Commonwealth, Justice & Public Safety Cabinet v. Gaither

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In this case arising from the 1996 murder of LeBron Gaither, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeals that, in the circumstances of this case, the Estate of LeBron Gaither was entitled to post-judgment interest on damages awarded by the Board of Claims from the date of the initial circuit court judgment. This was the third appeal in this matter. In this appeal, the Kentucky State Police, a department within the Commonwealth’s Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, argued that the Court of Appeals misconstrued Civil Rule 54.01 and Ky. Rev. Stat. 360.040, 44.130 and 44.140, which govern post-judgment interest on Board of Claims’ awards. The Supreme Court disagreed, holding (1) the Court of Appeals correctly read the Board of Claims Act as according circuit court judgments entered pursuant to the Act the same treatment under the post-judgment interest statute as ordinary civil judgments; and (2) the Court of Appeals properly held that post-judgment interest began to accrue from the circuit court’s initial judgment. View "Commonwealth, Justice & Public Safety Cabinet v. Gaither" on Justia Law