Kentucky Court of Justice
Court of Appeals to hear arguments in Fayette appeals Feb. 8 in Frankfort

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- The Kentucky Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments Tuesday, Feb. 8, in an appeal from a former Fayette County school principal who alleged in a 2009 civil suit that the school system forced her to resign from her job. The court will also hear arguments in another civil case appeal and a criminal case appeal when it convenes Tuesday in Frankfort. Proceedings will begin at 1 p.m. EST in the Court of Appeals Courtroom at 360 Democrat Drive. Proceedings are open to the public.

Peggy Petrilli, a former principal of Booker T. Washington Academy in Lexington, is appealing the decision of a Fayette County Circuit Court jury that rejected her claims of reverse discrimination, retaliation and whistle-blowing. Among her claims, Petrilli, who is white, alleged in her lawsuit that school district officials forced her to quit to appease some school parents who wanted a black principal at Booker T. She is asking for a new civil trial based on judicial errors she said were made in the trial.

A three-judge panel comprised of Court of Appeals Judges Glenn E. Acree, James H. Lambert and Kelly Thompson will hear arguments in all of the case appeals.

FRANKFORT DOCKET

Feb. 8, 2011

1 PM     2010CA000507
               RYAN DAQUAN MUNDY v COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY      

Summary: Criminal. At issue in the appeal is that the Circuit Court denied the defendant’s motion to suppress evidence. The evidence was seized during a warrantless search pursuant to the emergency aid exception.

Fayette County judge who presided in the case – Judge Kimberly N. Bunnell      

Appellant’s attorneys: Steven Buck and Kathleen Schmidt

Appellee’s attorney: David Barr  

1:45 PM  

2009CA002202
JOAN KINCAID (ADVISORY COMM. OF THE TRUST & ESTATE OF GARVICE D. KINCAID) ET AL. v BRETT KINCAID ET AL.

2009CA002203
CENTRAL BANK & TRUST COMPANY (AS EXEC. OF THE ESTATE OF GARVICE D. KINCAID) v BRETT KINCAID ET AL.

2009CA002263
BRETT KINCAID v JOAN KINCAID (EXECUTRIX OF THE ESTATE OF JANE KINCAID)

Summary: Civil. The appellant advisory committee is appealing a summary judgment that denied the committee’s request for supplemental fees for 16 years of administering the $2.4 million estate and trust of Garvice D. Kincaid. The Circuit Court ruled that the advisory committee waived the ability to collect or charge an annual fee by operating for nearly eight years without payment or a request for an annual fee.

Judge who presided in the case – Senior Judge Gary D. Payne     

Attorneys in 2009CA002202
Appellants’ attorneys: Barry Hunter, James Park Jr. and Paul Sullivan
Appellees’ attorneys: Carl Cone, James Frazier III, Elizabeth Hughes, J. Stinetorf and John Talbot III 

The attorneys listed are also involved in 2009CA002203 and 2009CA002263. For a breakdown of who the attorneys represent in each case, you can look up the case numbers here – Court of Appeals cases.

2:30 PM     2009CA001925: PEGGY PETRILLI v CARMEN COLEMAN ET AL.
                    2009CA002050: STU SILBERMAN ET AL. v PEGGY PETRILLI

Summary: Civil. In Peggy Petrilli v Carmen Coleman et al., the appellant is appealing a judgment that denied relief for her claims of reverse discrimination, retaliation and whistle-blowing. Stu Silberman et al. v Peggy Petrilli is a cross-appeal.

Fayette County judge who presided in the case – Judge James D. Ishmael     

Attorneys for Peggy Petrilli: J. Golden and Melissa Thompson for 2009CA001925; J. Golden for 2009CA002050

Attorney for Carmen Coleman et al. and Stu Silberman et al.: John McNeill

COURT OF APPEALS PANEL

Judge Glenn E. Acree 
Judge Glenn E. Acree was elected judge for the Kentucky Court of Appeals in November 2006 to serve Division 2 of the 5th Appellate District. He was appointed to that position in August 2006 to fill a vacancy created when Judge Julia K. Tackett retired June 30, 2006.

The 5th Appellate District is comprised of Anderson, Bourbon, Boyle, Clark, Fayette, Franklin, Jessamine, Madison, Mercer, Scott and Woodford counties.

Judge Acree resides in Lexington, where he has had a solo practice since 1997. Prior to 1997, he practiced law with Stidham & Acree from 1996 to 1997; with Thomas, Stidham & Acree from 1994 to 1996; and with McBrayer, McGinnis, Leslie & Kirkland from 1985 to 1994.

Before his appointment to the Court of Appeals, Judge Acree handled litigation and appeals in the areas of criminal law, administrative law, employment discrimination, civil procedure, insurance law, domestic relations, environmental law and construction law.

Judge Acree has a bachelor’s degree and juris doctor from the University of Kentucky. He also earned a master’s degree from the University of Maryland.

Judge James H. Lambert 
Judge James H. Lambert was elected as judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals in November 2006 to serve Division 2 of the 3rd Appellate District.

Judge Lambert holds a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Kentucky University and a juris doctor from Northern Kentucky University Chase College of Law. After admission to the Kentucky Bar in 1976, he entered private practice with Lambert & Lambert of Mount Vernon. He was elected Rockcastle County attorney in November 1981 and served in that capacity for three terms. He returned to full-time private practice in 1994.

Judge Lambert also served as trial commissioner for the Rockcastle County District Court from 2002 to 2005 and as an administrative law judge for the Kentucky State Department of Corrections.

Judge Kelly Thompson
Judge Kelly Thompson was elected to the Kentucky Court of Appeals in November 2006. He represents Division 2 of the 2nd Appellate District, which is comprised of Barren, Breckinridge, Bullitt, Daviess, Grayson, Hancock, Hardin, Hart, Henderson, LaRue, Meade, Ohio, Union and Warren counties.

Judge Thompson practiced law in Bowling Green from 1974 until his election in 2006. He was the chief public advocate for the 8th Judicial District from 1976 to 1999, and he twice served on the board of directors for the Bowling Green-Warren County Bar Association. He was chief trial counsel for the Kentucky Department of Highways in Hardin County from 1972 to 1973 and served as law clerk for the Kentucky Court of Appeals from 1973 to 1974.

Judge Thompson graduated from Western Kentucky University in 1968 with a bachelor’s degree and a teaching certificate. He earned his juris doctor from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 1972. 

Judge Thompson has been admitted to practice before the U.S. Board of Claims and the U.S. Supreme Court. He has successful appellate experience in the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of Kentucky and the Kentucky Court of Appeals. He is a recipient of the Kentucky Bar Association’s Donated Legal Services Recognition Award. He has been certified as a civil trial specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, which is accredited by the American Bar Association to certify lawyers in civil, criminal and family law trial advocacy. Judge Thompson has also served as a board member for numerous civic organizations in Warren County.

Judge Thompson was born in 1948 and is a Warren County native.

Kentucky Court of 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.

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 3,600 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.