Lawsuit

HARRODSBURG - The mother of a Mercer County teenager who was killed last year as she drove across a railroad crossing has filed a lawsuit against the owner of the tracks. Phillita Jill Ammons, mother of 19-year-old Sophia Ammons, filed the complaint Tuesday in Mercer Circuit Court naming Norfolk Southern and an unnamed person or company possibly contracted to perform maintenance along the tracks as defendants.  The wrongful death action seeks an unspecified amount of damages.

HARRODSBURG - A former Harrodsburg police officer has filed a lawsuit alleging he was wrongfully terminated, in part because of what he wrote on his personal Facebook account. Jeffrey Pearce filed the complaint last week in Mercer Circuit Court naming the city, Chief Billy Whitenack, Mayor Eddie Long and commissioners Kerry Anness, Charlie Mattingly, Scott Mosely and Bubby Isham as defendants. It seeks an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages. According to the lawsuit, Pearce, a former patrolman, was reprimanded by Whitenack on April 5 for a posting he made on Facebook on March 31, after Pearce had worked a traffic accident on U.S. 127 in which local resident Van Landrum was killed when another vehicle collided with his tractor.  “Rough night investigating a fatal accident.

Jessamine County is mulling over signing onto a possible class-action lawsuit against the organization known as Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS), which could possible recoup thousands of dollars of fees owed. The county was approached by attorney Sandra Spurgeon of Spurgeon & Tinker, PSC, which, along with The Bolog firm, currently represents 14 counties in Kentucky that are suing MERS, including Boyd, Franklin, Pike and several other counties. The basis of the litigation is an effort to seek compensation for lost mortgage assignment fees allegedly withheld because of the actions of MERS over the past several years.

A $5 million lawsuit against Clark County Public Schools was dismissed in Clark Circuit Court Thursday. Matthew and Lindsay Lucas, of Georgetown, filed the suit against Clark County Public Schools, Superintendent Elaine Farris, Fannie Bush Elementary School Principal Angela Taylor, teacher Leslie Hammer and PASS (Positive Approach to Student Success) program coach Teresa Palmer in May on behalf of their minor daughter, Alyssa Morgan Lucas. In the suit, the Lucases alleged that on Feb. 18, 2010, their daughter was put into time out in a dark padded room with one window and a chair for six minutes by her teachers as punishment.

STANFORD - A judge has ruled for the city of Stanford and Mayor Bill Miracle in a lawsuit filed by the city's former clerk. Judge David A. Tapp granted a summary judgment in favor of the city July 25, finding that "no genuine issues of material fact exist" in Sandy Gooch's case claiming wrongful termination and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Gooch filed suit against Miracle and Stanford in November 2011, alleging the mayor repeatedly asked her to violate city policies and procedures, and then “concocted complete fabrications” in an effort to justify Gooch's termination on Nov. 12, 2010.

JUNCTION CITY - Despite ongoing efforts to bottle up Junction City liquor sales in a lengthy court battle, one store has already popped the cork on its opening and another one is soon to follow. Jackie Antle transformed the small grocery store he operated for 35 years on Hustonville Road into a liquor store that opened two weeks ago, the first in Junction since voters narrowly approved going wet in October. Out on U.S. 127, Ray Grubbs and his son Nelson just poured the foundation for their store, which they hope will be ready for business by late September.

A ruling outside of Winchester might have ramifications for a lawsuit between the city and local firefighters. Earlier this week, The Somerset Commonwealth Journal reported that an administrative judge ruled in favor of the city of Somerset in a case similar to one Winchester faces. Winchester, like Somerset, is embroiled in court cases over back pay owed to firefighters. The disagreement stems from a change in directions on how to calculate overtime pay. Those instructions came directly from the state's Labor Cabinet, which altered the way firefighters were to be paid overtime on incentive pay in 2004.

LANCASTER - A lawsuit blaming two city police officers for the death of a man during a police chase in 2009 has been dismissed. Garrard Circuit Judge Hunter Daugherty sided with officers William Lake and Tim Royce in granting a summary judgment dismissing a lawsuit filed by Carol and Kenneth Plummer, whose son, Brandon Plummer, died a head-on collision on Fall Lick Road. Brandon Plummer, 21, was killed when Carlos Cunningham - who was being pursued by the officers at a high rate of speed - crashed into his pickup truck.

LANCASTER - The father of a mentally disabled man who was beaten to death at a Garrard County group home has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the home's operator and the employee who has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in his death. Anthony Akridge, father of Shaun Akridge, filed the complaint against Community Ties of America and Tyler Brock last week in Garrard Circuit Court. It seeks an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages from the defendants, alleging they were negligent and failed to provide proper care for Shaun Akridge, who was beaten and kicked to death in June 2011 while a resident at a group home in Paint Lick.

A former inmate at the Boyle County Detention Center is suing the facility and Jailer Barry Harmon, alleging he was beat up by another inmate who was smoking in the bathroom of what is supposed to be a smoke-free facility. Christopher Byrd of Harrodsburg filed the lawsuit last week in Boyle Circuit Court. It seeks an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages from Harmon, the jail, unnamed deputy jailers and Boyle Fiscal Court. According to the lawsuit, Byrd was incarcerated at the facility from April 14 through July 7 of last year.