Justia Kentucky Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the trial court granting the motion for judgment on the pleadings filed by UPS Supply Chain Solutions and United Parcel Services, Inc. and dismissing this wage-and-hour class action, holding that there was no error.At issue was whether Kentucky should adopt the federal law contained in 19 U.S.C. 254, which exempts from compensation certain activities, and engraft it into the state's wage and hour law. Specifically at issue was what impact the law will have an UPS workers who undergo security screenings at the beginning and end of their shifts. The Supreme Court affirmed the decisions of the court of appeals and circuit court in this case, holding that preliminary and postliminary security screenings required by UPS were not compensable under Ky. Rev. Stat. 337. View "Hughes v. UPS Supply Chain Solutions, Inc." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing the opinion of the Workers' Compensation Board affirming the administrative law judge's (ALJ) conclusion that medical providers did not have to submit their medical billing statements until after a determination of liability, holding that the statute is unambiguous.At issue was whether P&P Construction, Inc. and, by extension, the company's insurer, Kentucky Employers Mutual Insurance (KEMI), was responsible for payment of medical billings statements submitted outside of the forty-five-day period set forth in Ky. Rev. Stat. 342.020(4). The ALJ and Board determined that medical providers do not have to submit their billings until after a determination of liability. The court of appeals reversed, holding that medical providers are required to submit their billings within forty-five days of service, regardless of whether a determination of liability has been made, and therefore, employers and their insurance carriers are not responsible for payment of billings submitted after the forty-five day period. The Supreme Court, holding that under the unambiguous language of the statute, medical service providers must submit their billings within forty-five days of treatment, and such requirement applies both pre- and post-award. View "Farley v. P&P Construction, Inc." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court granting Defendant's motion to dismiss the underlying complaint filed by Port of Louisville for defamation and professional malfeasance, holding that Port of Louisville had no legally recognized relationship with R. Wayne Stratton, CPA and Jones, Nale & Mattingly PLC (collectively, Stratton), and therefore, Stratton did not owe the Port of Louisville any duty.Louisville and Jefferson County Riverport Authority filed a lawsuit seeking to terminate Port of Louisville's lease based on allegations that Port of Louisville breached the parties' lease The action was stayed while the claims were referred to an arbitrator, who found that Port of Louisville had not breached the lease. Based on what occurred during the arbitration the Port of Louisville brought a complaint against Stratton for defamation and professional malfeasance. The trial court granted Stratton's motion to dismiss, and the court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Port of Louisville had no legally recognized relationship with Stratton that would cause Stratton to owe it a duty. View "New Albany Main Street Properties, LLC v. R. Wayne Stratton, CPA" on Justia Law

In this professional malpractice action, the Supreme Court overruled Alagia, Day, Trautwein & Smith v. Broadbent, 882 S.W.2d 121 (Ky. 1994), and its progeny insofar as they hold that, for a non-litigation legal malpractice claim, a claimant's damages are not irrevocable and non-speculative until the claimant knows the exact dollar amount of damages he or she incurred because of the malpractice, holding that Broadbent was wrongly decided.Plaintiff filed the underlying professional malpractice claim against Defendants for negligently providing her poor legal advice regarding a business she co-owned. The trial judge granted summary judgment for Defendants on the ground that Plaintiff's legal harm did not become "irrevocable and non-speculative" sufficient to trigger Ky. Rev. Code 413.245 until July 2017, and therefore, Plaintiff's complaint was time-barred. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed on slightly different grounds, holding (1) because Broadbent has led to inconsistencies in jurisprudence regarding when damages are considered irrevocable and non-speculative for a professional malpractice claim, Broadbent and its progeny are overruled; and (2) for a non-litigation legal malpractice claim, a claimant's damages are considered irrevocable and non-speculative when the claimant is reasonably certain that damages will indeed flow from the defendant's negligent act. View "Wolfe v. Kimmel" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant on nine counts of first-degree sexual abuse for actions perpetrated against K.V., a minor at the time of the abuse, and sentencing him to twenty years in prison, holding that there was no error.Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) the prosecutor's closing argument was improper, but it did not constitute flagrant prosecutorial misconduct; (2) the trial court did not err in allowing K.V. to read the printed screenshots of her diary entries from her iPad; (3) the trial court did not commit palpable error in allowing the Commonwealth to question Defendant about K.V.'s credibility; (4) the jury instructions did not violate Defendant's right to a unanimous verdict; and (5) there was no cumulative error. View "Barrett v. Commonwealth" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing Defendant's conviction of one count of possession of synthetic drugs, holding that the circuit court did not err in denying Defendant's motion to suppress evidence recovered from his backpack.In his motion to suppress, Defendant argued that the warrantless search of his backpack violated the Fourth Amendment of the federal constitution and section ten of the state constitution. The circuit court denied the motion, finding that the search of Defendant's backpack was lawful as a search incident to his lawful arrest. The court of appeals reversed, holding that the underlying search was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the trial court properly concluded that the search was a lawful search incident to Defendant's arrest. View "Commonwealth v. Bembury" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of two counts of rape in the first degree and sentencing him to twenty years' imprisonment, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his allegations of error.After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of two counts of rape in the first degree and sentenced to twenty years in prison. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the trial court did not misapply Marsy's Law; (2) the trial court did not err by allowing the Commonwealth to refer to A.C. as the "victim" during trial or by admitting certain testimony; (3) the Commonwealth's attorney did not improperly insert himself as a witness; and (4) there was no cumulative error. View "Robertson v. Kentucky" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reaffirmed its ultimate holding affirming in part and reversing in part the opinion of the court of appeals affirming the trial court's judgment awarding substantial damages to Plaintiffs in this product liability case, holding that remand was required for a new trial.The product at issue in this case was a ladder stand manufactured by Defendant that Kevin O'Bryan affixed to a tree and was using it for hunting when the polypropylene straps broke, the stand fell, and Kevin sustained injuries. A jury found Primal Vantage for failure to warn and to instruct of dangers associated with use of the straps. On appeal, the Supreme Court originally reversed in part and remanded the case for a new trial, ruling that the trial court abused its discretion by allowing the jury to hear other-incidents evidence before ruling the evidence inadmissible. The Court then granted rehearing and reaffirmed its ultimate holding, ruling (1) the introduction of the other-incidents evidence was not harmless error; (2) the trial court's jury instructions regarding failure to warn were not erroneous; (3) Plaintiffs were properly excluded from apportionment of fault; and (4) a directed verdict in favor of Primal Vantage on the design defect claims was appropriate. View "Primal Vantage Co., Inc. v. O'Bryan" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the determination of the administrative law judge (ALJ) that the Department of Workers' Claims had jurisdiction to hear the claim of Roger Hall, who suffered a work-related injury after being exposed to asbestos-containing material while working for the Letcher County Board of Education, that he was permanently and totally disabled and was entitled to medical benefits, holding that there was no error.As to jurisdiction, the Workers' Compensation Board affirmed the ALJ, concluding that nothing in Ky. Rev. Stat. 49.020 prevents an employee with proceeding on a claim against his or her employer pursuant to the Workers' Compensation Act. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the Department of Workers' Claims had jurisdiction over Hall's case. View "Letcher County Bd. of Education v. Hall" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the opinion of the court of appeals reversing the order of the circuit court granting summary judgment in favor of Phoenix American Administrators, LLC and Phoenix American Warranty Company, Inc. in this case stemming from a contract dispute in which Plaintiff sought to recover damages from Phoenix, holding that summary judgment was prematurely granted.Phoenix was the administrator of a guaranteed asset protection waiver addendum entered into by Plaintiff during the course of his purchase of and the financing of a motor vehicle. Plaintiff sued Phoenix for breach of contract, and the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Phoenix. The court of appeals reversed, concluding that a factual dispute existed precluding summary judgment. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the court of appeals did not err. View "Phoenix American Administrators, LLC v. Lee" on Justia Law