Breaking News from The Kentucky Trial Court Review.
Important note – If you’ve been coming here for breaking verdicts news, you need to bookmark our new blog.
Go get over there. The content that was here will be
exclusively there.
10-17-2014 – Complaint filed today against SSK. Company operates trailer parks. Complaint suggests it is all a scam. Folks move into trailers at their trailer parks. Either move their own one in or rent one. SSK reserves the right to evict any tenant . . .for any reason . . .with very short notice.
That is a problem if you own your mobile home. Costs $5,000 or so to move.
So most just abandon their mobile homes when evicted.
Here’s the beauty of the scam as alleged. SSK then rents the mobile home it converted to a new patron.
Read the complaint. It’s a class action.
The SSK Trailer Park Class Action Lawsuit – Filed today by James Craig and Michele Henry of Craig Henry, Louisville
10-16-2014 – This one from Nashville is interesting on a lot of levels. Three sisters played basketball at Siegel High School in Murfreesboro (Ashley, Amber and Autumn Daniels). They were very good players. The stars of the team.
The Siegel Lady Stars are coached by Alan Bush. His daughter was the team captain.
The three sisters alleged the captain regularly sexually harassed them by inserting their finger into or near their rectum. The kids call it cornholing.
Such conduct is hazing.
The girls complained and the captain was suspended for one game. The school district concluded it was all just a little horseplay.
The coach then retaliated. He benched the oldest sister (who was the team’s best player) and kicked the other two sisters off.
The sisters sued and alleged education sexual harassment and retaliation. The court allowed them to proceed pseudonymously.
Does v. Rutherford County Board of Education. [The captain was identified as Jane Roe. She denied rectal insertion and instead explained it a fun game of goosing. The three sisters disputed this version.]
The case came to trial last week in Nashville in Federal Court. This is where it gets good.
The trial judge, Aleta Trauger, conducted the trial in secret.
She sealed the courtroom to the media. Although the public could attend. What does that even mean.
And then the case proceeded to a verdict. The jury verdict in this civil case is a Trauger Secret. Plaintiffs prevailed on one count, the oldest sister winning on retaliation and taking a single dollar. All other counts were rejected.
The court’s judgment was secret too.
Since when are we conducting civil jury trials in secret? Barring the media. And then making the verdicts secret. And the judgment.
Especially when they are about matters of such public concern, notably the abuse of children by people in authority.
I find this really repugnant. A kangaroo court.
You can read the complaint and the court’s order barring the media. These are stunners.
Amy Farrar and Kerry Knox, Murfreesboro tried it for the plaintiff.
Randall Mantooth and Leighann Ness, Leitner Williams, Nashville, defending.
The Daniels v. Siegel High School Complaint
The Court Order Barring the Media from the Trial
9-5-2014 – The September 2014 issue of the Kentucky Trial Court Review is out first thing next week. We’ve got a preview of the issue posted including the full table of contents. Good issue. Verdicts from all over Kentucky. Paducah to Catlettsburg.
Kentucky September 2014 Preview
9-4-2014 – Breaking. 7th Circuit (Judge Posner writing) struck down Indiana’s ban on same sex marriage. Issued this afternoon. Link to the full opinion.
The 7th Circuit Opinion in Baskin v. Bogan
8-15-2014 – Significant KYCOA opinion today (published) that makes new law in UIM cases in the context of the statute of limitations. Plaintiff injured in a crash. Settled with the tortfeasor (Nationwide insured) for his $50,000 limits. Crash occurs in July of 2009. State Farm, UIM carrier, denies the UIM claim in November of 2011. State Farm denied the claim.
The plaintiff sued.
State Farm moved to dismiss and cited a two-year statute of limitation
in its contract – that limitation mirrored state law. Judge Eckerle
(Jefferson County) agreed and the case was dismissed.
Plaintiff appealed. Today the KYCOA
(Judge Allison Emerson Jones writing and joined by Judge Acree)
reversed. Jones held that the statute of
limitation began to run at the time the claim was denied. Why? An insured might
not know there is a UIM claim until discovery as progressed in the underlying
claim.
Judge Moore dissented because . . . (yawning) reasons.
Brian Clare for Appellant (Plaintiff)
Deborah C. Myers for Appellee (State Farm)
Hensley v. State Farm (PDF)
8-14-2014 – More
breaking news. Louisville attorney, Gregory Bubalo
(he’s good) tried a Fen-Phen products liability case
against Wyeth in Boston, MA this month. Concerned a plaintiff who took Pondimin for six months in 1997 – 14 years later he was
diagnosed with heart disease. Case
alleged the failure to warn.
Wyeth defended regarding both the warning and causation.
We have the trial briefs and the verdict. That’s a teaser. You’ve got to read
it for yourself.
Tersigni v. Wyeth, 1:11-10466
8-14-2014 –
Working this morning on the Jesse Ventura defamation verdict against the Estate
of Chris Kyle. Kyle, the author of the best-selling American Sniper, had claimed in the book that he punched out
Ventura (the former Governor of Minnesota and a professional wrestler) when
Ventura indicated that the Navy SEALS needed to lose a few. He also suggested
Ventura was not patriotic.
Ventura sued and alleged defamation and unjust enrichment, Kyle selling more books because of the remarks. Kyle, in a video-deposition, claimed his story was true.
Kyle was later murdered at a gun range, the case advancing against his estate.
A St. Paul, MN jury found for Ventura on July 29, 2014 (on an actual malice standard) and awarded him $1,845,477 in damages against the Kyle estate.
Report coming in the Federal Jury Verdict Reporter in a few days.
We have the plaintiff’s trial brief and the jury verdict.
8-13-2014 – Busy
day at the SCOKY. Oral arguments are being heard at 11:00 this morning (45
minutes from the time of this post) in a medical malpractice case. Originally a
defense verdict was returned in Louisville after a five-week trial. KYCOA
reversed regarding expert testimony that concerned a fetal blood test.
SCOKY took discretionary review.
And this is interesting. This is the trial where Ann Oldfather
and Gerald Toner had quarreled. Oldfather had alleged
in post-trial motions that Toner threw a microphone at her in a deposition. The
issue of the flying microphone is not at issue today. But it is pretty funny.
We have our original verdict report, the doctor’s brief, the
plaintiff’s brief and the doctor’s brief.
Read them all and get ready for the Oral Arguments.
The Original Jury Verdict – Ries
v. Oliphant
The Oliphant
(Appellant) Brief
The Ries (Appellee) Brief
8-11-2014 – The August 2014 edition of the Kentucky Trial Court Review is
out in PDF this morning. If you get the
electronic version, it is in your mailbox.
The print version will be out in a few days.
The August 2014 Preview (PDF – Includes the Extended Table of Contents)
8-7-2014 – The verdict in the Smith v Joy Mining case is public (three days after it was rendered) and we now have it. [Joy Mining had sought to seal the verdict – they have since withdrawn the motion.]
The verdict totaled $7,732,205. $5,000,000 in non-economic damages awarded to the plaintiff. His wife’s consortium interest was rejected.
It is also interesting. The jury concluded the plaintiff was NOT at fault -- but it still apportioned fault 10% to him.
The $7.75 million Joy Mining Verdict Form
8-5-2014 – More details on the $7.75 million products liability verdict returned yesterday in federal court in London, KY before Magistrate Hanly Ingram (who?). Coal miner’s foot pinched between a conveyor rail. Foot amputated. Then later below-the-knee amputation. Plaintiff, age 40, totally disabled. The sole breadwinner.
Tried as a summary (advisory) trial in one
day.
Jury awarded $7.75 million. Don’t know the exact numbers. Verdict
not public yet. Will get to that.
Fault apportioned 60% to Joy Mining (defendant), 30% to non-party employer and
10% to plaintiff.
Larry Jones,
Lauren Horner and Scott Wilder
tried it.
Larry Deener and Elizabeth Deener (Landrum & Shouse) defending.
Joy Mining has since moved to seal the verdict because it’s publication would be prejudicial to potential jurors in
the case, it being set for a full trial this summary. That motion is pending.
We’ve got the plaintiff’s trial brief and the motion to seal (freshly filed
this morning) in PDF. Read on.
The Plaintiff’s Trial
Brief in Joy Mining
The Joy Mining Motion to Seal
UPDATE – Joy Mining filed a motion this morning (8-7-14) to withdraw its motion to seal the case. Hopefully jury verdict will soon be public.
7-30-2014 – Large
Kentucky Jury Verdicts by County is ready for sale. It’s a bargain at
$109.00. We’ve included a sample from
the book and an order form.
What was the largest verdict in any given county since 1998? What is your exposure? How have plaintiffs
done? This is the book.
Available in PDF only.
Large Jury Verdict Sample (2 Pages in
PDF – Take a peek inside)
Order Large Kentucky Jury Verdicts By County (Order online – Secure. Safe. Simple.)
7-30-2014 – Doing a custom research project (we do that for a fee) on the largest personal injury verdicts in Allen County (Scottsville). There are two significant ones. They are in the file linked below. Give’em a read. And its free for you. The lawyer had to pay by the way.
And we’ve got a book The Largest Verdicts By County 1998 to the Present – we are going to put that on sale tomorrow. Keep an eye out. Very useful when mediating or trying to get a since of value (or exposure) in a smaller jurisdiction.
Allen County
Largest Personal Injury Verdicts
7-27-2014 –
Studying the Glenn Beck defamation lawsuit saga. We’ve summarized the
litigation to date.
It started with the Boston Marathon bombing in April of 2013. An English student from Saudi Arabia, Abdulrahman Alharbi, had wondered near the site of the Boston Marathon finish line to observe the spectacle. He suffered minor injuries in the bombing. The police investigated Alharbi and cleared him almost immediately. He was not involved in the bombing in any form or fashion.
A week later, Glenn Beck went on his national radio program
and explained that “we know who this man (Alharbi)
is” and he is a “very bad, bad, bad man.” He went on to call Alharbi a bag man. The money man. A proven terrorist. Beck made it clear to his legion of listeners
that Alharbi had funded the marathon bombing.
Those allegations were totally false.
Alharbi sued Beck and his company (Mercury One) in federal court in Boston (1:14-11550) in April of 2014. His attorney is Peter J. Haley (of Nelson Mullins).
His lawsuit alleged Beck’s remarks defamed him.
The Complaint in PDF (6 pages)
Beck answered and moved to dismiss the lawsuit through his attorney, a Greenberg Traurig media lawyer from Albany, NY, Michael J. Grygiel.
Beck argued that the First Amendment protected his speech, the public status of the events putting that speech on the highest run of the hierarchy. The paramount importance the subject of Beck’s false speech, Beck argued, would be chilled if the lawsuit went forward. He argued procedurally as well that Alharbi was a public figure because he was interrogated after the bombing and went on television to discuss the matter. Thus Alharbi was required to prove malice. [The distinction is critical in defamation cases – if not a public figure, then there is no malice requirement.]
Beck’s Motion to Dismiss in PDF (23 pages)
Alharbi replied to the motion to dismiss that he had not become a public figure simply because was investigated regarding a crime and then having publicly denied his involvement. [Thus there would be no malice proof requirement.] Alharbi called Beck’s public figure construction of a so-called “bad luck” argument contrary to law. In any event he also explained that even if he was a public figure, Beck had acted with malice. That is, even after cleared by the police, Beck continued to broadcast that he was a bad man that was involved.
Alharbi’s Response to the Motion to Dismiss (22 pages)
Beck replied to this motion with an “aha” moment. He argued that Alharbi conceded he had injected himself into the controversy and thus was a public figure. He was also an involuntary public figure (Beck argued) because while a victim of the crime, the initial suspicion of him created that status.
Finally Beck (a self-described professional journalist) explained that just because he disagreed (disagreed without any evidence) with the government’s explanation of the bombing did not rise to the level of malice.
Beck’s Reply in Support of his Motion to Dismiss (15 pages)
Beck’s motion is pending before Judge Patti Saris and is set for hearing on August 11, 2014.
7-23-2014 – The KTCR Expert Encyclopedia
– Third Edition is finished. PDF versions of the third edition are now
shipping. Print comes in a week or so. It is being printed as we speak. Below
we have included an extended sample that shows the three key indexes. The first
is by expert and includes all the details on that expert’s testimonial
appearance.
The second index is by expertise, allowing the reader to search by “Hand
Surgery” or “Podiatry” or whatever.
The third index is by attorney, identifying which experts are used by a
particular attorney.
This is an essential book for lawyers that try cases. At 468
pages it covers 4,153 expert appearances from 2001 to 2014.
Give the sample a look (7 pages in PDF) and order your copy below.
Expert Encyclopedia (Extended Sample)
Order the Expert Encyclopedia Online - $275.00 (Last day on sale from regular price of $329.00)
7-22-2014 –
Breaking this afternoon. Judge McDonald-Burkman
granted Kosair Children’s Hospital’s petition to
remove child support from Isaac Lopez.
Lopez is an infant who was allegedly beaten by his father and suffered a
serious head injury, effectively rendering the infant brain-dead. The boy’s
parents had objected to removing support. The court ruled that as the child was
brain-dead and the condition was irreversible, there was no medical decision
for the parents to make.
Kosair has no legal duty to continue support she
wrote.
Read on for her order and briefs filed in the case by the
hospital, the guardian for the boy and his mother.
The Kosair Brief (Beth McMasters)
Brief from Isaac’s Guardian (Katherine Ford)
Brief from Isaac’s Mother (Leslie Bates)
7-11-2014 – Looking at three things this morning. One serious. One scary. One witty.
First up – the Expert Encyclopedia
(3rd Edition) is almost ready to go. It is the essential go-to book
for serious trial lawyers. Order your copy today.
Order the Expert
Encyclopedia Online
See a sample from the book
Second – Scary
dental cases. In one case the dentist dropped a dental tooth into the
plaintiff’s mouth. And called a chiropractor for help.
I’m not kidding. Defense verdict. In the other case instead of using that gooey
stuff to take an impression, a dental assistant used Snap Stone (think
concrete) and coated the plaintiff’s teeth.
Defense verdict. Scary times two.
Read the Scary Dental Cases (Might want to go with sedation dentistry)
Third – Have you
seen our other book? Off-topic. The Zen of McConnell by Shannon Ragland.
It traces the wit, wisdom and folly (there’s lots of folly of Senator Mitch
McConnell) over his lengthy career. There are missteps, the free travel, the
girlfriends . . .it’s all in there and timely too.
Order the Zen of
McConnell in print
Order the Zen of McConnell for your kindle (don’t need a kindle – just get the free app on your device)
Amazon called Zen it’s hot new political/social sciences book of the summer. Which is cool.
And Joe Gerth at the Courier-Journal wrote about last week in this article.
The Zen is real my friends.
Update – One more thing – LaRue County has agreed to pay $850,000 to settle claims brought by female inmates who alleged they were sexually abused by jail officials. In the scheme favors and drugs were traded with the inmates for sex. That is bad.
Read about the settlement in the local paper. Nathan Williams and Vanessa Cantley on the case for the plaintiffs.
7-10-2014 – The
peculiar case of additur --- since the KTCR first
started publishing (June 27, 1997 was our first issue), there has only been a
single time when a Kentucky trial judge utilized additur
in a personal injury case. Who was the judge? The lawyers?
What happened?
We’ve got the verdict report. Read on.
And be sure to read the last paragraph for a juror shocker! Never
heard of that before.
The rare case of additur in Kentucky
7-9-2014 – We’ve been previewing that the 3rd edition of the Expert Encyclopedia is coming in a few weeks. It is a go-to book in preparing for trial. Get the scoop on your opponent’s experts. Find your own experts. But what’s the book like. In this sample we have taken a page from each of three indexes in the book. One is by expert. The second is by expertise. And the third is by hiring attorney. Give the sample a look. And pre-order your copy for $275.00 (regular price is $329.00).
The Expert Encyclopedia Sample
Order the Expert Encyclopedia Online (Quick. Secure. Simple).
7-8-2014 – Anybody following the O’Bannon v. NCAA lawsuit? Tried recently as a bench trial. The NCAA is fighting desperately to save its valuable billion-dollar cartel. Here is their post-trial brief. Give it a look.
The NCAA’s brief in the O’Bannon case challenging its cartel status
7-3-2014 – There is a fascinating verdict in the July issue of the Kentucky Trial Court Review. The plaintiff (ironically a rape crisis counselor) was raped just 100 feet from the door of a bar where she had been drinking. She sued and presented a negligent security theory. The jury awarded her damages of $42,259 which included just $10,000 for her pain and suffering.
The jury assessed fault 20% to the bar (The Back Door) . . .10% to the landlord (the Mid-City Mall) and 70% to the
victim.
Read the entire verdict report.
The Back Door Civil Rape Verdict Report
Also check out the KTCR July Preview . . .
And if you aren’t subscribing . . . seriously . . . Subscribe online to the KTCR
7-3-2014 – The July 2014 edition of the Kentucky Trial Court Review goes to the presses today. Here is a preview. Features the $6,000,000 Greenup County jury verdict – interestingly, the plaintiff in that case died ELEVEN days after the verdict was returned.
Subscribe to the KTCR online – Secure. Easy. Online.
7-1-2014 – BREAKING – Judge John Heyburn has today struck down Kentucky’s ban on same sex marriage. We’ve got the opinion. (19 pages).
Opinion Striking Kentucky’s Ban on Same Sex Marriage
6-19-2014 – Big
news at the Supreme Court of Kentucky.
In a 7-0 opinion it affirmed a $4.1 million dollar verdict. It involved
a handicapped person who was dropped by a transportation company and left on the
ground in the freezing cold while company officials took pictures of her. Not
nice.
Trial court granted summary judgment for the company on punitives.
Plaintiff appealed. The KYCOA reversed and ordered a new trial on punitives.
The company sought discretionary review. The SCOKY affirmed the KYCOA today in a 7-0 opinion, ordering a new trial on the limited issue of punitive damages.
We have the original verdict report. The appellee’s brief (for the plaintiff) at the Supreme Court. And the opinion itself.
Todd Thompson, Millicent Tanner and Chad Propst for the plaintiffs
Gene Zipperle and joined by Frost
Brown Todd counsel on appeal (Griffin Sumner and Jason Renzelmann)
Lots to read here. The Supreme Court has strongly affirmed the right to a civil
jury trial. Seven to Nothing.
Original Jury Verdict Reporter from September of 2010
Appellee’s Brief at the
Supreme Court
The Supreme Court Opinion (6-19-14)
6-19-2014 –
Taking a look back today at the ten largest personal injury verdicts in
Kentucky from 1998 to 2013. I’d have to wonder if there are any prior to that
time (that’s when the KTCR started) that would make the list.
Two lawyers are on the list twice. Larry
Franklin. Tyler Thompson. That’s pretty rare company.
Kentucky’s Largest Personal Injury Verdicts – 1998 to 2013
6-18-2014 –
Excited about a new book today – Jefferson County Jury Verdicts – 1990 to 1993.
We pull back the curtain on a forgotten time. The golden era
of the civil jury verdict. The 1990s. It was
before tort reform had come along. Mediation. What was
that? Stella hadn’t even spilled her coffee yet.
It was a time when lawyers were lawyers and they TRIED cases to a jury.
Which cases got tried? What were the results? We’ve got all
the details.
A serious book for serious lawyers. And
affordable enough (just $75.00) that any historian of jury verdicts can read it.
We’ve included a sample from the book and a link to order it directly from our
store. It sells for $75.00. PDF version only. That’s 30 cents a verdict.
Sample from Jefferson County Jury Verdicts – 1990 to 1993
Order Jefferson County Jury Verdicts - 1990 to 1993
6-17-2014 – There
was a med mal defense verdict today in Louisville before Judge Perry.
Management of high risk twins (one died and the other injured) at 26 weeks is
alleged. Bruce Maston, JD, MD, Albany, NY tried it. Beth
McMasters and Ashley
Butler defend the hospital. Scott Whonsetler and Christopher Coburn were for the doctor.
Gotta read the verdict form (we’ve got it) to find
out what happened.
The Verdict Form in Sims v. Norton Healthcare et al
6-17-2014 – Remember the $338,000 defamation verdict against TheDirty.Com – that abhorrent website that allowed posts that suggested that the plaintiff (a Bengals cheerleader) slept with half the football team and had a sexually-transmitted disease. This same plaintiff, also a high school teacher, later pled guilty to felony charges regarding her illicit relationship with an underage high school student.
Well anyway. The Dirty appealed the verdict. The Sixth Circuit reversed yesterday and we’ve got the opinion. Go give it a read.
The Sixth Circuit Opinion in The Dirty v. Jones
6-16-2014 – Shannon Ragland’s newest book, his first in seven years, The Zen of McConnell – The Wit, Wisdom & Folly of Mitch McConnell went live at Amazon this weekend for the Kindle. Out in print in a week or two. It’s very good. Looks at McConnell’s own words going back to the middle 1970’s.
Order The Zen of McConnell at Amazon
Order The Zen of McConnell Directly (Print or PDF)
Read a Sample from The Zen of McConnell
Follow The Zen of McConnell on Facebook
6-16-2014 – Supreme Court granted discretionary review last week in a very interesting bullying-death case from Floyd County. A middle school student committed suicide after being bullied by fellow students. His estate sued the school system. The trial judge (John David Caudill) granted summary judgment finding the suicide itself was an intervening and superseding cause to any misconduct by the school. The plaintiff appealed. The Kentucky Court of Appeals affirmed in July of 2013. The estate sought discretionary review and it was granted.
We’ve linked the KYCOA opinion and the SCOKY discretionary review grant. This should be a good one.
Vanessa Cantley, Louisville for the appellants. Michael Schmitt, Paintsville, for the school system defendants.
Patton v. Bickford at the Court of Appeals
Discretionary Review Granted (6-11-14)
6-13-2014 – This is a blast from the past. Remember when you were in kindergarten. Well we were publishing. Here is a look at the original January 1999 issue. Things have changed a touch. Found this version today on an old computer.
6-11-2014 – Our newest book is here. The Zen of McConnell traces the wit and wisdom of Kentucky’s senior senator from his earliest days to the present. A must read this election season. Click before a sample look at the book in PDF.
6-9-2014 – The Kentucky Trial Court Review has published the June 2014 issue. It is a good one. Leads off with a $10,000,000-plus med mal verdict from Somerset. Give the preview a look. Always posted is a rare look at all our publications . . . in a single place. If you like reading about verdicts. . . there is a lot here to see.
The Kentucky Trial Court Review June 2014 Preview
The Indiana Jury Verdict Reporter June 2014 Preview
The Tennessee Jury Verdict Reporter June 2014 Preview
The Virginia Jury Verdict Reporter June 2014 Preview
The Mississippi Jury Verdict Reporter June 2014 Preview
The Louisiana Jury Verdict Reporter June 2014 Preview
The Alabama Jury Verdict Reporter June 2014 Preview
5-19-2014 – We have more details on the $1,302,522 FELA verdict in Lincoln County last week. Railroad worker sustained a knee injury (minor meniscal tear) when a piece of equipment he was standing on was struck by a train. Also claimed PTSD. Granacher confirms. Railroad concedes fault. Verdict includes $250K for pain and suffering. Go read the verdict form for yourself.
The $1.3 Million FELA Verdict Form
5-15-2014 – What’s new? The Virginia Jury Verdict Reporter is coming in June. Want a sneak peak? Sure you do. Here it is.
Virginia Jury Verdict Reporter Preview
5-15-2014 – There’s a bad judge
in Bullitt County. Her name is Rebecca Ward. The Judicial Conduct Commission
has suspended her for 30 days without pay this summer, the suspension running in
July and August. She is still on the bench today. And because she is unopposed
this fall, Ward will be on the bench for a while longer. Read the order. It is
not good. Ex parte communications. Threatening
contempt. Holding people in custody without a legal
basis.
She’s a bully. And she has no honor. If she did, she’d resign. Shame.
The Judicial Conduct Commission Opinion
5-8-2014 – Breaking. Steve Beshear has filed his appellate brief in the same sex marriage case in which he is challenging the ruling by Judge Heyburn. We’ve got the brief. The Governor has argued same-sex marriages (memorialized out of state) should not be recognized in the Commonwealth because gay parents can’t naturally procreate. And that is vital to the human race. And Kentucky needs new babies for economic growth. That’s the argument. It’s so bad you have to wonder if Beshear is trolling the Sixth Circuit.
Give it a read.
Beshear Brief in the Same Sex Marriage Case
4-25-2014 – Recent products liability verdict against Altec Industries. Tried in federal court in Louisville. Plaintiff electrocuted while repairing a utility pole. Blamed his injury on a defective hose that conducted electricity. Defense verdict.
The interesting part. Judge Moyer (Magistrate) was very hard on Altec in an order recommending sanctions. Altec had destroyed emails and it sold the piece of equipment involved. It did so even though it knew litigation was coming. Moyer recommended sanctions to Judge Simpson, including and up to summary judgment. Simpson entered an order indicating he’d think about it.
The case was ultimately tried and the plaintiff lost. If there were sanctions . . .the record makes no note of it. So apparently crime does pay!
The Judge Moyers order recommending sanctions
4-21-2014 – There was a big verdict in small-town New Castle, KY (Henry County) on Friday. Plaintiff suffered severe burns and died six days later after a Southern States propane tank exploded. We’ve got the verdict. It included $1,000,000 for his suffering and $1.5 million for his wife’s post-death consortium claim. The jury added $3,000,000 more in punitives, the award totaling $6,180,000. It was assessed 40% to Southern States, 25% to the decedent and 35% more to the decedent’s non-party employer.
Chris Morris and Neal Herrington tried it. Go read the verdict. Full details coming in the May 2014 issue of the KTCR.
Guse v. Southern States Verdict
4-11-2014 – Richie Farmer, boyhood hoops legend and one of UK’s Unforgettables, who later served a crooked bookend of terms as Kentucky’s Agriculture Commissioner received a lot of support in the form of letters to the judge as he faced prison time. Including from his college coach (Rick Pitino) and a fellow teammate (John Pelphrey). Read the letters – Pitino’s missive is at page 38 of the document.
The Richie Farmer Get out of Jail Letters (PDF) including from Rick Pitino and John Pelphrey
Other Greatest Hits
The Best Deposition Answer . . . Ever
The Case of the Moray Eel Bite – Spencer County, KY
A Very Very Good Better Business Bureau Complaint – Read page 2 and 3 (it’s 3 pages long) before you read the cover letter.
4-11-2014 - The Adolph Rupp Lawsuit
In the way back machine and in honor of UK’s run this year, we chronicle an old lawsuit from 1952 against none other than Adolph Rupp. In January of that year the national Look Magazine ran a long article that suggested Rupp tried to buy players, including offering a Brooklyn star, David Gotkin, "everything but a half interest in Rupp's prize breeding bull, Domino." Rupp sued and two years later, a federal court in Lexington dismissed the case. Read the retro articles that describe the spat below. [All in PDF.]
Update - I attempted to locate the original court file (they keep those) and while the federal court in Lexington identified the case number, the pleadings themselves are lost to history.
Rupp Calls the Article Stupid - 1-14-52 (Lexington Leader)
Rupp to Sue - 1-29-52 (Courier-Journal)
Case Dismissed - 2-3-54 (Courier-Journal) - Scroll down for the headline "No Jurisdiction"
4-7-2014 – The April 2014 issue preview has been published. Lots of good verdicts from all over Kentucky. And tough times for plaintiffs – there are several medical-no suffering verdicts. Go have a look.
Are you subscribing? Seriously? You try, settle, mediate or adjudicate cases and you don’t read it. Let’s fix that. Order a subscription online for $299.00 plus tax.
Subscribe to the KTCR (Print or PDF)
4-1-2014 – We have a great complaint today. And great as in terrible because Kentucky is a “notice pleading” state. When your Dad is your lawyer (and the self-described Fixer) these kinds of things can happen. A little girl fell off a country club high dive and suffered minor injuries. Just go read the complaint for a fun ride. This is NOT an April Fool’s Post either. This is REAL. Truth.
3-19-2014 – Today Judge Heyburn granted Gov. Beshear’s motion for an indefinite stay of his order that prevented Kentucky from not recognizing same sex marriages memorialized in another state. So since his original order was in effect for one day . . .he granted a temporary stay that is now permanent. That is . . .Kentucky recognized those marriages for approximately 24 hours beginning on February 27, 2014. Depending on how the appeal goes, that maybe the only time it ever does.
Heyburn reasoned: It is best that these momentous changes occur upon full review, rather than risk premature implementation or confusing changes.
Read Judge Heyburn’s entire opinion in PDF at the link.
Judge Heyburn’s Opinion Granting an Indefinite Stay of His Order
3-10-2014 – Gov. Beshear (through his private attorneys from VanAntwerp Monge of Ashland) has
asked Judge Heyburn to issue a stay during the appeal of his same sex marriage
ruling. Leigh
Gross Latherow is the lead attorney on the
motion. [The VanAntwerp Monge
law firm (which will paid up to $100,000 on the
contract) has donated $11,150 directly to the governor.]
The motion explains it will all be too uncertain for everyone if there isn’t a
stay. And that Kentucky has a “high” likelihood of success on appeal. And there
won’t be much harm to gay couples since it maintains the status quo of
discrimination. The link is to the motion.
The Motion to Extend the Stay During Appeal
3-10-2014 – The March 2014 KTCR issue preview is out this morning – includes the Table of Contents. Lots of interesting verdicts this month. Go give the preview a read.
Kentucky Trial Court Review March 2014 Preview
3-7-2014 – Eric Deters has filed a federal lawsuit in Cincinnati challenging the Kentucky Bar’s ongoing suspension of his law license. The complaint was filed pro se and features a 102 page exhibit. Because of his KY suspension, reciprocal discipline means he is also suspended in Ohio. Deters would be happy, he says, to just resign from the KY Bar. But KY won’t let him while he is suspended. It is a Kafkaesque circle of legal doom for Deters. Read his complaint and the exhibits especially. It’s good stuff.
Eric Deters v. The Kentucky Bar Association
The Exhibits to the Complaint (102 pages)
3-7-2014 – Two lawsuits (each with 300 or so plaintiffs) have been filed against King’s Daughters Medical Center in Ashland alleging the hospital allowing and billing for unnecessary cardiac procedures. The complaint notes the hospital and several doctors are being investigated by the Department of Justice. The heart of the case – the hospital and its agents misrepresented the condition of the plaintiffs in order to justify cardiac procedures. Hans Poppe from Louisville filed it.
The allegations kick in at page 25 – it took 24 pages to name all the plaintiffs! Go give it a read.
The King’s Daughters Medical Malpractice Complaint
2-28-2014 – Judge Heyburn has stayed enforcement of his opinion striking Kentucky’s ban on same sex marriages for 21 days. So it was final and enforceable for a single day. What a clumsy way for Heyburn to have handled it.
The Order Staying Enforcement of the Final Order from Yesterday
2-27-2014 – Judge Heyburn’s order from two weeks striking Kentucky’s ban on same sex marriages is now final. Gay marriages are (for now) recognized in Kentucky effectively immediately. [Link is to the order in PDF.]
Judge Heyburn’s Order on Finality
Update at 2:07 p.m.
The Kentucky Attorney General (Jack Conway) through deputy attorneys general
(Clay Barkley and Brian Judy) have moved Judge Heyburn
to stay enforcement of the finality order. As of right now . . . Heyburn’s
order is final and the ban on the recognition of gay marriages from other
jurisdictions is void and unenforceable.
The Motion to Stay filed by the Attorney General
Update at 3:50
Judge Heyburn has just entered another order. He has ordered the parties to be ready to “discuss” the Motion to Stay at 2:30 tomorrow (Friday). Doesn’t say he is going to rule on it. Or that is a hearing. Just to “discuss”. Maybe it is more like a fireside chat.
The Order To Discuss the Motion to Stay
2-13-2014 – Studying the SB 119 hearing yesterday and Larry Forgy’s testimony. He testified to the Senate panel that CR 11 (which allows for penalties for frivolous litigation) is a non-sequitur. And that in the last 10 years, he’d never heard of an instance of a CR 11 sanction. Challenged the Senators to produce an instance. Mike Sutton, another attorney on the panel, chimed in that he hadn’t heard of it either. Maybe they should read their appellate opinions. Because it happened at the trial court (Barren County) and was affirmed on appeal. The link is to the appellate opinion.
KY Court of Appeals Imposes CR 11 Sanctions in a Medical Malpractice Case
2-12-2014 – This is BREAKING news. Judge John Heyburn has struck down Kentucky’s ban on recognizing same sex marriages solemnized in another state.
Heyburn wrote, “it is clear that Kentucky’s laws treat gay and lesbian persons differently in a way that demeans them.”
Read the opinion for yourself. The KTCR has it at the link. [All documents in PDF.]
Judge Heyburn’s Opinion Striking Kentucky’s Ban on Recognition of Out of State Gay Marriages – Issued 2-12-2014
Updated – We also have Attorney General Jack Conway’s reply brief. Explains must defend the law but will leave it up to the court.
The AG Brief opposing recognition of gay rights
Updated – We’ve just posted the plaintiff’s memorandum for summary judgment.
Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment
2-6-2014 – The February preview of the 2014 KTCR edition is out. This is a very strong issue. Described as strong to very strong. Mails out today.
Not subscribing? Seriously? Get your subscription online at our store.
The February 2014 KTCR Preview
Subscribe today to the Kentucky Trial Court Review
See previews from our other state issues. All published today. Indiana. Mississippi. Tennessee.
2-4-2014 – Popular UK fan website (Kentucky Sports Radio), the alter-ego of attorney-turned-fan Matt Jones has been sued by a Virginia photographer in federal court in Lexington. The website alleges Jones and his website infringed the photographer’s copyright interests by publishing the photographs without permission or license. We’ve got the lawsuit. Jones has also faced claims from other media outlets (Herald, Courier-Journal, Kentucky Kernel) that he utilized their reporting and photographs without permission or attribution.
Jones has replied publicly that he disagrees with the lawsuit but remains thankful local media is covering it.
The final twist so far. Judge Karen Caldwell, to whom the suit was assigned, has recused herself without explanation. Judge Danny Reeves will preside for now.
The Kentucky Sports Radio Copyright Lawsuit
2-3-2014 – The State of Tennessee passed tort reform in 2012 that limited non-economic damages (think pain and suffering) in most cases to just $750,000. The idea was that jury panels could not be trusted to make these decisions and that if tort reform was instituted, job creators would flock to Tennessee. That’s the theory.
We’ve got our story on the first Tennessee jury verdict to be affected by this tort reform. It involved an elderly couple (husband hurt and wife killed) who were struck by a speeding uninsured driver. The plaintiffs sued their insurer (State Farm) and sought damages. The jury in Memphis awarded the plaintiffs a total of $3.174 million in damages. The effect of tort reform in this case was to limit the husband’s non-economic damages from $892,500 million to $750,000. Similarly the damages of his wife’s estate were limited from $1,126,250 to the statutory limit. Read all about it in the linked story (coming in the February issue of the Tennessee Jury Verdict Reporter.
Also new today. The KTCR 2013 Year in Review (16th edition) is available in print right now – they came in Saturday. 811 pages. This is a hefty and serious book. If you ordered yours already, it goes in the mail today. And if you haven’t, there is no better time than now to place your order. See the link to the online store.
The Verdict Limited by Tennessee’s Tort Reform Scheme
Order the KTCR 2013 Year in Review Online
1-31-2014 – It’s a blow-out day at the Court of Appeals for Asbury College today. It was featured in two opinions from separate jury verdicts on the same day. One involved an economics professor who alleged he was wrongfully forced out. The college won that case. The professor appealed. Affirmed.
The second case involved the women’s basketball coach who was fired for
looking like a lesbian and maybe holding hands with her assistant coach. [Being
a lesbian and/or holding hands with someone of the
same sex is not cool at Asbury.] The coach sued and won a $388K verdict. Asbury
appealed. And lost. Verdict affirmed.
Win some. Lose some.
The Economics Professor Appellate Opinion
The Hand-Holding Coach Opinion
Original Verdict reports in both cases
1-31-2014 – Ky. Senator Rand Paul has been in the news lately. Gave his own State of the Union Reply to the President on behalf of himself this week. A rumored presidential candidate in 2016. TEA Party favorite. And among presidential candidates, past or present, he may be the only one to have ever been the subject of a malpractice jury trial. Paul (then he was just Dr. Randal Paul, mild-manner ophthalmologist and part-time libertarian) was sued in Bowling Green in 2001 by a patient who alleged Paul’s failure to diagnose an infection led to the loss of his eye. The case was tried in June of 2002.
Sure you want to read the report. We have it.
The Randal (Rand) Paul Jury Verdict from Bowling Green, Kentucky
1-28-2014 – The filing deadline for candidates in Kentucky has come and gone. We’ve got a complete statewide list of candidates for all races, district, circuit, family, KYCOA and SCOKY. Go have a look and see who wants to wear a black robe. Also included are withdrawn candidates.
Since 1998 we’ve chronicled nearly every civil jury verdict in Kentucky –
5,034 verdicts through 2013. In the just published KTCR Year in Review (16th
edition), the results are sorted by judge. Which judges try the most cases? How
do plaintiffs do in certain kinds of cases before different judges? It’s all in
the Judge Report. Order the 2013 Year in Review
online right now – we’ll deliver it in PDF and you’ll be reading it
lickety-split.
Now to the candidates .
. .
Kentucky Court of Appeals Candidates
Kentucky Supreme Court Candidates
1-26-2014 – A sham organization appeared this week called Care First Kentucky. It’s sole purpose is to advocate for introducing Medical Review Panels as a predicate in medical negligence cases in Kentucky. Because this group explains, there are too many frivolous lawsuits. The notion of frivolous lawsuits is a fiction for another time.
But in the case of meritorious cases, i.e., cases in which the plaintiff had an expert testifying about the medical provider’s malpractice, how did those plaintiffs do? How often did they win. At the Kentucky Trial Court Review we have studied this exhaustively for sixteen years. The sixteen year totals indicate plaintiffs 22.8% of the meritorious cases. That’s a crisis? Plaintiffs win 22.8% of the time. Really? We’ve reproduced the sixteen-year and individual year totals in this chart. Give it a look. On average just 12 or so plaintiffs (that is 12 people a year) even prevail at trial against a medical provider.
We are also talking about this at our Facebook page which is well worth a follow.
The 16-Year Summary of Medical
Negligence Verdicts (PDF)
Order the 2013
Medical Negligence Report (Cumulative from 1998 to 2013)
1-24-2014 – Late Friday reading. What happens if you are airport bigwig from Kentucky on an airport bigwig junket in Italy? And you butt dial your secretary? And she listens to your butt (and your wife and associate talk company business) for 91 minutes? And then she transcribes all? And you sue her, the boss suing the secretary? For wiretapping?
What happens is? You lose. The opinion today from Judge David Bunning in Covington. This is good stuff.
The Butt Dial Summary Judgment Order
1-24-2014 – No opinions this 4th Thursday of the month at the Kentucky Supreme Court. They take January off. And July too. Nice! But the KY Court of Appeals had a set of opinions today. We are interested in two of them. The first, Wright v. Ramada Inn, affirmed a slip and fall defense verdict in Johnson County. Original verdict report is Case No. 4845 from The Complete Verdict Collection – you can order that directly if you don’t have it. Read the verdict report and the opinion below.
The second case writes new law in the priority of UM coverage. To be published. Authored by Judge Allison Jones (joined by Acree and Vanmeter). Trial court (Grise-Bowling Green) had prorated coverage between two UM carriers (one for the passenger-plaintiff and the other for the vehicle in which she was driving). KYCOA held UM coverage “follows the person” (slip opinion at page 12) and thus the UM coverage of the passenger (not the driver) is primary. A good read. Click the link for the opinion.
The Wright v. Ramada Jury Verdict Report
Countryway v. United Financial (New UIM Priority Opinion)
1-24-2014 – We’ve got a detailed and exclusive report on the significant whistleblower settlement secured by Shane Sidebottom in the last month. You want to read this one. Sidebottom has become pre-eminent in prosecuting these kinds of cases. If you’re interested in whistleblower verdicts (who isn’t), see page 234 in the 2013 Year in Review (16th edition) where we summarize all 24 whistleblower verdicts in KY from 1998 to 2013. Don’t have it? Order it online now. See the link below.
Hannan v. McCracken County Whistleblower Settlement
Order the KTCR 2013 Year in Review
1-23-2014 – A classically trained
opera singer (Amy Herbst) who performed Madame
Butterfly for the Nashville Opera suffered an episiotomy injury while giving
birth at Blanchfield Hospital at Fort Campbell. [Her husband was in the military.] The effect of the injury was to lead to fecal
and urine incontinence as well as uncontrolled flatulence. Flatulence and opera
do not mix. She has filed suit against the government (Federal Tort Claims Act)
alleging error in performing the episiotomy and is seeking money damages. Suit
filed 1-16-14. Gary J. Sergent of
O’Hara Rubert Taylor Sloan & Sergent
in Covington, KY for the plaintiff.
The link is to the complaint.
1-20-2014 – Have you seen the Federal Jury Verdict Reporter lately? Ever. Today is your lucky day. The January 2014 issue has been published. Have a look at the cases that are getting tried. The entire issue is at the link.
The January 2014 Federal Jury Verdict Reporter
1-20-2014 – What we know about the
Judge Boyce Martin travelgate scandal through today
in eight easy bullet points.
1- Somebody at the 6th Circuit ratted Martin out for submitting fraudulent travel vouchers. Involved travel to Cincinnati that he didn’t take and paying for personal trips to his summer home in Pemaquid Point, Maine. [Martin (featured in hat) was president of the local community organization.]
2- A complaint was filed and the Judicial Conduct Committee started an investigation.
3- The committee ordered Martin to appear for a deposition under oath (May 2013).
4- Days before having a chance to speak under oath, Martin retired. And he repaid $140,000 in travel expenses explaining not all of them were fraudulent.
5- In June of 2013 the committee dismissed the complaint based on the intervening event of his retirement. See the June 20, 2013 order. It also ordered that Martin be named publicly and the case be referred to DOJ. Media reports at the time about his retirement said nothing about what was really going on.
6- Martin didn’t want to be named and get DOJ involved. He petitioned for review of the committee’s order.
7- On January 17, 2014 a review panel rejected Martin’s petition. And it was a public order. The January 17, 2014 order.
8- Martin has since explained that he would now love to get with DOJ and work things out.
This thing is far from over. And let’s not forget that Martin had a distinguished career both as a trial judge in Louisville, on the Kentucky Court of Appeals and at the Sixth Circuit. This is an unfortunate end to that career.
1-20-2014 – Working a truly outrageous case today from federal court in Alexandria, Louisiana for the Louisiana Jury Verdict Reporter. Natchitoches Parish Sheriff Deputies arrested a man for having drugs in his car. His eleven-year old daughter was also in the car. The girl was taken to a 911 Call Center and her mother called. Sheriff Deputies also engaged in a warrantless strip search of the girls. Clothes off. Squat and cough. Just horrendous. Hard to imagine even!
Tried to a jury this month. Defense verdict.
A community of Americans decided this was okay to do to their little girls. Shocking.
Order Denying Summary Judgment
The Jury Verdict in Scallion v. Natchitoches
1-20-2014 – Reporting a verdict today from earlier this month in Lexington. The plaintiff, a toddler, fell at Target and broke his wrist. Blamed a defect in the tile floor. Target denied a defect and suggested the child was running. Defense verdict. Ryan Newcomb, Frankfort for the plaintiff. Richard Schiller and Noel Halpin (Schiller Osbourn Barnes & Maloney) defend. Judge Thomas Clark presided. Full details coming in the February 2014 issue. Link is to the judgment.
The Judgment in Brown v. Target
1-20-2014 - Have you seen the Kentucky Trial Court Review lately? Since 1997 we’ve written more than 5,000 reports on civil jury verdicts in Kentucky. Here’s a preview look at the January 2014 issue. We’ve also exhaustively chronicled the results in our Year in Review volumes. The 16th edition has been published this month. You can subscribe and order online. See the links.
The Secure Online Jury Verdict Store
1-20-2014 –The evidence indicates
that Judge Boyce Martin submitted fraudulent travel vouchers. For trips he
didn’t take. And for trips to his summer home. Where does Judge Martin summer? The very lovely Pemaquid Point, Maine
where Martin had previously served as the President of the local association.
It all seems very lovely. There is a wine and cheese event. Potluck.
And even an end-of-season Round Robin.
A 2013 Message from Pemaquid Point, Maine Association President Boyce Martin
1-20-2014 – Breaking. Exclusive. What did Judge Boyce Martin (who retired
rather than talk about it under oath) do to get himself in trouble in travelgate? He signed travel vouchers for trips he never
took to Cincinnati. And personal trips to his summer home in delightful Pemaquid Point, Maine. So the taxpayers could pay for his
trips to Maine. Nice work if you can get it.
Then he hoped it would go away when he paid $140K back. And no one would ever
know. It did not work out that way.
Martin through a spokesperson (retired judges have a PR staff) has indicated that amounts in questions were part of an administrative snafu. And that Martin has volitionally repaid $140,000 even though the amount he owes (he won’t say how much) is a lot less. He also hopes to work quickly with the DOJ.
Question: If Martin wanted to work so closely and quickly with the DOJ, why did he petition the Judicial Conduct Commission to not tell DOJ about his travel expense snafu? That doesn’t really make sense.
1-19-2014 – We know more about the Judge Boyce Martin scandal. Questions were raised about his travel expenditures to the tune of $140 grand in the July of 2012. Investigation started. Counsel appointed. Martin directed to appear to testify under oath on May 30, 2013 by judicial conduct committee. Two weeks before he was to testify under oath, Martin retired and agreed to repay the money. The committee dropped the complaint in lieu of his retirement.
However . . . it indicated that Martin would be publicly named and the matter referred to DOJ for investigation. That order from June 20, 2013 is listed below first. The second opinion (from January 17, 2014) concerned Martin’s petition for review because he didn’t want anyone to know about his misconduct and he definitely didn’t want DOJ to know. The reviewing panel found against him on both counts. That’s the second order.
What we don’t know is how or on what Martin inappropriately spent $140,000 or so of public money. Read the orders.
The June 20, 2013 judicial conduct order
The January 17, 2014 order affirming the judicial conduct order
1-19-2014 – This qualifies as
breaking news. Former 6th Circuit Judge Boyce Martin resigned last
summer. Did you know he did so under a cloud of alleged misconduct regarding
improper travel expenditures? To the tune of $140 grand. . .
Martin wanted the whole thing forgotten because he paid the money back. Didn’t want anybody to tell the Department of Justice. Or to name him publicly. Just let him retire and sail away .
. .
A Committee on Judicial Conduct decided that’s not how it works. He will be
publicly named. And there is a referral to the DOJ. Because as it turns out, when you engage in
financial impropriety, it is no defense to pay the money back. The old I robbed
a bank but I gave the money back defense doesn’t work. For
bank robbers. Or federal appellate judges.
Read the Martin Judicial Conduct Opinion
1-16-2014 – There was a $326,000 UIM verdict in Louisville today before Judge Olu Stevens. William McMurry tried it for the plaintiff. Valerie Herbert defended Allstate. Plaintiff suffered a femoral neck fracture (that’s in your leg) and has since mostly recovered. The underlying limits were $50,000, the ceiling of the UIM coverage being $200,000. McMurry blew through both and exhausted the coverage. [This isn’t his first UIM rodeo either – McMurry had big UIM results in both 1997 (Nationwide) and 2005 (USAA).] We’ve got the actual verdict in the case today. Have a look.
The Actual Jury Verdict Form in Deckard v. Allstate
1-15-2014 – Big news in the Commonwealth today. The 6th Circuit has announced today that Kroger, Walgreens and gas stations can no longer sell wine or liquor. The government and guess who (Liquor Outlet) led the way to limit the sale of alcohol. Go read the opinion. It’s pretty well-written with a nice history of the subject.
6th Circuit Speaks on Drinking in the Commonwealth – The Opinion
1-15-2014 – Reporting this morning on a $345,000 whistleblower settlement from Paducah. A deputy clerk in the County Clerk’s office reported that her boss was engaging in tax fraud. Soon after the clerk was sacked. Fiscal Court in McCracken has settled with her.
At the KTCR we have been chronicling whistleblower verdicts for sixteen years – 24 in all. How does this settlement comport with the totals. In the 24 cases, plaintiffs won 14 and lost 10. The average verdict for prevailing whistleblowers was $279,197. So $345,000 isn’t far off . . . especially when you consider that the raw verdict awards don’t include attorney fees. All the details are in the 2013 Employment Report in the Year in Review. It summarizes an astounding 248 employment verdicts from 1998 to 2013. You know where to get the book.
The links are to the local story on the settlement and the online order form
for the book. And listen to this (come
close, I’m whispering), order the book today
online in a PDF format for $290.00 plus tax and we’ll rebate $25.00 to you.
That’s right. We’ll send you a check for $25.00 when you buy today. That’s a
deal.
Link to the local story on the $345,000 Paducah whistleblower settlement (John Null at WKMS in Murray)
Order the 2013 KTCR Year in Review online
1-14-2014 – What have been the ten largest personal injury verdicts in Kentucky from 1998 to 2013? We’ve organized the list (you haven’t seen this one before) sorting just the contested personal injury verdicts. [The list excludes contract cases and those where the defendant did not participate.]
Have you ordered the 2013 Year in Review. Read about these ten cases and our 16-year study of some 5,500 Kentucky civil jury verdicts. The 2013 volume is more than 800 pages. They don’t call it encyclopedic for nothing . . . Order the KTCR Year in Review online.
Kentucky’s Largest Personal Injury Verdicts – 1998 to 2013
Order the 2013 KTCR Year in Review online
Read about more verdicts at the KTCR home page (Lots of sample issues)
1-13-2014 – Judge Olu Stevens in Louisville has written about Batson challenges in an article recently published in the KJA Advocate. In the article he references Case Study No. 2 involving a case of reverse race discrimination – the case is anonymously mentioned, but we wrote the original verdict report back in 2011. It is Meredith v. MSD, where a white worker alleged he missed out on promotion because he was “too white.” A Louisville jury awarded him $244,834 in damages. We’ve linked our original verdict report on Meredith and the judge’s article. This is very good reading. A must read really if you try cases in Louisville.
The Judge Stevens Batson Article
The Original Case Study No. 2 – Meredith v.
MSD
1-13-2014 – On Friday the Court of Appeals affirmed a defense verdict in the legal malpractice case against the Becker Law Office. We’ve got the opinion (non-published) and our original verdict report from the February 2012 jury trial. Tried as a case-within-a-case, the jury never reached the malpractice question (related to the statute of limitation) as it exonerated the underlying tortfeasor. Go read the verdict report and the opinion.
The Freeman v. Becker Appellate Opinion
The Original Freeman v. Becker verdict report
1-13-2014 – What did the KTCR look like seven years ago? What kind of cases were getting tried? We’ve republished the complete January 2007 issue. Give it a read. Some good cases in there. Wondering about how to access the 5,034 cases we have written since 1998. You can – the Complete Verdict Collection. All the verdicts, sixteen years worth, in a single PDF file, sorted by year, region and case type. Fully searchable in PDF. It is a strong tool. Go give the January 2007 issue a look and put an order for the Complete Verdict Collection.
Order the Complete Verdict Collection Online
1-12-2014 – Interested in the largest personal injury verdicts in Tennessee in the last ten years. We’ve got the list. Just published (today) in the Tennessee Jury Verdict Reporter 2013 Year in Review. Two of the cases are from 2013.
Tennessee’s Largest Personal Injury Verdicts – 2004 to 2013
Order the 2013 Tennessee Jury Verdict Reporter Year in Review
More from the Tennessee Jury Verdict Reporter – Sample issues and latest news
1-11-2014 – In this excerpt from the KTCR 2013 Year in Review-16th Edition (819 pages), we take a look at the 20 largest verdicts we have reported since 1998. You will see some familiar names on this list.
The Top 20 Verdicts in Kentucky 1998 to 2013
Get your copy of the 2013 book – it is a verdict encyclopedia – Order Online
1-11-2014 – This morning we are studying the consortium interest of children
when in Kentucky when their parent(s) are killed. There have been 40 awards
since this tort was first recognized in 1997 in Guiliani v. Guiler in a 4-3 opinion (Thomas
Conway was a special justice on that one and interestingly the Guiliana plaintiffs later lost their case on liability in
Fayette County in 1998 when it was tried after returning from the Supreme
Court. Ann Oldfather tried it. David
Trimble defending. Case No. 260.
Anyway . . . today we are taking a sneak peak at the 2013 Consortium Report
(excerpted from the Year in Review) and particularly in the context of the
interest of children. Take a look at this portion of the report. Buy the 2013 Year in Review
online for the full report – ships PDF pronto.
Purchase the 2013 Year in Review (16th Edition) online
1-10-2014 – I don’t know why I like this story. I just always have. The famous spiders in the Big Boy case against Frisch’s from 2001. Trial legend and all-around irascible guy, Daniel Taylor squared off against a much younger Philip Longmeyer. It was everything you would have expected. Judge Wine presided over the debacle.
Spiders in the Big Boy Trial – Jefferson County
1-7-2014 – As excerpted from the KTCR 2013 Year in Review, we have a quick look at the largest jury verdicts of 2013 as reported in the Jan-Dec issues. Two of the verdicts (the ones from Nelson County and Calloway County), were the largest ever recorded in those jurisdictions.
1-7-2014 – Ever wondered about the largest auto negligence verdicts in Kentucky dating to 1998. A savvy reader (well-apprised of jackpot justice and the lottery nature of jury panels - - especially in Eastern Kentucky) would expect there to be many multi-million dollar car wreck verdicts. And at least a few in very minor cases. Because juries are stupid and can be fooled. I know this viewpoint is popular. But the data doesn’t support it. See the link for a snapshot look at Kentucky’s largest car wreck verdicts in the last sixteen years. This is excerpted from the 2013 KTCR Year in Review which can be securely ordered (PDF or print) online.
Kentucky’s Largest Auto Negligence
Verdicts
1-7-2014 – The Complete Verdict Collection – 1998 to 2013 is on sale for $399.00 (Regular $429.00) – at some 3,000 pages, it covers all of the 5,050 verdicts we have written since 1998. It is arranged by year, region and case type. It is indispensable if you are using the 2013 Year in Review (at 819 pages) which is also available for online order.
Order the Complete Verdict Collection online
Order The 2013 KTCR Review online
1-7-2014 – Lots of twists and turns in this seemingly ordinary $65,352 car wreck verdict from Louisville involving a plaintiff who claimed post-concussive symptoms after a minor collision. We won’t spoil it. It first appeared in the January 2014 edition.
We’ve also got the report on a medical case from Boyle County – it was a
forgotten sponge case, the plaintiff implicating the surgeon as the so-called
Captain of the Ship. The surgeon jumped off the ship and let the nurses drown.
Get to reading and stay warm.
The Not-So-Ordinary-Car-Wreck-Verdict
The Captain Jumps Into the Water and the Nurses Drown
1-4-2014 – First post of the New Year. Looking at the blow-out soft-tissue verdict that blew the averages out of the water. The 2013 soft-tissue multiplier was 2.722. Taking out this blow-out result by James Harris, Paducah (he’s a serious trial lawyer), the multiplier for 2013 drops to an anemic and harrowing .420. I know some of you blew that BAC in college. That’s tough stuff. Go read about how James Harris did it.
12-30-2013 – Have you ever wondered if Kentucky juries are hostile to awarding pain and suffering? This portion of a report from the KTCR 2013 Year in Review (a snippet really) lays it all out. If you’re trying civil cases (as a plaintiff) and you aren’t worried about a medicals-no suffering verdict . . . you should be.
Jury Hostility to Pain and Suffering
12-30-2013 – A little off topic today but everyone is thinking hoops this weekend anyway. We’ve reproduced a chapter from our not-quite-finished book, The Man in the Brown Suit about Adolph Rupp. This chapter describes Rupp’s recruitment in 1930 to become the UK Coach and then the story of Rupp’s first visit to the Southern Conference (SEC precursor) basketball tournament in Atlanta.
The Man in the Brown Suit Excerpt
12-28-2013 – Working this morning (Saturday of the big game – work stops shortly) on Kentucky Med Mal numbers by case type from 1998 to 2013. Look at the chart and the win-loss record and think about which group is trying hard (very hard) to introduce legislation to limit lawsuits against them. Hint – it’s the one that loses the lawsuits at an astronomical rate by comparison. 61.5% win rate for this field for plaintiffs. That compares to an overall 22.9% rate.
Maybe instead of trying to avoid lawsuits, this particular field of medical
care should provide better care . . . and not lose as many trials. I suspect
tort reform is cheaper.
The chart speaks for itself.
The full 2013 Medical Negligence Report will be in the 2013 Year in Review. Which you can pre-order . . .online right now at our superstore!
***12-27-2013 – Still at work on a Friday afternoon? Here is a preview of the KTCR January 2014 issue. Mails out early next week. It’s a good one. They’re all good ones. But I like this one a lot. Subscribe today online and make sure you’re not missing all the verdict reports.
***12-27-2013 – Updating the largest verdict in Kentucky of 2013. It was a
$7.2 million verdict against Advanced Bionics in the products liability trial
of a failed cochlear implant in a little girl. We’ve learned that before the
court ruled on post-trial motions, the parties entered a confidential
settlement and the case is closed. We’ve got our original verdict report and
some other post-trial (before the settlement) documents.
The Advanced Bionics Verdict Report
Advanced Bionics Motion a New Trial
***12-26-2013 – Which trial judges in Kentucky (still sitting) have tried the most med mal cases since 1999? We’re breaking down some of the numbers. The full details will be in a new report in the 2013 Year in Review.
Pre-order your copy of the 2013 Year in Review. Or take a peek at a portion of the report.
***12-26-2013 – We hope everyone enjoyed Christmas. Today it is back to work at verdict headquarters. What are we studying today? The Pain and Suffering Report – it chronicles the largest pain and suffering verdicts in Kentucky from 1998 to 2013. Here’s a glimpse of the report that will appear in the 2013 Year in Review
The Largest Pain and Suffering Awards from 1998 to 2013
Pre-Order the 2013 Year in Review online – Five Days left to save $20.00 off the regular price
***12-23-2013 – This morning we are talking products liability. Since 1998 there have been a total of 28 automotive products liability verdicts in Kentucky. We’ve prepared an at-a-glance summary of those results. Go give it a look. The entire products liability report is contained in the 2013 Year in Review – Pre-order online and save twenty bucks.
The Automotive Products Liability Verdicts – 1998 to 2013
***12-21-2013 – Previewing the Kentucky lawyers with the most million dollar personal injury verdicts since 1998. These are the most serious and successful lawyers in the Commonwealth. The link is the list. The full report (all the lawyers with two or more results) will appear in the 2013 Year in Review.
***12-20-13- One
interesting opinion at the KYCOA today. Plaintiff tripped at a dark entrance to
the Blind Parrot Pub in Owensboro and broke her hip. Fall blamed on an incline.
Trial court (Wethington) granted summary judgment –
condition open and obvious. KYCOA reversed – because it was dark and the
plaintiff was unfamiliar with the incline, it wasn’t open and obvious to her. Opinion by Dixon. Moore concurred in result only. Thompson
dissented without opinion. The link is the opinion.
Summary Judgment for the Blind Parrot Reversed
***12-20-13 – This morning we’re previewing the KTCR 2013 Year in Review (pre-order
online) and the raw Med Mal totals from 1998 to 2013. In this handy-dandy chart (it’s part of the
book – 700 plus pages) we summarize the results by each year. How often did plaintiff’s win? How much did they take when they win?
Give it a look. And order your book.
Raw Kentucky Med Mal Totals – 1998 to 2013
Pre-Order the 2013 Year in Review online
***12-14-13 – The Slip and Fall Gold Standard – tried by Gregory Bubalo in 2001. A neurosurgeon fell in a hospital pantry and suffered a disabling RSD injury to his arm. An Evansville jury awarded him $16.9 million – the defense offer was $500,000. The judgment was satisfied.
Do you read the Indiana Jury Verdict Reporter? Maybe you should . . .subscribe online
The Bubalo $16.9 million Slip and Fall
***12-13-13 – An at a glance look at the 20 largest civil jury verdicts in Kentucky from 1998 to 2013. Some of those verdicts were against empty chair or nominal defendants, particularly in the sexual assault and negligent shooting cases. Most of the large verdicts represented catastrophic brain injuries. The list also includes the infamous (famous) stolen candy $20 million dollar case from Wayne County. Go see who is on the list. Not on this list (we haven’t written the story yet) is the very recent $21.5 million dollar Ponzi scheme mortgage fraud verdict received by Thomas Conway. It would be No. 14 on this list.
The 20 Largest Verdicts in Kentucky 1998-2013
This report and many more reports are in the 2013 Year in Review – Pre-order online for $270.00 and save $20.00 off the regular price. 16th edition ships January 2014.
***12-13-13 – This guy takes the cake as one of the worst lawyers of all time. He helped his client try to get his Nigerian inheritance of $18 million. The lawyer charged a 10% contingency fee and tried to corral other clients into loans to pay the inheritance tax so the big inheritance could be released. The Supreme Court of Iowa suspended him.
But don’t think it can happen just to local yocals. Bradley Arant, a prominent Southeast blueblood firm, got scammed out of $400,000 in 2009.
Here’s a couple of rules that will help you stay out of trouble: (1) Don’t sleep with your clients, (2) Don’t steal from your clients, and (3) If it is too good to be true, it’s not true.
Iowa Suspends Lawyer with Nigerian Inheritance Expertise (The Opinion from the Iowa Supreme Court)
Shopping
with the KTCR just got easier. Don’t
forget to pre-order the 2013 Year
in Review online – save $20.00 off the regular price on orders before
12-31-2013.
***12-10-2013 – KY SCOTUS is hearing arguments in a few minutes in an insurance case involving a motorcycle injury. Does a motorcycle exclusion also exclude the consortium claim of the motorcyclist’s spouse?
***12-8-2013 – Interesting case to be argued at KY SCOTUS (I know that acronym is a little off but it sort of works) about arbitration in the context of adhesive nursing home contracts. Are they binding? The case is going to be argued Thursday at 9:30 in Frankfort. We have the brief for Kindred and the reply brief from the underlying plaintiff. Give’em a read and get ready for Thursday. We will be live-blogging the oral arguments.
***12-8-2013 – The internet Jury Verdict Superstore is open for business right now. Online. Secure. Presently you can renew or start a subscription at our store. Or pre-order the 2013 Year in Review.
Shop Jury Verdict Publications
***12-6-2013 – The KY COA has affirmed a 58-1 punitives-to-compensatory ration today in a medical case against St. Joseph’s in Lexington. And wait for this – the same court reversed a 60-1 ratio a few years ago in the SAME case. Hat tip to attorney David Kramer, Covington on this one. Go read the opinion. And our verdict report on the second trial.
The KY COA Opinion in St. Joseph v. Gray
The KTCR Verdict Report from the 2012 trial
***11-27-2013 – Thanksgiving Bombshell Blowout – The Other Guy (from the infamous Florida PI firm with a Louisville office, Winters Yonker & The Other Guy [Very AGGRESSIVE Attorneys]) has filed suit against the newly formed firm of Winton & Hiestand. Winton is Jeremy Winton . . . famous as The Fighter in his TV ads. The Other Guy alleges The Fighter did a lot of bad stuff. Stole clients. And lots more. And all after The Other Guy paid off all of The Fighter’s Debts!
It is all in The Other Guy’s 42-page court filing. The Other Guy’s lawyer is Ronald Green from Green Chesnut & Hughes, Lexington. Filed in Jefferson Circuit Court. You want to read this one.
***11-26-2013 – The estate of Judge Eddie Lovelace (Southeastern Kentucky) has filed suit regarding his death that occurred because of the spinal steroid injections contaminated by fungal meningitis. His estate has sought $15 million in damages. If it fully prevailed that would be the second largest death verdict in Tennessee since we started reporting in that state in 2004. The largest result was $20,000,000 (from Memphis) involving a successful real estate developer (age 40) who died after an infection was misdiagnosed.
The Lovelace v. Ameridose Complaint
***11-26-2013 – We’ve got a turkey verdict. Of course we do. Lady shopping
for a canned ham at Wal-Mart was attacked by a canned ham. And she had turkey
at home. Go give it a look. Happy Thanksgiving.
And there’s a bonus - - - a turkey hunting verdict. You didn’t even think that
was possible. It is.
The Turkey/Canned Ham Incident – Franklin County
Bonus – Turkey Hunting Mishap Verdict – Nelson County
***11-26-2013 – Check out the December 2013 preview of the Kentucky Trial Court Review. Lots of big verdicts. Small ones too. And most importantly . . . interesting ones.
***11-22-2013 – There was a verdict this week in Boston for mega-law firm Ropes & Gray. It has more than 1,000 lawyers including 280 in Boston. A black lawyer who worked for the firm (John Ray, III – a Harvard Law man) alleged race discrimination in failing to promote him to partner. Very few RG associates become partners – from his class (2000) only 8 of 50 became partner. Ray threatened to file an EEOC complaint if the firm didn’t reinstate him as partner or pay him $8.5 million. The firm said get lost. Ray filed the EEOC complaint. Thereafter RG partners wouldn’t give Ray a letter of recommendation.
Ray sued and alleged race discrimination in promotion and retaliation for filing the EEOC complaint. The trial court granted summary judgment on the promotion claim. Retaliation went to the jury. Verdict for RG this Monday (11-20) in Boston. Interesting case.
The Ropes & Gray Summary Judgment Order
***11-19-2013 – This month Judge Summe entered an order following a multi-week bench trial regarding the sale of financial products (designed to frustrate tax collection) to William Yung – Yung is a successful operator of hotels and casinos. Summe found breach of contract and fraud by Grant Thornton, a large Chicago-based accounting firm. The judgment totaled $99,315,227 including $80,000,000 in punitive damages. It’s a pretty good read. Dense. Long. But well worth a look. The judgment is at the link.
Judge Summe’s
$99 million dollar judgment
***11-18-2013 – This is the most interesting opinion you are going to read about an eel bite today. Or ever. From Spencer County, Kentucky. The plaintiff was visiting a friend – the friend decided to show the friend his moray eel. He also warned the eel might bite.
How prescient a warning. The eel bit off half the
man’s finger. Litigation follows. The eel owner sought summary judgment. Judge Charles Hickman denied the motion as
there was issues of fact to be determined in this case of strict liability. Christopher
Goode from Louisville’s Bubalo Goode Sales &
Bliss represented the guy whose finger was lunch for eel. John
Gilliam with Sitlinger McGlincy
for the guy with the not-very-friendly eel.
Summary Judgment Denied in the Case of a Moray Eel Bite
***11-18-2013 – A preview of the December 2013 Kentucky issue is ready. It is a legit-blow-out-end-of-the-year-super special. Give it a look if your brain is over-Fratzke’d.
***11-18-2013 – Today we are talking Fratzke – It was a Friday Fratzke at the KTCR. A Cincinnati lawyer, Christopher D. Byers of the Young Injury Law took a Fratzke for his client in a premises liability case tried in Boone County against Speedway. Andrew M. Palmer of Frost Brown Todd in Louisville defended. Byers gave the fateful answer: to be supplemented later. And later never came.
Palmer played the Fratzke card just after the plaintiff gave his opening argument. The trial judge (Frohlich) granted the motion and limited the plaintiff’s damages to $2,544, the amount last listed for medical bills. Thus the limit by Frohlich was global. The plaintiff would still get to argue medical bills and pain and suffering, but any award would be globally limited to $2,544.
As it turned out the jury awarded the plaintiff (a morbidly obese bill collector) $1,242 of his medicals, but he took nothing for suffering. With a 50-50 fault assessment, the net award was $621. Has the Fratzke malpractice claim been extinguished as the verdict failed to exceed the court’s $2,544 limit? A harmless foul?
We think not and here’s why. Read on for the why of it. The link explains more about the case (the full heading) and includes our Fratzke analysis.
***11-1-2013 – $427,409 whistleblower verdict yesterday in Louisville before
Judge Chauvin. Plaintiff had alleged overspending in the Office of
Communications and Marketing at the University of Louisville. Mike Augustus tried it for the plaintiff. Go
see the verdict for yourself.
U of L Whistleblower Verdict – Returned November 1, 2013
***10-31-2013 – You want a spooky verdict? We’ve got a spooky verdict. Plaintiff suffered a broken leg in a haunted house attraction. Tried in Anderson County (Lawrenceburg), KY. Happy Halloween.
Also running a Halloween special today. Renew your subscription to the KTCR (we’ll advance it a year) or start a new one for $249.00 (save $50.00) in a PDF format. And as a bonus, get a special file that contains all the 2013 million-dollar plus verdicts. Call today at 1-866-228-2447 to use your credit card. This is a deal.
***10-30-2013 – Looking at the largest personal injury verdicts in Kentucky through the November 2013 issue:
Louisville - $7,246,235 – Products Liability (The Advanced Bionics hearing aide case)
Boyd - $6,152,618 – Medical Negligence (Death of an infant)
Jefferson - $4,852,028 – Workplace Negligence (Scrap metal severed ulnar nerve)
Nelson - $4,753,533 – Workplace Negligence (Contractor fell from a roof)
Calloway - $4,739,589 – Medical Negligence (Mother died after giving birth)
Pike - $3,931,448 – Underinsured Motorist (Brain injury)
Rockcastle - $3,638,888 – Truck Negligence (Death case)
***10-28-2013 – Interesting stories
you probably haven’t seen
Is it better to be a federal judge or an equine semen
collector? Judge Philip
Simon from South Bend answered in this opinion
denying summary judgment. Involved a breeding case where stallions contracted a
horse STD . . . Judge Simon’s Opinion
The preview of the November 2013 Kentucky Trial Court Review issue – several record breaking verdicts this month.
More November jury verdict reporter previews? Mississippi Jury Verdict Reporter. . . Louisiana . . . Tennessee . . .
The Greatest Deposition Answer Ever – A must read – The transcript in PDF. Indicating . . . it never gets old.
All documents in PDF
Follow us on Facebook or tweet us @juryreporter
***10-28-2013 – Great summary judgment order in a stallion breeding case in Indiana against a Midway, Kentucky horse farm. Four stallions belonging to the plaintiffs became infected with a horse STD during breeding purposes. They sued the Kentucky farm alleging negligence. The trial judge considered a summary judgment and wrote (now) famously that being a federal judge is a great job. Especially compared to being an equine semen collector. Go read the opinion. It’s pretty good.
And the verdict report ($244,804) is coming in the Indiana Jury Verdict
Reporter in the November issue. While tried in South Bend, Indiana, the horse
farm was defended at trial by Nancy B. Loucks of Frost Brown Todd in Louisville.
Federal Judge Opines Being a Federal Judge is Better than Being an Equine Semen Collector
***10-23-13 – Reviewed a stunning order granting a new trial yesterday from Judge McDonald-Burkman’s court in Louisville. The underlying case (not relevant to the order) involved a death case. Plaintiff died at the ER after waiting hours and hours to be seen. Defense verdict returned. Larry Franklin and Brian Brownfield tried it jointly – as there were multiple estates (the estate, the kids and the husband who died too a few years later), the plaintiff had two lawyers at trial. Two openings. Examinations. Closings. McMasters Keith Butler defend.
Plaintiffs moved for a new trial and cited error by McDonald-Burkman in allowing the plaintiff seven peremptory strikes. The hospital got six. Plaintiff argued as two plaintiffs (the separate estates were antagonistic), plaintiffs should have had two sets of four strikes for a total of eight. Hospital said weren’t antagonistic at all and each should have had four.
McDonald-Burkman concluded her originally allotment of strikes was error. She explained the plaintiffs were not antagonistic (as she had earlier believed) and that it was improper and unfair to give the plaintiff seven strikes and the hospital just six. The remedy for this injustice to the hospital? A new trial was ordered.
As expected, the hospital which won at trial, did not think it needed a new trial. It has since moved to set aside the order and indicated the hospital was more than willing to waive the remedies provided for by the trial error.
This case reminds me of a scene from Monty Python and The Holy Grail where Sir Lancelot rescues Sir Galahad from the perilous peril of the women at Castle Anthrax. Judge McDonald-Burkman is Lancelot, explaining to the hospital (Gallahad) that the peril is far too perilous. The hospital by contrast believes the peril (having won a jury trial) is manageable.
From the scene in the movie.
[Substitute McDonald-Burkman for Lancelot and
University Hospital for Galahad]
LANCELOT: We were
in the nick of time. You were in great peril.
GALAHAD: I don't think I was.
LANCELOT: Yes, you were. You were in terrible peril.
GALAHAD: Look, let me go back in there and face the
peril.
LANCELOT: No, it's too perilous.
GALAHAD: Look, it's my duty as a knight to sample as
much peril as I can.
LANCELOT: No, we've got to find the Holy Grail. Come
on!
GALAHAD: Oh, let me have just a little bit of peril?
LANCELOT: No. It's unhealthy.
Alright then. Go read the order.
Judge McDonald-Burkman’s
New Trial Order
***10-21-13 – Evaluating an excess $4.7 million med mal verdict from Murray,
KY today, excess meaning . . . it exceeds the defendant’s insurance limits.
Paul Casi tried it. Scott Whonsetler
defended.
What’s a medical defendant do when facing this peril? The verdict is the
attachment.
The Perkins v. Burnett Excess $4.7
million verdict form from Murray, KY
***10-15-2013 – The final fifth part of the Ky. AG documents investigating Eric Conn’s illegal sham campaign donations to Justice Will Scott. These documents include a summary of Scott’s first meeting with an investigator on 3-23-12. Within a few days of that meeting, Scott returned Conn’s $1,000 donation.
The Eric Conn Sham Donation to Will Scott
Investigation – Part Five
***10-15-2013 – The fourth part features a list of petty cash paid out of
Eric Conn’s slush fund. His office
manager was told not to keep a record of it. She did so anyway.
This part also features Justice Scott’s letter returning the phony donations –
it notes he needs a personal check. He also invites the phony donors to attend
an upcoming fundraising event. As we previously learned, the scheme died at
this point as only two of the 10 phony donors even had checking accounts.
The Eric Conn Sham Donation to Will Scott Investigation – Part Four
***10-14-2013 – We’ve now posted the third set of Ky. AG documents from the Eric Conn investigation. This one features a report on the interview of Kia Hampton – she’s a former Miss Kentucky who worked for Conn – paid $70,000 a year, plus she got a car and use of Conn’s guest house.
Kia went to the Betsy Layne post office and bought the 10 $1,000 money
orders for Justice Scott’s campaign.
This is after Justice Scott came to Conn’s law office/trailer and
dropped off envelopes for the donations. These documents also include the
Justice’s e-mail to Kia where he famously advises her, “I’m just Will T.”
Part Three also includes a summary of the AG interview of Conn’s former office
manager. She explains the scheme fell apart after Scott sent the money orders
back with instructions to send personal checks and attend a fundraiser. How so? Only 2 of the 10 sham contributors to
Scott’s campaign had their own checking accounts!
And the kicker from Part Three. The investigation indicates the phony donation scheme was first hatched moments after Conn and Justice Scott met privately in Conn’s office at his trailer park. Conn isn’t talking. Scott says he knew nothing about the scheme. But it is curious the scheme is first discussed after that private meeting.
The Eric Conn Sham Donation to Will Scott Investigation – Part Three
***10-14-2013 – The second part (there are five in all) of the Ky. Attorney General report into Eric Conn’s sham donation to Justice Will Scott. In part two we get to the AG interviews. Noteworthy is attorney David Hicks who worked in Conn’s office. Hicks decided not to participate in the scheme (it was illegal) not because it was illegal but because it was “just too much trouble.” I hope members of the Ky. Bar don’t commit felonies for better reasons than it’s “too much trouble.”
Hicks does indicate Justice Scott would take the sham donations. Just so long as they came by personal check and not by money order. [Scott had returned the money orders by certified mail with a letter inviting the donor of the sham campaign donation to write a check and attend a fundraiser.] And does Hicks have an ethical problem? He admitted to AG investigators that he made a sham donation. That is a felony in the Commonwealth.
Also note Pamela Marple of Chadbourne & Park (NYC and D.C.) was shepherding the AG Conn employee interviews at Conn’s law office/trailer park.
Three more parts to come.
The Eric Conn Sham Donation to Will Scott
Investigation – Part Two
The Eric Conn Sham Donation to Will Scott Investigation –
Part One
***10-14-2013 – We’ve got the Ky. Attorney General investigation on Eric Conn’s sham campaign donation to Ky Supreme Court Justice Will Scott. It’s coming today in five parts. The first part of the report summarizes Conn’s plea deal. He pled in lieu of indictment to a misdemeanor, namely, the criminal attempt to make an unlawful campaign donation. Making the actual donation would have been a felony. Conn’s deal from the AG provided for a 12 month sentence probated for two years. A slap on the wrist really for pretty clear criminality – Conn did make an illegal sham donation. In fact . . . he made ten of them to Justice Scott. The first part of this report also includes a summary of a detective’s interview of Justice Scott.
The first question: Why was Conn allowed to plea to a misdemeanor instead of a felony? He didn’t cooperate with the investigation. He didn’t speak to the AG at any point. And as the documents will reveal (they are coming), Conn had a secret meeting with Justice Scott at Conn’s law office/trailer park. Conn hasn’t told his side of that meeting. Get your popcorn and get to reading. More to come.
The Eric Conn Sham Donation to Will Scott Investigation – Part One
***10-4-2013 – The October 2013 Kentucky issue has been published. Subscribers read the full issue. And this is a good one. Take a look at the preview. Not subscribing? Really? Call us at 1-866-228-2447 or use the order form in the preview.
Bonus – We’ve also included previews
from two others states. Go read some verdicts. There’s
some good ones.
Mississippi October 2013 Preview
***9-23-2013 – A circuit court judge in Louisville (Susan Shilts Gibson) has ruled in an order entered today that a same sex spouse may be compelled to testify against their spouse in a murder trial. Couple originally entered a civil union in Vermont. Gibson she offers no opinion on propriety of same sex marriage, but explains Kentucky is “abundantly clear” it is not to be recognized.
Go read the opinion.
“The Same Sex Spouse Must Testify” Ruling
***9-13-2013 – Breaking today. A $52 million dollar products liability verdict in a failed booster seat case was returned yesterday in Jackson, MS. We’ve got the pre-trial order. Go read it.
The Pre-Trial Order in Thrailkill v. Dorel
***9-5-2013 – The September 2013 issue is coming soon. It is a good one. $818K Trigg County med mal. $210K premises verdict in Lexington with no pain and suffering. Fascinating will contest/wrongful death case from Bourbon County, a lawyer alleging his stepmother poisoned his father. Prison med mal from Bowling Green. Cardiology med mal from Mercer County. And how about a malaria medication error from Elizabethtown? It’s all in there. Here’s the table of contents from the issue.
September 2013 Table of Contents
***8-20-13 – In a fascinating medical malpractice case from Jackson, MS, the jury received the wrong jury instructions. Why? The plaintiff’s lawyer walked out of the courthouse with them. A bailiff just picked up a set of instructions on the judge’s desk (they were the instructions tendered by the defendant). The jury then returned a defense verdict. The plaintiff moved for a mistrial. The court’s remedy? A new trial was ordered . . .the new trial having been occasioned by the conduct of the plaintiff’s own lawyer. That’s pretty good stuff. Go read the judge’s order.
The Judge’s New Trial Order in Jackson, MS
***8-15-2013 – In the August 2013 issue we wrote about a $6.1 million death
verdict in Catlettsburg, KY (Boyd County – Willis v. Short). Kind of a strange
verdict, the plaintiff taking damages in a category called negligent retention.
Odd. Defense moved for a new trial and argued
everything including the kitchen sink. Motion denied.
See the trilogy of documents for the details. First is our original verdict
story. Next is the plaintiff’s reply to the motion for a new trial. And then
there is the court’s order. Go read’em people!
Plaintiff reply to the Motion for a New Trial
The Order Denying the Motion for a New Trial
***8-7-2013 – Just for fun we’ve posted some complete issues from a few other states. If you’ve never read the Tennessee Jury Verdict Reporter or the Alabama one for that matter, today is your day. Give’em a look. The complete August 2013 issues. We even threw in the Louisiana issue (including the case of the trial judge injured by a flying gas pump in Baton Rouge).
***8-6-2013 – Two updates today at the KTCR. The first is the order form for the reprinted Classic Closing Arguments That Win. First published in 1999, it is still considered the best thing we’ve ever written. Check out the order form and all the details. Get your copy.
Also today we have a preview of the August 2013 issue including the full report on the $6.152 million infant med mal verdict in Catlettsburg. You want to read this one. Lots of litigation twists and turns. Go to the links.
Classic Closing Arguments Order Form – Print it and send it in or call us at 1-866-228-2447
The August 2013 Preview with the entire Boyd County $6.152 million med mal
***7-31-2013 – Back in mid-April a Louisville jury awarded $7.2 million in a cochlear implant products case against Advanced Bionics. The award included $6.25 million in punitive damages. To say that Advanced Bionics is not a fan of punitive damages is an understatement. Just this week the plaintiff’s filed their response (49 pages) to the motion. We’ve got the response below and we’ve also included the original defense motion as well as the plaintiff’s trial brief.
The Plaintiff Reply to the Defense Motion (New Today)
The Defense Motion for a New Trial
***7-31-2013 – Last night a federal jury in Bowling Green rejected a death case brought by the estate of a man who died at the jail. His death was linked to the failure to treat his alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Gregory Belzley tried it. Charles English, Jr. defended the jail. Robert J. Shilts for the jail’s medical director. We’ve got the plaintiff’s trial brief and the jail’s trial brief. Go give’em a read.
***7-30-2013 – More big news. 1-800-Ask-Gary (not affiliated with Gary
Becker) has been sued for fraud by State Farm in Tampa, Florida in a 52-page
complaint. And we’ve got the complaint and the blockbuster affidavit from a
Louisville whistleblower attorney (Anthony Gadlage)
that explains the scheme as alleged by State Farm. You call 1-800-Ask-Gary to
just talk. And then you get referred to a lawyer . . .like
Winters & Yonker. Who then refers you to Gary’s
medical clinics. And everybody gets paid with no-fault
benefits. Which State Farm hates.
Read the complaint. And Gadlage’s
affidavit.
State Farm versus 1-800-Ask-Gary
The Anthony Gadlage Whistleblower Affidavit
***7-29-2013 – This is good stuff. In a June 21, 2013 verdict, a Livingston County jury rejected the case of a deceased teen (and his injured passenger) in a trucking case where the teen vehicle encroached the lane of the trucker. William McGee, Jr. represented the teen that died. Len Ogden, Jr. had the surviving passenger.
Following the defense verdict, McGee moved for a new trial for the estate and alleged Ogden’s representation of the co-plaintiff (who had only a minor injury) was so bad as to prejudice the death case. Ogden has replied and he’s not too happy with McGee’s motion. The motions are pending. Read them both and the original verdict report.
The Original Verdict Report – Crouch et al v. Cole Lumber
The Motion for a New Trial Alleging Ogden Is Ineffective
***7-12-2013 - $338,000 defamation verdict in the case of the chaste Bengals cheerleader (Sarah Jones) who was defamed by an internet post that said she slept with Bengals football players and who later pled to sex crimes in a minor. That’s just awesome. We’ve got the jury instructions and verdict. Go read it.
The Sarah Jones versus The Dirty verdict
***7-11-2013 – The defamation case of Sarah Jones v. TheDirty.Com goes to a federal jury today in Covington. Former Bengals cheerleader and high school teacher alleged she was defamed by the website. [The chaste cheerleader later pled to felony sexual misconduct involving an underage student.] But defamation is defamation right. We’ll be looking for a verdict today.
But while we wait on the verdict, the KTCR has the transcript of the closing
arguments from the first trial. [It was mistried in
January of 2013!] Eric Deters for Jones. Alexander Ward of Huddleston Bolen for
The Dirty. Deters picks up his closing at page 69.
Ward starts at page 82. Also note that Ward is not involved in the defense of
the second trial.]
Jones versus the Dirty closing arguments
***7-
***7-11-2013 – The sample from the Expert Encyclopedia – 2nd Edition (first published in March 2011 is now on sale). Regular price was $245.00. Working on the third edition right now. Get the 2nd Edition in PDF format for $150.00. Call us at 1-866-228-2447 to get a copy lickety-split. See the sample for more details.
The Expert Encyclopedia – 2nd Edition (Sample)
***7-5-2013 – I hope everyone enjoyed Independence Day. Today we’ve got a preview of the July 2013 issue of the Kentucky Trial Court Review. PDF subscribers will read the full issue (it’s a good one) on Monday
***6-26-2013 – Defense of Marriage Act struck down today in U.S. v. Windsor. Read the whole opinion here.
***6-11-2013 – Arbitration is pretty tough in nursing home cases right? We’ve got an opinion from an arbiter (Brian House, London, KY) where the plaintiff was awarded $463,470 in damages. That included $225,000 in punitive damages against Kindred Hospital. Plaintiff suffered an oxygen deprivation event and blamed it on negligence by nursing home employees. There was also proof the nursing home was understaffed. Jeffrey Sampson (Louisville) and Brent Moss (Reddick Moss – Little Rock) for the plaintiff. Paul Dzentis and Emily Newman of Reminger defending.
***6-9-2013 – Last week a Cincinnati jury awarded a fired Catholic school teacher $171,000 in a federal case. She had been fired after she became pregnant by artificial insemination. The Archdiocese argued she had broken her employment contract, artificial insemination violating its policies. Plaintiff alleged pregnancy discrimination. A key issue in the case concerned whether a ministerial exception applied, i.e., was the plaintiff, a non-Catholic computer science teacher a minister of the Catholic faith? The trial court said no. Read the opinion and compare it to the recent Supreme Court opinion on the subject
***6-7-2013 – Rumors circulating that the low LBA rating of Judge Olu Stevens was the result of an orchestrated effort at the
Public Defender’s office. Why? It is linked to his handling of the Commonwealth v. Rawls murder trial last
fall. Here is the PD’s motion for Stevens to recuse. And the
court’s order denying that motion.
And it was these events, this obvious hostility, that
purportedly led the PDs to ding Stevens in the judicial ratings. A present
public defender (Krsna Tibbs)
has publicly called the rumors wild as he has talked to everyone at the PD’s
office and no one knows anything.
We’ll see. To the documents:
Judge Stevens Order denying that motion
***6-2-2013 – The Mary Banker verdict involving U of L Athletics from 2010. This is our original report. Why is it important? Everyone is talking about neophyte Rutgers AD Julie Hermann who ascended to that position after her tenure at U of L. This is our original verdict report about the trial. It doesn’t mention Hermann but she is likely one of the school bigwigs.
The Mary Banker Verdict Report
***5-31-2013 – Advanced Bionics has submitted its memorandum in support of
the motion for a new trial in the $7.2 million dollar cochlear implant case.
We’ve got it. At 47 pages, it’s a beauty. Everything is in there. Lots of talk
about how punitive damages (there were $6,000,000 in this case) are not a good
idea. You want to read it. Go!
Advanced Bionics Memorandum in Support of the Motion for a New Trial
***5-31-2103 – The June 2013 preview is out today. Full issue to subscribers next week. There’s some good verdicts this month.
***5-23-2013 – There was a verdict yesterday in the Hinkle v. Ford roll-over Mercury Mountaineer case in Lexington, KY. Deliberating 2 ½ hours Ford prevailed in this case that implicated the vehicle’s stability. Click for the verdict itself (5 pages) and also Ford’s trial brief. Donald Slavik and William Shapiro from San Diego tried it. Kevin Hoskins from Dressman Benzinger LaVelle was the local counsel. Ford defended with Huie Fernambucq out of Birmingham. Thad Keal was the local counsel.
***5-21-2013 – Updating Granacher Gone Wild 2: The Reckoning. Mystery and Intrigue today.
We reported a few days ago (the second post down on 5-17-2013) that the plaintiff in the underlying case was going to use Granacher, who had originally been hired by the worker’s compensation carrier. We also indicated the plaintiff had hired Granacher as their own expert. In fact the plaintiff in the case never hired Granacher, simply paying him a $1,200 deposition fee and noticing his deposition. Then later in the case the plaintiff elected not to call Granacher as a witness.
There remains a bit of mystery. In the underlying case Granacher was in fact stricken as a witness by the trial judge. It is not clear upon whose motion Granacher was stricken but it wasn’t the defendant. The plaintiff says they didn’t move to strike either. Someone did.
The Thickening Mystery of the Strickening . . .
***5-20-13 – Granacher Gone Wild 2: The Reckoning is available . . .now. Here’s the description.
Granacher Gone Wild premiered several years ago. It was the definitive cross-examination of famed neuropsychiatry expert, Dr. Robert Granacher. A simple video captured from a civil jury trial, GGW was watched and studied across the nation. But that wasn’t the end of the story.
At the Kentucky Trial Court Review we have uncovered the sequel. It was hidden in a case file in Eastern Kentucky. We have an exclusive copy of the explosive Granacher Gone Wild 2: The Reckoning. While GGW was a video, the sequel is even simpler and perhaps has more utility.
The Reckoning is the deposition transcript of a brutally effective cross-examination of Granacher. It stars Granacher of course. And his nemesis, Lexington attorney Dale Golden returns to ask the questions. The transcript covers everything from GGW but includes so much more.
Some of the highlights:
Granacher is asked about whether he took a gun to an airport and why?
Were charges filed? Were they amended down? Was their community service?
The expert expands on getting paid up front especially when dealing with lawyers
That a single lawyer has paid him more than a $1,000,000 in fees.
Did Granacher testify that a sexual victim benefitted from the relationship?
Granacher even shares his views on the Kentucky Trial Court Review - Spoiler – He’s not a big fan.
The Reckoning is available in a print format only. It’s 75 pages. A quick and easy read. If Granacher is your expert or you are preparing to cross-examine, The Reckoning is essential.
Call us at 1-866-228-2447 to order. $295.00 plus tax.
***5-17-2013 – Granacher Gone Wild 2: The Reckoning became available today. It’s the Granacher deposition to have. And only we have it. $295.00. Call us at 1-866-228-2447 to get it.
And we have more details in the case the case where Granacher was deposed. Originally he was the worker’s comp expert. And became the plaintiff’s expert when worker’s comp agreed to rely on Granacher’s report only. And then the plaintiff would depose him. So Granacher could kind of double-dip. And the two opinions were opposites. Nice. The defense in the underlying tort case figured Granacher’s opinions would match the worker’s comp report. They didn’t!
The defense then moved to either strike Granacher or have him be deposed again. Court agreed. And it was that second deposition that is The Reckoning. It is a stunning cross-examination. Everything is in there. And we’ve got it.
And how was that second deposition? The plaintiff, who had originally hired Granacher, then moved to strike him. To strike their own expert. Yikes! And the court granted the motion. So to summarize. Plaintiff hired Granacher. Granacher had the deposition of his life – The Reckoning – and the plaintiff moved to strike Granacher when the defense indicated they’d call the doctor in their case-in-chief. Awesome.
See update on 5-21-2013 regarding
this post
***5-17-2013 – Advanced Bionics has finally filed its motion for a new trial in the $7.2 million cochlear implant verdict case (Sadler v. Advanced Bionics). While it is just the motion (the memorandum is still coming), it’s worth a read. And we’ve got it. At the heart of the motion: Advanced Bionics doesn’t like punitive damages very much. They were assessed at $6,000,000 in this case. And Advanced Bionics can’t pay-em anyway because they aren’t making any motion. The motion is accompanied by a company bigwig explaining the cochlear implant industry is not very profitable and liabilities exceed assets by $100,000,000!
There Ain’t No Money in Cochlear Implants Affidavit
***5-17-2013 – A multi-plaintiff (one wrongful death and two personal injury) products case against Ford ongoing in Lexington today. College students injured in a roll-over on I-64 near Frankfort. Their theory blames the crash on their Mercury Mountaineer for not having electronic stability control. Ford has defended that the vehicle was going 90 mph when it lost control. We’ve got Ford’s trial brief. Case continues this day before Judge Reeves. Hinkle v. Ford, 3:11-24.
***5-16-2013 – Big day at the Kentucky Trial Court Review. Granacher Gone Wild 2 – The Reckoning is available for sale tomorrow morning. $295.00. An epic. Call us at 1-866-228-2447.
And the May 2013 issue is on the streets. It’s good too. The Advanced Bionics verdict is in there. Take a look at the May 2013 preview. And if you’re into verdicts, check out our May 2013 previews from our sister publications: Indiana, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana.
***5-16-2013 – Granacher Gone Wild 2: The Reckoning will be available for sale starting tomorrow. It is the definitive Granacher deposition with so much more than the original GGW. The examination is by Dale Golden (also of GGW) and it explores lots of new subjects. There’s a gun involved. There’s a felony charge. It even has community service. And so much more. If you only read one Granacher deposition in 2013, make it The Reckoning.
What is The Reckoning? It is the
deposition transcript from a 2011 case in Eastern Kentucky . . . that was
hiding in a court file. We found it. And now you can have it. The full document
runs 70 pages.
Sells for $295.00. Call us at 1-866-228-2447 to order
your copy. [Ships hard copy only!]
***5-10-2013 – Advanced Bionics (on the wrong end of the $7.2 million cochlear implant verdict in Louisville) moved yesterday for an extension of time to file its post-trial briefs. Advanced Bionics cited a delay in getting the transcript and the need to prepare for a similar upcoming trial in the federal court in South Florida. Read on.
Advanced Bionics Motion for Extension to File Post-Trial Motions
***4-26-2013 – Correction – In the April 2013 issue in a case styled Perry v. M&T Financing, an $840,000 verdict for the plaintiff, we incorrectly identified Clare F. Cox, Donald L. Cox and David W. Hemminger, Lynch Cox Gilman & Mahan, Louisville as trial counsel for the defendants. The Lynch Cox counsel did not join the case until after the verdict was rendered. We regret the error. See the link for the corrected story.
Perry v. M&T Financing (Corrected)
***4-24-2013 – Updating Breanna Sadler v. Advanced Bionics $7.2 million dollar verdict from last week. AB has moved to contact jurors to help it evaluate other similar pending claims. Judge Russell denied the motion. See his order.
Judge Russell Order Denying AB Motion to Contact Jurors
***4-24-2013 – A
Mexican plaintiff driving a Ford Explorer died in a roll-over crash in Mexico –
the crash was blamed on a combination of a defective Bridgewater tire and
instability defects in the Explorer – as there was no jurisdiction over either
Ford or Bridgewater in Mexico, the case was tried in Nashville with substantive
Mexican law (particularly as related to damages) governing the case. It presented a fascinating case with very
unusual legal issues. A good read.
Ramirez v. Bridgewater & Ford Verdict Report
***4-21-2013 – Sad news in Kentucky. Brent Travelsted of Hughes & Coleman in Bowling Green died this weekend. A good man and a good trial lawyer. See the link for his most recent Travelsted verdict from the summer of 2012. It was a $283,386 result involving a case where a little boy fell out of a second-floor Ramada Inn hotel window and broke his leg. Theory implicated the window for opening at all. Brent was one of the real good ones and will be missed by many.
The Last Brent Travelsted Verdict
***4-17-2013 – We now have the actual jury verdict in the Breanna Sadler v. Advanced Bionics case. The total was $7,246,235 including $6.25 million in punitives. See the verdict:
***4-17-2013 – There was a $7.25 million products liability verdict in Louisville yesterday in federal court. It involved a failed cochlear implant in a little girl – moisture leakage led to the failure, the girl suffering several shocks. Plaintiff developed proof the manufacturer (Advanced Bionics) knew of the risk and ignored it, placing profits above safety. Jury awarded $1,000,000 in compensatory damages and $6.25 million more in punitives. Glassman Edwards from Memphis tried it with Ronald Johnson, Jr. (Ft. Wright) as local counsel. Wheeler Trigg from Denver defended – Kennedy Simpson was the local counsel.
We’ve got Judge Heyburn’s summary judgment order in the case. [Russell actually tried the case.] Discussion focuses on preemption issues. Also see the plaintiff’s trial brief.
Summary Judgment Order in Sadler v. Advanced Bionics
Sadler Trial Brief (Plaintiff)
***4-16-13 – Have you seen the preview of the April 2013 issue? It is just out this week. Are you subscribing to the KTCR – call us toll-free at 1-866-228-2447 to read all the verdicts.
***3-30-2013 – A fine Kentucky lawyer passed away early on the morning of
Good Friday. Sandra Ragland, age 72 and of Louisville, was a respected family
law practitioner. Her story was made more amazing, Sandra entering the practice
of law at age 59. She inspired others
with her message – it is never too late to follow your dreams. She was also our mother. Her obituary is at
the link.
Sandra Ragland Obituary – 1940-2013
***3-25-13 – At the Kentucky Trial Court Review, we have strongly spoken in favor of the nomination of Allison E. Jones for the Kentucky Supreme Court. An incredible biography – valedictorian at Hancock County High raised by a single mother – Magna Cum Laude at Transylvania – Ky. Law Journal at UK Law – Diverse legal career. But don’t take my word for it. Read what Professor Lawson (that Lawson) at UK said. Or Professor Graham. Or Judge Heyburn.
She’s the right choice. A Supreme Court Justice for the Commonwealth that will make us proud.
Professor Lawson’s Letter of Recommendation
Professor Graham’s Letter of Recommendation
Judge John Heyburn’s Letter of Recommendation
***3-23-13 – Have you seen the KTCR lately? Here is a preview of the March 2013 issue.
***3-15-13 – The 2012 Year in Review has been published. The Fifteenth edition summarizes virtually every civil verdict since 1998 – that represents nearly 5,000 verdicts. The 2012 book is $270.00. Call us at 1-866-228-2447 to order or use the printable order form.