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By Nathan Vinson, Attorney English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLPPrince performing in concert in Louisville, Kentucky. Photo by Bob Young.News reports since Prince’s death have indicated he died intestate – which means without a will. It’s hard to imagine someone who had complex dealings with the music world and a sizable fortune not having this very basic legal document.You’re talking about a guy who changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol in a contract dispute with Warner Brothers (finally settled in 2014) and put out albums under the symbol name – and never seemed to lose credibility or popularity because of it. His cool factor really has nothing to do with legal issues. As a fellow musician, I just stand in awe of anyone who has such a long, productive career and had such a strong fan base that lasted decades.Think of the legality of changing your name to a symbol and continuing to produce records. It probably gave his business and legal advisors some heartburn. Lawyers were likely involved in many aspects of his musical career, determining usage rights, negotiating record deals, negotiating with booking agents for venues and many, many other things. He had employees certainly and probably more than one business entity. It was a complex life. Read More

By Nathan Vinson, Attorney English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLPWe’ve written previously about gambling taxes, highlighting this issue mainly because of the affection Kentucky has for horse racing. And as you well know, we’re in the midst of horse racing season. Keeneland had its spring meet, and Churchill Downs is now open for the season, with the Kentucky Derby set for May 7. This will be followed by the Preakness in Baltimore and the Belmont Stakes in New York, and the Breeder’s Cup in November in California.Lots of us love to put a little dough (or a lot!) down on a horse at the track. There was some talk earlier this year of lowering the threshold at which tracks were required to report winnings to the IRS, but that never moved forward, so far as we can tell. Read More

By Kyle Roby, Attorney English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLPCar accidents, truck wrecks, and other motor vehicle crashes fall under the general law of negligence. In order to prove a negligence case, a plaintiff has to prove four separate elements:  duty, breach of duty, causation, and damages. Each element must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence, which is when the jury finds that the plaintiff's version of the facts is more likely true than not. It does not require the injured person to prove beyond a reasonable doubt these elements, as in the criminal justice system, but rather only that it is more likely than not that there was a breach in a duty owed to the injured person that caused damages.Once the plaintiff has presented his or her case at trial, and the judge has determined that he or she has made a prima facie case of negligence, the defendant has the right to offer evidence that contradicts the plaintiff's version of the facts or impeaches the plaintiff's testimony. The jury is the ultimate trier of fact, taxed with the duty of deciding which witness to believe when the testimony is conflicting. Read More

By Kyle Roby, attorney English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLPMetal guardrails run alongside many highways, particularly those that hug a steep embankment. They’re designed to protect those in a car if it careens off the highway. In some cases, though, guardrails are making accidents much more deadly than they should be.A recent accident here in Bowling Green could have possibly had a different outcome if a guardrail was not involved. A car veered off of Morgantown Road and hit the support wires of a utility pole and the guardrail. The guardrail penetrated the car and hit the driver. She was killed. Two others were hospitalized with serious injuries, and two more were treated locally for less severe injuries. Read More

 Businesses and landowners have a responsibility to keep their property safe for visitors. Of course, not every accident will result in a finding of liability because the plaintiff must prove that the defendant knew or should have known about the dangerous condition that caused the fall or other injury and should have taken reasonable steps to prevent harm to those who would be expected to come onto the property for a business purpose or as a social guest.Commonly referred to as "premises liability" or "slip and fall" cases in the legal system, lawsuits arising from injuries on business property or another person's land are often hotly contested by the owner of the property where the accident occurred. Often, the defendant will seek the dismissal of the case early in the process, and the court must decide whether the plaintiff has enough evidence to go to trial. Read More

Uninsured motorist insurance coverage can help pay for property damage, medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering in the event that an insured is involved in an accident with an uninsured (or underinsured) driver.  An uninsured driver is just what you would think it means – a driver that does not have insurance. Underinsured driver means the at fault driver has insurance, but they do not have enough insurance to cover your damages such as medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. If an insurance company makes payments to its insured under a uninsured motorist policy, the insurance company has a right to file suit against the uninsured driver in order to assert its subrogation rights. In such cases, the insurance company essentially stands in the shoes of the insured and is held to the same procedural rules as the insured if he or she filed the lawsuit. Read More

We’re pleased to welcome Rebecca Simpson, who joined our firm as a senior attorney on April 18, 2016. Rebecca was most recently an attorney for Kentucky Legal Aid. She ran for Warren County Family Court Judge in 2014. She will serve as an estate planning attorney, among… Read More

By Nathan Vinson, AttorneyEnglish, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLPTax Day is a day that we know you celebrate with great abandon. Right?If you do in fact go all out for Tax Day, this year, you’ll need to move your Tax Day celebrations to April 18. Traditionally, Tax Day is April 15. In some circumstances, it is moved back a few days to accommodate a holiday. This year, Tax Day is April 18 because of Emancipation Day, which is a holiday in Washington, D.C. that marks the anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the nation’s capital.  It is celebrated annually on April 16.  Because that date falls on a Saturday, Emancipation Day will be officially celebrated on April 15 this year, shutting down city offices.Tax Day is also moved when April 15 falls on a Saturday or Sunday. It is then moved to the following Monday. Read More

The burden of proof is initially on the plaintiff in a personal injury lawsuit. In order to prevail, he or she must prove each of the four elements of negligence (duty, breach of duty, causation, and damages) by a preponderance of the evidence. This is usually done through a combination of expert witnesses and lay testimony.For instance, in many car accident cases, the basic facts of the crash may be explained by lay witnesses ("I saw the blue car run the red light and hit the side of the white van"). Evidence regarding certain damages, such as injuries and the reasonableness and necessity of medical expenses, requires testimony from an expert witness such as a physician.In the middle of these extremes are cases in which expert witness testimony would prove helpful but is not strictly required in order for a case to go forward. Sometimes, the parties disagree as to whether such testimony is an actual requirement under the circumstances, and the court must make a decision. Read More

One of the first things that future attorneys learn in law school is that a court must have jurisdiction before it can act in a particular case. This power of the court to act is two-fold. The court must have both personal jurisdiction (power over the persons or corporations named in the suit), and it must have subject matter jurisdiction (authority of a court to hear cases of a particular type or cases relating to a specific subject matter). If either is missing, the court lacks the power to adjudicate the matter and must dismiss the case.In the recent unpublished opinion of Taylor v. Bristol West Insurance Company, the Jefferson Circuit Court was called upon to decide whether a Kentucky trial court had jurisdiction over an insurance company that issued a motor vehicle insurance policy to an Indiana resident who was later involved in a car accident in Jefferson County, Kentucky. Read More