Appellate Decisions
| Publication year | 2019 |
| Pages | 84 |
| Citation | Vol. 88 No. 10 Pg. 84 |
November, 2019
Kansas State Supreme Court
Attorney Discipline
PUBLISHED CENSURE IN RE JOSHUA T. MATTHEWS NO. 120,924—SEPTEMBER 27, 2019
FACTS: After a stipulation was made, a hearing panel found that Matthews violated KRPC 8.4(c) (conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation), 8.4(g) (conduct adversely reflecting on lawyer's fitness to practice law), and Supreme Court Rule 211(b) (failure to file answer in a disciplinary proceeding). Matthews failed to satisfy the CLE requirements for the 2017 reporting year. In an attempt to come in to compliance, Matthews enrolled in a day-long program in Missouri. While attending the live programming, Matthews watched on-demand CLE programs over the course of five hours. The affidavits submitted showed that Matthews attended more than eight hours of CLE in one day, which is not permitted by Kansas rules. When questioned, Matthews initially denied watching video on-demand programs while also attending in-person programming. After his inaccuracies were questioned, Matthews self-reported his conduct to the disciplinary administrator.
HEARING PANEL: Matthews stipulated to the rule violations. Matthews had prior rule violations and the panel found dishonest actions after lying about his attendance. Based on the nature of the misconduct, the disciplinary administrator recommended that Matthews receive a public censure. Matthews asked that he be informally admonished.
HELD: The hearing panel's findings of fact and conclusions were accepted. In light of his prior discipline, the court rejected Matthews' request for an informal admonition. The court accepted the disciplinary administrator's recommendation for published censure.
ORDER OF SUSPENSION
IN RE KEVIN P. SHEPHERD NO. 120,875—SEPTEMBER 27, 2019
FACTS: A hearing panel determined that Shepherd violated KRPC 1.1 (competence), 1.3 (diligence), 1.4(a) (communication), 1.15(a) (safekeeping property), 1.15(d)(1) (preserving client funds), 1.16(a)(1) (withdrawing from representation), 8.1(a) (false statement in connection with disciplinary matter), 8.4(c) (engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation), and 8.4(d) (engaging in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice). Complaints arose regarding Shepherd's conduct after he failed to file an appellate brief, causing the appeal to be dismissed. Despite repeated promises that he would seek to have the appeal reinstated, Shepherd failed to act. Shepherd also had business checks returned for insufficient funds in diversion cases. This prompted an audit of his bank accounts, which revealed irregularities.
HEARING PANEL: The hearing panel found evidence sufficient enough to sustain violations of the KRPC. When considering the appropriate discipline, the panel noted that Shepherd had a history of prior offenses, including one from 2009 which resulted in a three-year suspension of Shepherd's license. There were also substantial mitigating factors present, including mental health struggles which contributed to the misconduct. Shepherd made restitution to his clients and enjoys the support of his local bench and bar. The disciplinary administrator recommended that Shepherd be indefinitely suspended. Shepherd asked that he be placed on probation, and he began working on some of his proposed probationary terms prior to the hearing. The hearing panel determined that Shepherd's dishonest conduct could not be cured by probation. Rather, the hearing panel recommended that Shepherd be suspended for two years, and that he be allowed to apply for reinstatement after one year.
HELD: The hearing panel's findings of fact and conclusions were deemed admitted. At the hearing, citing Shepherd's notable progress, the disciplinary administrator asked that Shepherd be indefinitely suspended but that the suspension be stayed to allow Shepherd to serve a five-year term of probation. The court found that Shepherd's misconduct was too serious to be cured by probation. A majority of the court imposed a two-year suspension, but stipulated that Shepherd should be allowed to seek reinstatement after one year. Other members of the court would impose either a more or less severe punishment.
CIVIL
DUTY—IMMUNITY—LAW ENFORCEMENT WILLIAMS V. C-U-OUT BAIL BONDS JOHNSON DISTRICT COURT— REMANDED COURT OF APPEALS—REVERSED, NO. 116,883—OCTOBER 11, 2019
FACTS: Agents from C-U-Out Bail Bonds came to the Williamses' home in search of the Williamses' daughter-in-law. Mrs. Williams told the agents that the woman they sought was not in her home. It was late at night, Williams was caring for her elderly and ill mother, and she denied the agents' request to enter the home. The agents attempted to enter the home by force, and Williams called the police. After the police arrived, agents forced their way into the home. The police officers on scene stood and watched and refused to assist Williams. The Williamses sued both C-U-Out and also the City of Overland Park, claiming the officers committed the tort of "negligent failure to protect." The district court granted the City's motion to dismiss, finding that the City was immune from liability under the Kansas Tort Claims Act and also finding that the City owed no duty to the Williamses. The Court of Appeals agreed that the City owed no duty to the Williamses. The panel also held that the City was immune under the discretionary function exception. The Kansas Supreme Court granted review.
ISSUES: (1) Sufficiency of facts to support illegal conduct; (2) existence of a duty; (3) discretionary function immunity
HELD: The issue of whether C-U-Out's agents acted lawfully was, in part, a factual question. The Court of Appeals erred by disregarding factual allegations made in the Williamses' petition. Generally, law enforcement owes a duty only to the public at large. To succeed here, the Williamses had to prove that the City owed them a duty because of a special relationship or a specific circumstance. Although the existence of a duty is a question of law, where a duty is predicated on an affirmative act, there is a threshold factual question of whether the defendant's behavior could have triggered a duty. The district court erred by granting the motion to dismiss because of a lack of duty. The question of whether discretionary function immunity exists is high contextual. The district court erred by granting a motion to dismiss on these grounds.
STATUTES: K.S.A. 2018 Supp. 60-212(b)(6), 75-6104, -6104(e); K.S.A. 22-2809
JURISDICTION—WORKERS COMPENSATION VIA CHRISTI HOSPITALS V. KAN-PAK, LLC WORKERS COMPENSATION BOARD—AFFIRMED COURT OF APPEALS—REVERSED NO. 116,692—NOVEMBER 1, 2019
FACTS: Darin Pinion was severely burned while working at Kan-Pak. Via Christi provided medical care; his total bills exceeded $1 million. Kan-Pak's workers compensation insurance was provided by Travelers, who contracted with Paradigm to coordinate complicated cases. Paradigm paid only $136,451.60 of Pinion's considerable bill, under the 2011 Schedule of Medical Fees. For the 2011 Maximum Fee appellate decisions Schedule, language was added which allowed insurers to pay the lesser of the 70% stop loss calculation or the MS-DRG formula. It is unknown how the "lesser of" language ended up in the statute, as no one from the agency claimed knowledge of the addition. Via Christi requested reimbursement of 70% of Pinion's total bill. An ALJ found that the language in the regulation controlled and that it was without authority to ignore the "lesser of" language. The Board agreed and Via Christi appealed. The Court of Appeals reasoned that if no one at the agency knew that the "lesser of" language was added, that change was not properly promulgated and was ineffective. The Court of Appeals was unwilling to enforce an accidental rule, believing the outcome would be arbitrary and capricious. Paradigm's petition for review was granted.
ISSUES: (1) Jurisdiction; (2) effectiveness of the 2011 regulation
HELD: Jurisdiction exists to hear the merits of the case. The director of workers compensation is ultimately responsible for preparing the fee schedule. He is not a party to this action and the faulty rulemaking was not raised as a cause of action. The issue of rulemaking by the director—accidental or otherwise—was never properly before the Board on appeal from the hearing officer. These proceedings were initiated as a fee dispute under a narrowly-drawn statute. It was not arbitrary or capricious to follow a plainly-worded regulation and enforce it as written.
STATUTES: K.S.A. 2018 Supp. 44-510i, -510j, 77-603(a), -614, -614(b), -614(c), -621(c), -621(c)(8); K.S.A. 44-556, 77-602(j), -606
DAMAGES—PRODUCTS LIABILITY CORVIAS MILITARY LIVING, LLC V. VENTAMATIC, LTD. AND JAKEL, INC. GEARY DISTRICT COURT—COURT OF APPEALS IS AFFIRMED IN PART AND REVERSED IN PART DISTRICT COURT IS AFFIRMED IN PART AND REVERSED IN PART, REMANDED WITH DIRECTIONS NO. 116,307—OCTOBER 25, 2019
FACTS: Corvias is a construction firm specializing in military housing. Corvias built thousands of units near Fort Riley. In these homes, it installed bathroom ceiling fans manufactured by Ventamatic, Ltd. and Jakel Motors, Inc. After installation, several fans caught fire and damaged homes. Corvias not only incurred damage with fire remediation, it also needed to replace all of the fans in other units, so it filed suit. The district court granted summary judgment to both defendants, finding that the suit was unquestionably a products liability claim governed by the Kansas Product Liability Act. The court ruled that all of Corvias' claims for damages was barred by the economic loss doctrine. The Court of Appeals reversed the grant of summary judgment on the issue of fire damage, finding that the fans were not an...
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