Boyce G. Clayton

The case involved a medical malpractice and wrongful death lawsuit brought by Mary Stutler, as administratrix of her husband's estate, against surgeon G.B. Reams, M.D., alleging that negligence in post-operative monitoring and tube care after a subtotal gastrectomy caused a fatal stump blowout and peritonitis. A jury in Boyd Circuit Court awarded $75,000, which the Court of Appeals affirmed. The court held that the evidence was sufficient to submit the issues of negligence and proximate cause to the jury but reversed the judgment and remanded for a new trial due to errors in permitting leading questions to the defendant's expert witnesses during the plaintiff's case-in-chief, an improper admonition barring counsel from conferring with his own witness, and flaws in the jury instructions regarding recoverable damages such as funeral expenses and pre-surgery medical costs.

torts & liabilityprocedurehealthcare

In this case, a fifteen-year-old boy was injured when his unlicensed trail bike was struck by a passing truck while he was riding on a public highway at night, with his father following behind in a truck. The boy, through his guardian, sued his father after settling with the truck driver; the trial court granted summary judgment to the father on grounds of contributory negligence and parental immunity, and the Court of Appeals affirmed the immunity ruling while reversing on contributory negligence. The Kentucky Supreme Court held that the father was not protected by parental immunity under the narrow exceptions recognized in Rigdon v. Rigdon, which cover only acts of discipline or provision of legally required necessities, because the father's conduct did not fall within those categories. The court further held that whether the boy's possible contributory negligence was a proximate cause of the injury presented a factual question for the jury rather than a basis for summary judgment. The case was remanded for further proceedings.

family lawtorts & liability

This case involved an appeal from a Breathitt Circuit Court decree dissolving the marriage of Ovia James Hollon and Thelma Watkins Hollon, dividing their marital property, and awarding maintenance to the wife. The Kentucky Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals and vacated the trial court's rulings on property division and maintenance, remanding for further proceedings. The core reasoning was that the trial judge failed to make specific findings of fact separating non-marital from marital property, dividing the latter in just proportions under KRS 403.190 after considering required factors, or adequately addressing the standards for maintenance under KRS 403.200, and that the statutory requirements overrode the usual rule barring relief when parties did not request more detailed findings.

family lawprocedure

The case involved Brian Douglas Schaefer's conviction for bribing a witness under KRS 524.020, based on his payment of $500 to a detective during a meeting about a client's narcotics case. The Kentucky Supreme Court reversed the conviction and remanded for a new trial. The court held that the prosecution's repeated references to a suppressed tape recording of the meeting, despite the trial court's order, constituted prejudicial error that could have improperly influenced the jury's assessment of the conflicting accounts of bribery versus extortion. It also ruled that the admission of irrelevant expert testimony about typical cocaine dosages and quantities was prejudicial error, as it allowed the jury to draw improper inferences unrelated to the bribery charge. The court rejected claims regarding peremptory challenges and the applicability of an extortion defense under the specific bribery statute at issue.

criminal lawprocedure

In Seay v. Commonwealth, the appellant was convicted of multiple counts of robbery, rape, kidnapping, burglary, and sexual abuse arising from two separate armed incidents in June 1978 at an apartment complex, resulting in a total sentence of 261 years. On appeal, the court rejected arguments that evidence was insufficient for one rape count, that the indictments should have been severed for separate trials, that the prosecutor made improper closing remarks, and that cumulative errors denied due process, finding the evidence overwhelming and no prejudice from the rulings. The court did reverse one kidnapping conviction (of Charles Hilton) under the exemption in KRS 509.050 because the restraint was incidental to the robbery, while upholding the others as exceeding ordinary incidental interference.

criminal lawprocedure

This case concerned whether the bulk transfer provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code applied to the sale of assets of a restaurant-bar business, which would have allowed certain creditors to pursue the sellers for an unpaid judgment. The Kentucky Supreme Court held that the UCC bulk transfer rules did not apply to the transaction. As a result, the creditors' action was barred by the six-month statute of limitations. The court reasoned that Article VI of the UCC is designed to protect creditors of businesses whose principal activity is the sale of merchandise from inventory, but a restaurant's main business involves providing services rather than selling goods from stock, consistent with UCC comments and decisions in other states.

business & regulatory