Kentucky Supreme Court, 1985

The court held that Evans’s allegations did not state a claim for common-law wrongful discharge. The exception to at-will employment requires a clearly defined public policy grounded in constitutional or statutory law, and the employment-related claims here either had a remedy supplied by statute or did not constrain…

The court held that a jury's percentage apportionment of liability remains effective when one joint tortfeasor is later dismissed on a statute-of-limitations ground. Because the jury assigned Prudential 50 percent of the fault and Carney 50 percent, Prudential could be required to pay only its apportioned share rather…

The court reversed the Court of Appeals and reinstated the circuit court judgment upholding the Board’s denial of permanent disability benefits. It held that the Court of Appeals used the wrong standard of review and improperly substituted its assessment of the evidence for the Board’s; the evidence did not compel a…

The Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals’ reversal of summary judgment for Paintsville Hospital. It held that ostensible agency is a viable basis for hospital liability when an emergency-room physician is supplied through the hospital, and that the circumstances could support an inference of public…