Oldham County Courthouse, LaGrange, Kentucky. Built 1875. Photo from Keith Vincent, www.CourtHouseHistory.com.
The Kentucky Court of Appeals announced 14 decisions on April 24, 2015, with two (2) of their opinions designated to be published.
Click here for links to all the archived AOC Court of Appeals minutes at the web site for the Adminisrative Office of the Courts.
Click here for all of a listing of the Kentucky Court Report’s posts of the weekly COA minutes (or you can always access these within the KCR web site at the uppermost dropdown menu option for the Court of Appeals). AOC version of this week’s decisions can be accessed by clicking here.
For the complete set of this week’s minutes listed all decisions (published and not to be published) with links to the full text of each at the AOC, the continue reading below the digested summaries of this week’s published cases.
Published appellate cases for week of April 24, 2015:
315. Custody and Grandparent Visitation
Robinson vs Theele
COA Published, Opinion Vacating and Remanding; Clinton County
COMBS, JUDGE: Chip Robison appeals several orders of the Clinton Circuit Court relating to the custody of his minor children. The orders awarded custody and visitation to Pamela and Michael Theele, the maternal grandparents of the children. They also imposed sanctions on Chip. After our review, we vacate the orders and remand.
324. Family Law. Father ordered to pay high school tuition to private school
Cagata vs. Cagata
COA Pulished; Opinion Affirming; Jefferson County
J. LAMBERT, JUDGE: In this post-dissolution proceeding, Ardel Dela Calzada Cagata has appealed from the orders of the Jefferson Family Court ordering him to pay his children’s parochial high school tuition and associated costs pursuant to a settlement agreement. Finding no error, we affirm.
Tort Report – Decisions Relevant to Insurance and Accident Attorneys
This section is aimed for automobile accident and other injury lawyers, whether insurance lawyers or lawyers representing those injured from another’s negligence.
323. Settlement and Release. Enforcement of settlement and settlement amount disputed by claimant’s counsel. Trial Court entered order matching the amount of policy limits of $300,000 when claimant’s attorney purportedly relied upon an offer greater than the policy limits.
Phyllis Hundley, Personal Rep for Est. of Richard L. Poff, Jr. vs. David L. Wilson
COA Not Published, 4/17/2015; Opinion Affirming Oldham County Decision
COMBS, JUDGE: Phyllis Hundley, individually, as next friend of Nicholas Lee Poff and Kaylea Marie Poff, and as the personal administratrix of the Estate of Richard L. Poff, Jr., appeals from an order of the Oldham Circuit Court that denied her motion to compel enforcement of a settlement agreement. This case involves the estate of Hundley’s late husband, who was killed in a vehicular accident. Hundley contends that she intended to settle the claims against David Wilson for $300,000.00 and not for “the policy limits” as asserted by the insurer. After our review, we affirm.
On appeal, Hundley contends that the trial court erred by concluding that the parties were bound to an agreement that provided for the payment of the insured’s “policy limits” of $250,000.00 rather than the $300,000.00 to which she believes she is entitled. We disagree.
In its order, the court observed that “it is undisputed that the parties believed they were settling for the “policy limits.’” Opinion and Order at 3. It concluded that the “error in interpreting the phrase ‘policy limits’ to mean $300,000.00 by either party” did not render the terms of the agreement ambiguous since each of the parties was aware at the time the agreement was reached that the insured’s declarations page designated the “policy limits” as $250,000.00. Id. The court did not believe that either rescission or reformation was warranted under the circumstances.
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