FRANKFORT, Ky., Sept. 16, 2021 – The Supreme Court of Kentucky will hear oral arguments Sept. 22-23 in cases on appeal from Fayette, Jefferson and Woodford counties. Proceedings will take place in the Supreme Court Courtroom on the second floor of the state Capitol in Frankfort.
A livestream will be available for watching arguments online. To watch proceedings later, click here.
The Supreme Court is the state court of last resort and the final interpreter of Kentucky law. Seven justices sit on the Supreme Court and all seven justices rule on appeals that come before the court. The justices are elected from seven appellate districts and serve eight-year terms. A chief justice, chosen for a four-year term by fellow justices, is the administrative head of the state’s court system and is responsible for its operation. The Supreme Court may order a ruling or opinion to be published, which means that the ruling becomes the case law governing all similar cases in the future in Kentucky.
Oral Arguments
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 22, 2021
10 a.m. ET
2020-SC-0431-DG
CITY OF VERSAILLES, ET AL. V. SHIRLEY JANE JOHNSON
Torts. Duties of Cemetery Owners. Issues presented include whether ownership of a cemetery plot suffices to create perpetual ongoing mutuality of benefit, with the accompanying duties owed by cemetery owners to invitees rather than to licensees.
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Discretionary Review Granted: 3/17/21
Woodford Circuit Court, Judge Brian Privett
Counsel for Appellants: Victoria F. Dickson, Jonathan L. Gay & Erica K. Mack
Counsel for Appellee: Ryan E. Singleton
Counsel for Amicus Curiae: Stephen A. Brooks
11 a.m. ET
2019-SC-0651-DG
FREDERICK JONES V. COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY
KRS 431.073. Poor Persons. KRS 453.190. Issues presented include whether circuit courts may waive the fees required to obtain a felony expungement when the defendant qualifies as a poor person who is entitled to proceed without payment of costs and fees.
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Discretionary Review Granted: 9/16/2020
Jefferson Circuit Court, Judge Audra J. Eckerle
Counsel for Appellant: S. Stewart Pope, John Young, Cassandra F. Kennedy, Michael P. Abate & Cassie Chambers Armstrong
Counsel for Appellee: Robert Baldridge
Counsel for Amicus Curiae: Kurt X. Metzmeier, Todd Lewis & Angela Rea
THURSDAY, SEPT. 23, 2021
10 a.m. ET
2019-SC-0477-DG
KENTUCKY UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE COMMISSION V. MICHAEL NICHOLS AND NORTON HEALTHCARE, INC.
Administrative Law. Unemployment Compensation. Ky. Const. § 116. Unauthorized Practice of Law. Issues presented involve the constitutionality of KRS 341.470(3), permitting non-lawyer representatives to appear on behalf of corporate or partnership employers before a referee or the commission in unemployment compensation proceedings.
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Discretionary Review Granted: 7/1/2020
Jefferson Circuit Court, Judge Audra J. Eckerle
Counsel for Appellant: Amy D. Cubbage, Sam Flynn, John Ghaelian, Maria Russell & Linda Keeton
Counsel for Appellees: Donna King Perry, Jeremy S. Rogers, Alina Klimkina, Robyn Smith & J. Gregory Troutman
Counsel for Amicus Curiae: Jay Ingle, Heather Becker, Victor Maddox, Timothy D. Thompson & Brad Hinshelwood
Lambert, Nickell, JJ., not sitting. Special Justices Jeffery Edwards and Frederick A. Higdon sitting.
11 a.m. ET
2019-SC-0192-DG
INDEPENDENCE BANK C/O PAUL BRADFORD AND MICHAEL BURNS, AS LIMITED GUARDIAN AND LIMITED CONSERVATOR OF ANTHONY W. NOEL V. TREVOR WELCH, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS AN EMPLOYEE, SERVANT, AND/OR AGENT OF LEXINGTON FAYETTE URBAN COUNTY GOVERNMENT AND/OR LEXINGTON FAYETTE URBAN COUNTY GOVERNMENT DIVISION OF POLICE, ET AL.
Sovereign Immunity. Waiver. Insurance. Retained Limits. KRS 67.180. Issues presented include whether a governmental entity that purchases a retained limits policy is obligated to incur the costs of defense of claims made under that policy, when no duty to defend exists under that policy, and whether such cost is one which a sovereign immunity defense seeks to avoid.
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Discretionary Review Granted: 8/21/19
Fayette Circuit Court, Judge Kimberly N. Bunnell
Counsel for Appellants: Sandra M. Varellas & D. Todd Varellas
Counsel for Appellees: Jason S. Morgan & Kathryn C. Eckert
Counsel for Amicus Curiae: Kevin C. Burke
Nickell, J., not sitting.
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