Justia Kentucky Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

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 appeals did not err.Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) substantial evidence of abuse and neglect proved that termination was in the children's best interests; (2) the State's Cabinet for Health and Family Services proved it made reasonable efforts to reunify the family; and (3) admission and consideration of abuse of other children within the extended family did not unfairly prejudice Mother and Father. View "R.M. v. Cabinet for Health & Family Services" on Justia Law

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 Petitioner failed to demonstrate that denial of the stay would cause her great and irreparable harm, and therefore, a writ was unavailable to her.The wrongful death/negligence action named as defendants Petitioner, her former employer and others. Petitioner sought to stay discovery in the action until a parallel criminal case against her alone was completed. In this action seeking writ relief Petitioner sought to stay all civil discovery until her indictment was resolved so that she could freely exercise her constitutional right to remain silent. The court of appeals denied the writ. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Petitioner was not entitled to the requested writ. View "Barnes v. Honorable Julie Goodman" on Justia Law

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 statements in which Defendant's co-defendant incriminated herself and Defendant to a cellmate who testified at trial.Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) the trial court did not err in ruling that the Confrontation Clause was not implicated because the co-defendant's out-of-court statements to her cellmate were not testimonial and sufficient corroboration otherwise supported the admissibility of the statements; (2) the trial court did not err in admitting a jail phone call of Defendant; and (3) the Commonwealth's Attorney improperly questioned a witness, but the error did not render Defendant's trial fundamentally unfair. View "Fisher v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

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 brought her action outside of the one-year period following the date of completion of her last written contract.After Plaintiff's employment at the University ended she brought this action alleging that the University breached its employment contract with her. The University moved for summary judgment, asserting that governmental immunity shielded it from liability. The circuit court denied the motion for summary judgment. The court of appeals reversed, holding that the University was shielded from liability due to governmental immunity. The Supreme Court affirmed but on different grounds, holding that Plaintiff's claim was filed outside of the limitations period of Ky. Rev. Stat. 45A.260. View "Britt v. University of Louisville" on Justia Law

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' imprisonment, holding that the circuit court did not err.Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) the trial court did not err in denying Defendant's motion for directed verdict; (2) the trial court did not err in denying Defendant's request for a lesser jury instruction on theft by unlawful taking under $500; (3) the trial court did not err in denying Defendant's Batson challenge to the commonwealth's strike of Juror $4070; (4) any error in the admission of victim impact testimony during the guilt phase of Defendant's trial did not amount to reversible error; and (5) a clerical error in Defendant's judgment did not rise to the level of palpable error. View "Davis v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

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 permanent partial disability rating for which his employer, ViWin Tech, would be responsible.An ALJ assigned a whole-person impairment of twenty-eight percent and rejected a carve-out for a pre-existing injury. The Board and court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that, based on a plain reading of the relevant statutes and the AMA Guides, the ALJ erred in concluding that a carve-out was unwarranted. View "Viwin Tech Windows & Doors, Inc. v. Ivey" on Justia Law

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 the holding in Kentucky Retirement Systems v. West, 413 S.W.3d 578 (Ky. 2013), leading to multiple errors.At issue was the proof required of a public employee with less than sixteen years' credit to establish that his genetic condition that was present at conception but dormant until after twelve years on the job was not a "pre-existing" condition disqualifying him from benefits under Ky. Rev. Stat. 61.600(3)(d). Defendant was denied benefits, and the circuit court affirmed. The court of appeals affirmed the circuit court's reading of West and its denial of disability retirement benefits. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that multiple errors occurred, and each error was arbitrary, capricious, View "Elder v. Kentucky Retirement Systems" on Justia Law

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 convicted of the murder of her boyfriend. Defendant later moved for a new trial after discovering that a convicted felon had served on the jury. The motion was granted and, after a retrial, Defendant was again convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the only potential error identified on appeal was testimony that arguably crossed over into the realm of victim impact testimony, but to the extent that this was error, it was harmless. View "Hubers v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

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 not abuse its discretion by denying Petitioner's petition for a writ of mandamus.Petitioner sought the writ to compel Judge Hagerty to dismiss Petitioner's estranged wife's petition for dissolution of marriage, arguing that he and his estranged wife were already divorced under the laws of the Kingdom of Jordan when the petition for dissolution was filed. The court of appeals denied the writ petition. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Petitioner was not entitled to a writ under either the first class of writ or the second class of writ. View "Iqtaifan v. Hagerty" on Justia Law

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 was no reversible error in the proceedings below.Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) the jury instructions did not violate the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Kentucky or the United States Constitutions; (2) the Commonwealth presented sufficient evidence to convict Defendant of two counts of first-degree sodomy; and (3) Defendant was not deprived of a fair trial by the Commonwealth's attorney vouching during closing argument for the victim's truthfulness. View "Towe v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law