By Kyle Roby, Partner
English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLP
Kyle Roby
A recent Kentucky Supreme Court case addressed the issue of PIP or BRB payments, which are also called no-fault payments. This is part of a class action lawsuit against insurance giant GEICO. The company denied PIP benefits based on a doctor reviewing medical records and not examining the individual. This is known as a peer review of medical records by an out-of-state doctor.
This procedure is not found in the Kentucky Motor Vehicle Reparations Act (MVRA). The plaintiffs argued that this procedure should not have been used as a standard for denying benefits and the Kentucky Supreme Court agreed. In fact, the Kentucky Supreme Court compared the arguments made by the attorneys and the trial court to coon dogs leading a hunter in the wrong direction or as the old saying goes “they were barking up the wrong tree.”
The case is Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO) vs. Jordan Sanders and Anita Houchens (individually and as class representatives). The court handed down the ruling on November 1, and ordered that the ruling was to be published, which means it can be used as a standard in future cases. Read More
By Brett Reynolds, Partner
English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLP
Brett Reynolds
Everyone has gotten scam calls and emails. The scammers are getting smarter and more sophisticated, and they’re now targeting law firms and other businesses with well-planned attempts to get money.
The scams have enough legitimacy that they sound like they could be real business transactions. In fact, our own firm was hit with an attempt a few weeks ago that we wanted to tell you about so you can see how these type of scams work, and how you can avoid getting taken.
I was contacted by a local real estate developer who owned several apartment complexes. A buyer in China wanted to buy the properties, and he needed someone to hold earnest money in escrow and assist with any legal details that might arise before he could come to the United States. I agreed to do so. This is fairly standard and something we’ve done in countless deals for clients previously. It didn’t raise any alarms for us that the buyer was overseas. This is quite common. Bowling Green is a fairly diverse city with lots of foreign nationals living and working in our community, and we’re better for it. Read More
By Aaron Smith, Partner
English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling this week that municipalities need to carefully consider in their hiring and firing practices.
The ruling indicates that local and state governments are required to abide by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, which has been in place since 1967. The law was amended in 1974 to specify that it applies to public entities as well. Read More
