Kentucky Court of Justice
Court of Appeals to hear arguments about instant racing, Medicare and Medicaid fraud and oil/gas leases April 25-26 in Frankfort
FRANKFORT, Ky. -- The Kentucky Court of Appeals will hear challenges to court rulings about instant horse racing and fraud cases involving Medicare, Medicaid and oil/gas leases when it convenes Wednesday and Thursday, April 25-26, at the Court of Appeals in Frankfort. Proceedings are open to the public and will take place in the Court of Appeals Courtroom at 360 Democrat Drive.
A three-judge panel comprised of Court of Appeals Judges Sara Walter Combs and Janet L. Stumbo and Senior Judge Joseph E. Lambert will hear arguments in the instant racing case at 1 p.m. EDT Wednesday. Judges Combs and Lambert and Court of Appeals Judge Joy A. Moore will hear arguments in the other appeals.
Nearly all cases heard by the Kentucky Court of Appeals come to it on appeal from a lower court. If a case is tried in Circuit Court or District Court and the losing parties involved are not satisfied with the outcome, they may ask for a higher court to review the correctness of the trial court’s decision. Some cases, such as criminal case acquittals and divorces, may not be appealed. In a divorce case, however, child custody and property rights decisions may be appealed. Cases are not retried in the Court of Appeals. Only the record of the original court trial is reviewed, with attorneys presenting the legal issues to the court for a decision.
Fourteen judges, two elected from seven appellate court districts, serve on the Court of Appeals. The judges are divided into panels of three to review and decide cases, with the majority determining the decision. The panels do not sit permanently in one location, but travel throughout the state to hear cases.
FRANKFORT DOCKET (All times EDT)
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 2012
1 PM
2011-CA-000164
THE FAMILY TRUST FOUNDATION OF KENTUCKY, INC. v THE KENTUCKY HORSE RACING COMMISSION ET AL.
Summary: Civil. Judge Combs will preside. The primary issue in this appeal is justiciability/whether a court may provide an advisory opinion of an Executive Branch action in rendering draft regulations in conflict with the violation of pertinent statutes passed by the legislature. The appellant claims that it was deprived of adequate opportunity to develop discovery in the case as a result of a court order. The case also involves a revenue issue. The other appellees in the case are Appalachian Racing, Churchill Downs, the Keeneland Association and the Kentucky Department of Revenue. To see more information on a case, input the case number on the Court of Appeals cases page.
Franklin County judge who presided in the case – Thomas D. Wingate
Appellant’s attorney: Stanton Cave
Appellees’ attorneys: Peter Ervin et al.
2 PM
2010-CA-000626
SANDOZ INC. v COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY (EX REL. JACK CONWAY, ATTORNEY GENERAL)
2011-CA-000225
ASTRAZENECA, LP ET AL. v COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY (EX REL. JACK CONWAY, ATTORNEY GENERAL)
Summary: Civil. Judge Lambert will preside. Pharmaceutical companies are appealing a jury’s verdict on the attorney general’s claims under the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act and Medicare fraud statute. At issue is sufficient evidence of fraud, cause of damages, standing, application of Medicare fraud statute to pharmaceutical companies, federal preemption, separation of powers/justiciability and a new trial. To see more information on a case, input the case number on the Court of Appeals cases page.
Judge who presided in the case – Senior Judge Roger L. Crittenden
Attorneys representing Sandoz: Joseph Angland et al.
Attorneys representing Astrazeneca: Margaret E. Keane et al.
Attorneys representing the Commonwealth of Kentucky: Jack Conway et al.
THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 2012
10:15 AM
2010-CA-001484
COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY v ERIC GRIDER
Summary: Criminal. Judge Moore will preside. This appeal is from a mistrial and a dismissal of an indictment in an alleged Medicaid fraud scheme. Issues include whether a retrial is barred and whether the trial court had the authority to dismiss the indictment. The Kentucky Board of Pharmacy has filed a friend of the court brief (an amicus curiae brief) in the case. A friend of the court is a person or organization that is not a party to a case but volunteers to offer information to assist a court in deciding a matter before it. To see more information on a case, input the case number on the Court of Appeals cases page.
Franklin County judge who presided in the case – Judge Phillip J. Shepherd
Appellant’s attorney: Micah Roberts
Appellee’s attorneys: Joel Smith and J. Wicker
11 AM
2011-CA-000744
PAL OIL COMPANY, LLC ET AL. v UNITED AMERICAN ENERGY, LLC
2011-CA-001120
ARROWHEAD ENTERPRISES OF KENTUCKY, INC. ET AL. v UNITED AMERICAN ENERGY, LLC
Summary: Civil. Judge Moore will preside. These appeals are from a bench trial in a case involving the purchase and sale of oil and gas leases. At issue is the trial court’s finding of fraud. Other issues include whether fraud was properly pleaded, whether there was a mutual mistake in the lease and whether subject-matter jurisdiction existed. Reasonableness of fees and costs is also part of the appeals. To see more information on a case, input the case number on the Court of Appeals cases page.
Fayette County judge who presided in the case – Judge Ernesto Scorsone
Attorneys representing PAL Oil: Patterson Decamp et al.
Attorneys representing United American Energy: Lynsie Gaddis et al.
Attorneys representing Arrowhead Enterprises: M. Mehr et al.
Senior Judge Joseph E. Lambert
Judge Joseph E. Lambert is a senior judge assigned to the Court of Appeals and is chief judge of Kentucky’s Senior Judges Program. He became a senior judge after retiring June 27, 2008, as chief justice of the Supreme Court of Kentucky.
Judge Lambert served 22 years as a Supreme Court justice and 10 years as chief justice. He was first elected to the Supreme Court in 1986 from the 27 southeastern Kentucky counties of the 3rd Supreme Court District. He was subsequently re-elected in 1994 and 2002. He became Kentucky’s fourth chief justice in October 1998 by a vote of his fellow justices and was re-elected to two additional four-year terms as chief justice in 2002 and in 2006.
During Judge Lambert’s 10-year tenure as chief justice, the Kentucky Court of Justice made great strides in Family Court, judicial facilities, court technology, Drug Court, judicial education, pretrial services and diversity awareness. In the last decade, Kentucky has earned a national reputation for Family Court, court facilities improvement, Drug Court and many other cutting-edge initiatives.
As a justice of the Supreme Court, Judge Lambert authored more than 400 published opinions of the Court and scores of dissenting and concurring opinions. In addition, he authored more than 500 memorandum opinions. He has been a frequent lecturer at bar conferences and has authored articles for publication in scholarly journals and the Kentucky Bar Association’s Bench and Bar magazine. He has also participated in numerous national legal education events as an invited speaker or panelist. As chief justice, he was an active member of the national Conference of Chief Justices and was elected to serve on its board of directors.
In 2000, the Kentucky Bar Association named him Outstanding Judge of Kentucky. He is a former board member of the Conference of Chief Justices and a former regent of Eastern Kentucky University. He serves as board chair of the Kentucky Judicial Form Retirement Plan.
The Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy gave Judge Lambert its Public Service Award in 2006. In 2004, he received the Civil Rights Award from both the Northern Kentucky NAACP and the Lexington NAACP for his commitment to eliminating discrimination. In 2003, he was awarded the Kentucky Bar Association President’s Special Service Award. He was given the Kentucky Public Advocate Award in 2001. In 2000, the National Association of Drug Court Professionals gave him its Leadership Award.
In October 2007, U.S. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. appointed Chief Justice Lambert to membership on the Committee on Federal-State Jurisdiction of the Judicial Conference of the United States.
He holds a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown (Ky.) College and a juris doctor from the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, which gave him its Distinguished Alumni Award. He has received honorary doctor of laws degrees from Georgetown College, Eastern Kentucky University and Northern Kentucky University Chase College of Law.
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Administrative Office of the Courts
The Administrative Office of the Courts in Frankfort is the operations arm for the state court system. The AOC supports the activities of nearly 3,300 court system employees and 403 elected justices, judges and circuit court clerks. As the fiscal agent for the state court system, the AOC executes the Judicial Branch budget.