Students, professors and Lexington community members gathered in the University of Kentucky’s J. David Rosenberg’s College of Law’s Grand Courtroom Wednesday, Oct. 15 to hear a series of oral arguments from the Kentucky Supreme Court.
The court’s shift from its traditional setting at the Capitol is part of an ongoing effort to educate more people about Kentucky’s judiciary, allowing people to get an up-close look at the state’s judicial process and promote civic knowledge and engagement throughout the Commonwealth.
According to a press release from the Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts, the public education initiative began in 1985 with the court traveling to Louisville to conduct proceedings. Since then, sessions have been held periodically across the state.
The court’s two-day stretch of legal proceedings, led by Chief Justice Debra Hembree Lambert, commenced at 10 a.m. with Minova USA, Inc. v. Tom Jolly (2024-SC-0169), regarding a personal injury lawsuit filed by Jolly, a truck driver who was injured and subsequently disabled. Wednesday morning’s proceeding addressed whether Minova is immune from the lawsuit under Kentucky’s “up-the-ladder” workers’ compensation statute (KRS 342.610 and 342.690).
Jolly, employed by Trimac, a third-party trucking company, was struck by a 700-pound cart at Minova’s facility. He received workers’ compensation through Trimac and later sued Minova for negligence.
According to the court brief, Jolly required multiple spinal surgeries and incurred “substantial medical expenses as a result of his injuries,” accumulating a loss of earning capacity calculated at $1.8 million.
The case traveled through the Kentucky Court of Appeals earlier this year – making its way to the state’s supreme court for discretionary review – with counselors hoping to clarify how broadly courts can apply up-the-ladder immunity.
“The purpose of the statute isn’t to expand immunity,” argued petitioner’s counselor Kevin Burke,“it’s to make sure that certain employers who would normally do their work through their own employees, and then use subcontractors, have workers’ compensation coverage.”
After an hour of arguments from Burke and respondent’s counselor Robert Stopher, Justice Lambert thanked both attorneys for their well-presented arguments and said the Justices would get them an opinion forthwith.
The remaining arguments include a proceeding discussing criminal law and police body camera footage, as well as two proceedings concerning Governor Andy Beshear, Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell, Attorney General Russell Coleman and the separation of powers. Typically, decisions are released on a month-to-month basis after oral arguments. Justia Law reports an oral argument regarding the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government v. Fraternal Order of Police took place in April of this year – its ruling was not issued until last month. It may be several more months before the court comes to a decision for Minova V. Jolly. Their decision may impact how businesses outsource core operations such as logistics or delivery.