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SPECIAL REPORT: "What Are My Rights? A Special Report on Employee Rights in Kentucky" Lyman Powell vs. Hartford Life Insurance Company, United States District Court, Bowling Green, Kentucky -- Mr. Powell was disabled and could not work and received disability insurance benefits through a policy from Hartford Life available through his employment. Hartford brought in a medical consultant whose opinion was used as justification to terminate his benefits. Suit was filed in federal district court to get those benefits reinstated. We also sought to discredit the consultant's opinion by showing their bias for and close relationship with Hartford Life and therefore sought leave to take discovery on this issue. Although discovery in an ERISA case is very rare and unusual, the court ruled that we were entitled to take the discovery and get the information regarding the consultant. Motion for Leave to Take Discovery Reply Memorandum In Support of Motion for Leave to Take Discovery American Association for Justice Reports on the Insurance Industry: Tricks of the Trade: How Insurance Companies Deny, Delay, Confuse and Refuse (November 2008) James M. Wells vs. Columbia Gas of Kentucky, Fayette Circuit Court -- Mr. Wells had worked as a service man for the gas company for nearly 40 years. As he neared retirement and amidst a company effort to reduce the age of its workforce, he was fired based on an alleged charge of sexual harassment that at trial was shown to have never been made. After we fought off the gas company's attempt to get the case thrown out on summary judgment and to keep nearly all our evidence out, the jury returned a verdict awarding Mr. Wells his lost pay, compensatory damages and punitive damages. The court later made an award of attorneys fees as well. We fought off post-trial motions to overturn the jury's verdict, prevailed on appeal before the Kentucky Court of Appeals and then persuaded the Kentucky Supreme Court to decline review and end the case. Complaint and Amended Complaint Memorandum In Opposition to Columbia Gas's Summary Judgment Motion
Memorandum In Opposition to Columbia Gas's
Motion for Judgment Memorandum In Opposition to Columbia Gas's Motion for New Trial Memorandum In Support of Motion for Attorney's Fees Brief to the Kentucky Court of Appeals Court of Appeals Opinion Upholding Jury Verdict Memorandum Opposing Review by Kentucky Supreme Court Amy Herrington v. Baptist Healthcare Systems, Inc., et al, Fayette Circuit Court, U.S. District Court - Lexington -- a very talented and intelligent nurse served on occasion, in addition to her job as a nurse, as an expert witness in cases where individuals had been harmed by negligent care. After she gave expert testimony in a case in another state from where she was employed, the lawyer for the hospital involved in the other case complained to her employer about her testimony. Although her employer had long known of her work as an expert witness and although it knew she was expected to give expert testimony in a few cases which were pending, it ordered here to either drop out of the cases and withhold her testimony or give up her job as a nurse. Since she could not withhold her testimony in exchange for keeping her job, she was compelled to decline her employer's demand and, as a result was fired, she filed suit in state court for wrongful discharge and in federal court alleging that she was fired in furtherance of a conspiracy to obstruct justice. The case also involved an issue of the crime-fraud exception to the attorney-client privilege. Wrongful Discharge Complaint - State Court Amended Complaint - Federal Court Plaintiff's Memo Re Crime-Fraud Exception to Attorney-Client Privilege Stephanie Bastin vs. Board of Trustees of University of Kentucky, et al, Fayette Circuit Court -- a former assistant Chief of Police and 29 year employee alleges sex discrimination and retaliation in her employment with the University of Kentucky Police Department. The case is presently in pretrial discovery. Melinda Massarone vs. Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, et al, Fayette Circuit Court -- a former Major in the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Division of Police alleged sex discrimination, retaliation, aiding and abetting discriminatory employment practices and conspiracy to perpetuate discriminatory employment practices. This case generated much attention from the press. Below are some of the most important filings.
Complaint Plaintiff's Memorandum Contra Defendants' Motion In Limine Diana Koonce v. Lexington Public Library, Fayette Circuit Court -- This case produced an important decision by the Kentucky Supreme Court, Lexington Public Library v. Clark, 90 S.W.3d 53 (Ky. 2002), regarding the attempted invocation by the opposition of the attorney-client privilege in an attempt to block us from getting answers to deposition questions. Below are pleadings filed on behalf of our client in the trial court, in the Court of Appeals, the Brief filed in the Kentucky Supreme Court and the opinion by the Kentucky Supreme Court ruling in our favor: Trial Court Memorandum Opposing Protective Order Based on Claim of Attorney-Client Privilege Brief filed in Kentucky Supreme Court Kentucky Supreme Court Opinion Jeffrey A. Isham v. ABF Freight System, Inc., et al, Fayette Circuit Court - Jeff Isham was a truckdriver and he lived in rural Washington County, Kentucky. One day in January and following an ice storm, he called into his dispatcher in Lexington to tell him that he might not be able to make it in on account of ice on the roads where he lived. The dispatcher threatened to write him up if he could not make it in. Jeff had suffered a serious work injury, the company had fought his workers compensation claim bitterly even to the point of hiring a doctor in an attempt to keep Jeff from returning to work. Of course, after Jeff returned to work, the company was on him constantly about one thing or another. When he was told that he would be written up, he threatened to hire a lawyer and take legal action if he was. As a result, an 8 year journey started with Jeff's firing and his criminal prosecution for terroristic threatening. The criminal charges went all the way to the Kentucky Supreme Court before trial, because the trial court threw the charges out. The Supreme Court ordered a trial and Jeff, in very short order, was found not guilty. Nonetheless, his civil action for wrongful termination, retaliation, malicious prosecution and abuse of process was thrown out by the trial court judge on a summary judgment. After the trial judge turned down our motion to reconsider and vacate that ruling, we appealed and Jeff's case was reinstated. The complaint, memos and briefs filed in the trial court and the Kentucky Court of Appeals and the Court of Appeals' opinion are below. Plaintiff's Memorandum Contra Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment Plaintiff's Motion to Vacate Summary Judgment Order Brief to the Kentucky Court of Appeals Reply Brief to the Kentucky Court of Appeals Kentucky Court of Appeals opinion Steve Perkins, et al vs. Serv-Air, et al, Fayette Circuit Court -- Employees who were exposed to asbestos in their work and their family members who were exposed to asbestos when it was brought into the workers' homes on their clothing filed suit arising from the company's outrageous conduct in ignoring the risks posed by asbestos exposure. The plaintiffs' second amended complaint and their memorandum responding to the company's unsuccessful attempt to have the case thrown out of court follows: Memorandum In Opposition To Motion For Summary Judgment Matthew Archer, et al v. Radio-Electronic Equipment Company, Inc., U.S. District Court, Lexington, Kentucky -- Three sons, who were the beneficiaries of monies their deceased father had in an employee profit-sharing plan, brought suit under ERISA to obtain disbursement of their monies. Plaintiffs' Memorandum Contra Defendants' Motion For Summary Judgment Court's Opinion Denying Defendants' Motion For Summary Judgment Prime Contracting, Inc., et al vs. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., U.S. District Court, Lexington, Kentucky -- Two small companies, Prime Contracting, Inc. and Complete Contracting, LLC, had carved out a lucrative niche by working successfully as subcontractors on Wal-Mart and Sam's Club construction projects over the course of a number of years. Wal-Mart ordered their general contractors to eject the companies from ongoing projects based on unfounded allegations. Prime and Complete filed suit for Wal-Mart's tortious interference with its existing and prospective business relationships with the general contractors. Wal-Mart tried unsuccessfully to have the case thrown out on summary judgment. Below you can read the complaint filed on behalf of Complete and Prime by Robert Abell, the memorandum filed on their behalf responding to Wal-Mart's motion for summary judgment and the court's opinion denying Wal-Mart's motion for summary judgment. Prime & Complete's Response to Wal-Mart's Motion for Summary Judgment |
ROBERT L.
ABELL 866-578-5302 TOLL FREE
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Robert L. Abell is a
Personal Injury and Accident lawyer for Lexington, Winchester, Paris,
Georgetown, Frankfort, Versailles, Nicholasville, Richmond, Lancaster, Stanton,
London, Corbin, Shelbyville, Danville, Lawrenceburg, Williamstown,
Jeffersontown, Louisville, Harrodsburg, Campbellsville, Liberty, Bardstown,
Covington, Columbia, Elizabethtown, Newport, Pikeville, Ashland, Morehead,
Jackson, Cynthiana and other communities located in central and eastern Kentucky
and Fayette County, Scott County, Clark County, Madison County,
Laurel County, Powell County, Morgan County, Breathitt County,
Harrison County, Woodford County, Bourbon County, Jessamine County,
Mercer County, Boyle County, Anderson County, Shelby County,
Jefferson County, Owen County, Franklin County, Grant County, Boone
County, Kenton County and elsewhere in Kentucky. |
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