Justia Kentucky Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Roger Collins died following an inpatient stay at Ridgeway Nursing Home & Rehabilitation Facility. Stella Collins, Roger's wife, subsequently brought an action against Ridgeway alleging wrongful death and nursing home neglect. After pretrial discovery, Ridgeway moved to disqualify Wilkes & McHugh (W&H), the lawfirm representing Collins, alleging that an investigator for W&H violated the Kentucky Rules of Professional Conduct by making contact with three of Ridgeway's employees. The trial court denied the motion. Ridgeway then sought a writ of mandamus seeking the dismissal of the claims brought against it or, alternatively, the disqualification of W&H. The court of appeals declined to issue the writ. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the court of appeals did not err in finding that Ridgeway had an adequate remedy by appeal or otherwise for the admission of unfairly and unethically obtained evidence. View "Ridgeway Nursing & Rehabilitation Facility, LLC v. Circuit Court " on Justia Law

Appellee filed suit against Appellants, seeking personal property damages and lost business income resulting from a vehicle collision in which a truck was damaged. The truck was owned by Appellee individually and used in his trucking business, an LLC. The LLC was not named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit. After the trial court granted Appellants' motion for summary judgment as to the lost business income, the court granted Appellants a judgment on the pleadings due to Appellee's failure to comply with discovery orders. The court of appeals reversed, concluding, inter alia, that (1) Appellee could properly pursue his lost business claim in his own name because he was the sole owner of the LLC, and (2) Appellee had presented sufficient evidence to overcome the motion for summary judgment. The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the court of appeals and remanded, holding (1) the court of appeals erred in determining that Appellee could bring a claim in his own name for any trucking business lost by the LLC; and (2) the discovery sanction imposed on Appellee was the functional equivalent of an order dismissing both claims, and as such, findings of fact and conclusions of law were required.View "Turner v. Andrew" on Justia Law