&J Cabinets as a sole proprietorship. When Ellington received a work-related injury, R&J had no employees. Kentucky Employers’ Mutual Insurance (KEMI) had previously issued a workers’…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of first-degree sexual abuse and first-degree sodomy. The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the circuit court and remanded for a new trial, holding (1) flawed jury…

Justia Opinion Summary: Taylor Stumbo received an injury during the course of his employment with the City of Ashland. An administrative law judge (ALJ) determined that Stumbo was permanently and totally disabled. The City appealed to the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Kentucky Spirit Health Care Plan, Inc. brought a declaratory judgment action seeking a ruling that it had a right to terminate its Medicaid managed care contract with the Finance and Administration Cabinet prior to the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee was injured when a horse she was exercising at Gardens Glen Farm (Appellant) rolled over on her. Appellee negotiated a lump sum settlement with Appellant, which reflected a twenty-nine percent impairment rating…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was arrested and taken into custody as a suspect for the murder of his mother. The circuit court halted the allegedly improper questioning of Defendant until Defendant was allowed access to a public defender.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, a group of Daymar College students, filed a lawsuit against Daymar, challenging the college’s admissions process as both procedurally and substantively unconscionable. Specifically, Plaintiffs challenged the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee, an at-will employee of Appellant, a government program focused on rural development, was fired for insubordination and other reasons following certain remarks she made at a staff meeting. Appellee filed suit…

Justia Opinion Summary: The home of Keith Conley was insured through an insurance policy issued by Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company. Conley’s son fatally murdered his girlfriend, Jessica Newsome, in Conley’s home. Gregory and…

Justia Opinion Summary: On April 24, 2008, Defendant ran a stop sign and struck Plaintiff’s vehicle, causing significant physical injuries. Plaintiff received basic reparations/personal injury protection benefits (PIP) from her insurer,…

Justia Opinion Summary: B. Todd Crutcher and his brother, James Donald Crutcher, owned and possessed thirty-six acres of land bordering a 500-acre tract of land owned by Harrod Concrete and Stone Co. While mining its property for limestone,…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of fleeing and evading in the second-degree, being a felon in possession of a handgun, and being a persistent felony offender in the first-degree. The Supreme Court…

Justia Opinion Summary: Paul R. Plante, Jr. brought a shareholder derivative suit against Appellants, directors of Arthrodynamic Technologies Animal Health Division, Inc. (ADT), alleging that Appellants had violated various provisions of ADT’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: Dr. Mosen Khani, the owner and operator of Alliance Chiropractic, LLC (Alliance), filed an application for resolution of injury claim alleging that he suffered injuries while he was moving or assisting patients. Kentucky…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pleaded guilty to robbery, burglary, and tampering with physical evidence. Pursuant to the plea agreement, Appellant agreed to cooperate in the prosecution of her co-defendant. The co-defendant filed a motion…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was the subject of two independent cases related to the same victim - one for capital murder and one for capital kidnapping. The convictions in both cases were reversed, and Defendant was retried and again…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder and first-degree arson. The trial court sentenced Defendant to life imprisonment for each conviction, to be served concurrently. Before trial, the Commonwealth used…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee, an at-will employee of Appellant, a government program focused on rural development, reported to law enforcement officers and Appellant’s representatives that a coworker was allegedly trespassing by making…

Justia Opinion Summary: Billy Jo Ries gave birth to a daughter who, due to the loss of approximately one-third of her blood during delivery, suffered multiple organ failure and brain damage. The Rieses filed suit against the hospital, the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant entered a guilty plea to both trafficking in a controlled substance in the second degree (TICS2) and being a persistent felony offender (PFO) in the second degree. The trial court sentenced Defendant to one…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first-degree murder and first-degree arson. After finding as a statutory aggravator that Defendant murdered the victim in the commission of first-degree robbery, the jury…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of murder, first-degree wanton endangerment and second-degree unlawful imprisonment, among other crimes. Appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment. The Supreme Court affirmed the convictions,…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of fourteen counts of first-degree unlawful transaction with a minor, fourteen counts of incest, and one count each of use of a minor in a sexual performance, complicity to…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of three counts of murder and sentenced to death. After Appellant’s convictions were affirmed, he filed a motion to obtain DNA testing and analysis of certain evidentiary…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of the attempted murder of his fiancee, of first-degree arson, and of being a second-degree persistent felony offender. The Supreme Court affirmed in part, reversed in part,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants were arrested and charged with drug-related and firearm-related offenses and booked into the county jail. A district judge ordered that the men were not to be released without the posting of a bail bond, and…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of murder and sodomy in the first degree. The Supreme Court affirmed the convictions, holding (1) the trial court did not err by denying Appellant’s motion to suppress a…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of criminal attempt to commit murder, two counts of first-degree robbery, and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon. The Supreme Court reversed and vacated Defendant’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of complicity to murder, two counts of criminal attempt to commit murder, two counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, and one count of tampering with physical evidence.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Kentucky Spirit Health Care Plan, Inc. brought a declaratory judgment action seeking a ruling that it had a right to terminate its Medicaid managed care contract with the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Finance and…