GARDNER , J. Stephen D. Goldman, while a fifth-year doctoral student in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Kansas (KU), was accused of scholarly misconduct. KU investigated the matter, held a hearing, found scholarly misconduct, and then sanctioned Goldman by dismissal from the School of Pharmacy. Thereafter, Goldman brought an action in district court seeking judicial review of agency action and then amended his petition by adding a tort claim, a breach of contract claim, and a...
POWELL , J. Bluestem Telephone Company and numerous other rural local exchange carriers (RLECs) appeal the district court's order affirming an order from the Kansas Corporation Commission (Commission), altering the manner in which the RLECs would receive support from the Kansas Universal Service Fund (KUSF) in light of a new order from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and subsequent state statutory amendments. Because we find that K.S.A. 2014 Supp. 66-2005(c)(1) is not preempted...
POWELL , J. Kansas Star Casino, L.L.C. (Kansas Star) appeals from the ruling by the Kansas Court of Tax Appeals (COTA) that the appraised value of its property, a 195.5 acre tract of land located in the northeast corner of Sumner County and used for casino operations, was $80,510,000 for the tax year 2012. In reaching its conclusion, COTA determined that the value for Kansas Star's land was $16,931,250. This amount was based on the actual price Kansas Star's parent company paid for the...
BUSER , J. This appeal addresses the following question: Does a person who seeks to prevent a public agency from disclosing claimed private records have statutory standing to bring a cause of action under the Kansas Open Records Act (KORA), K.S.A. 45-215 et seq. The Wichita Eagle and Beacon Publishing Company, Inc., (Eagle) presented a request for records to Wichita State University (WSU) under KORA. Upon learning of the request, Hunter Health Clinic (Hunter) brought a putative KORA...
LEBEN , J. This appeal is brought by an employer and its insurance carrier from an order awarding permanent-total-disability compensation to its employee. An employee qualifies for that compensation when an on-the-job injury has left "the employee ... completely and permanently incapable of engaging in any type of substantial and gainful employment." K.S.A. 44-510c(a)(2). The employer argues that in this case, its employee's inability to find other work was largely due to his limited...
MALONE , C.J. The State appeals the district court's decision to dismiss the aggravated battery charge against Dustin Alex Evans based upon a finding that Evans qualified for self-defense immunity under K.S.A. 2014 Supp. 21-5231. The State charged Evans with aggravated battery arising from an altercation with Jose Luis Pena, Jr., that took place in Evans' garage. During the altercation, Evans stabbed Pena, who was unarmed, with a sword. The district court held a pretrial hearing and,...
WALKER , J. In this appeal, we consider whether the district court properly terminated the reversionary rights of a landowner to one-half of the minerals under her land. Because we find the court did not correctly apply the law, we reverse and remand with instructions to restore the mineral rights to the landowner. FACTS In January 1945, Frank Luther obtained the northeast quarter of a section of land in Haskell County (the northeast quarter), which was subject to an existing lease for...
SCHROEDER , J. Josh and Sarah Ohlmeier obtained a judgment against Whitney Jones for the diminished value loss to their 2011 Chevrolet Traverse (Traverse) as a result of an automobile accident in the amount of $4,185 plus a judgment for their attorney fees in the amount of $15,440 pursuant to K.S.A.2014 Supp. 60-2006. Jones appeals. We affirm the judgment for diminished value loss but find we must reverse the judgment for attorney fees pursuant to K.S.A. 2014 Supp. 60-2006 as diminished...
BRUNS , J. The maternal grandparents (the Grandparents) of a minor child appeal from a district court order dismissing their motion for grandparent visitation because it was filed in a paternity action rather than in a divorce proceeding. Although the child's mother (the Mother) has participated in this appeal, the child's father (the Father) has chosen not to do so. We find that the district court properly interpreted the plain and unambiguous language of K.S.A. 2014 Supp. 23-3301(a) as...
HILL , J. During the summer break of 2013, Navid Yeasin engaged in reprehensible, demeaning, and criminal behavior with W., who is also a University of Kansas student. In addition, Yeasin posted a series of puerile and sexually harassing tweets on his account. None of this conduct occurred on campus or at a University sponsored or supervised event. The Student Code, the rules by which the University can impose discipline upon its students, deals only with conduct on campus or at University...
ATCHESON , J. In 1992, Beuford Rickabaugh executed a will dividing his estate equally between his granddaughters and, thus, effectively disinheriting their father and his son Everett Rickabaugh. When Beuford died 20 years later and the will was presented for probate in the Greenwood County District Court, Everett launched a multifaceted attack aimed at keeping the document from being enforced—meaning he would inherit the estate, likely worth millions of dollars, through intestate...
SCHROEDER , J. Nina Eva Hajda timely filed this medical malpractice suit against six doctors, the University of Kansas Hospital (the Hospital), and the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC). She timely issued summonses on all of the parties, but she failed to obtain valid service. Pursuant to K.S.A. 2014 Supp. 60-203(b) and the district court's order, after the statute of limitations had run, Hajda reserved the six doctors and received permission from the district court to amend...
ATCHESON , J. The State appeals an order of the Sedgwick County District Court dismissing its action to have Todd Ellison involuntarily committed as a sexually violent predator. The case had languished for more than 4 years as Ellison sat in the Sedgwick County jail awaiting a trial — a delay the district court held violated his constitutional rights. We agree that Ellison was constitutionally entitled to a timely adjudication of the State's petition. But the district court failed to...
HILL , J. In this era, when all cities and towns thirst for revenue to provide basic governmental services, we must decide if a transportation user fee, enacted by the City of Mission, is a tax, and if so, decide if it is an excise tax not permitted by the Kansas Legislature. We offer our perspective on the two issues that arise in this litigation. Is this a tax Annually, Mission, Kansas collects a transportation user fee on all improved real estate, using it for public street...
GARDNER , J. Rarely do we permit a party to raise a new issue on appeal, but we must do so here. At oral argument, counsel for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, Inc. (BCBS) alleged, for the first time in this case, that this court lacks subject matter jurisdiction because the only statute which BCBS allegedly violated does not provide a private right of action. Because we agree that both the district court and this court lack subject matter jurisdiction, we vacate the judgment entered...
STANDRIDGE , J. : In 2011, Robert K. Miller was terminated pursuant to K.S.A. 19-431(a) by the Board of County Commissioners of Wabaunsee County (Board) from his position as the county appraiser following several performance-related issues. Miller filed an administrative appeal with the Property Valuation Division of the Kansas Department of Revenue (PVD), which overturned his termination on grounds that the Board had breached its written employment agreement with Miller. On review, the...
POWELL , J. William L. Scaife appeals the summary denial of his motion filed pursuant to K.S.A. 60-1507. Scaife argues the district court improperly denied his motion because (1) the court erroneously determined it was untimely and (2) it was manifest injustice for the court to summarily deny his timely motion without an evidentiary hearing. Because we agree with the district court that Scaife's motion was untimely, we affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND The relevant facts are not...
STANDRIDGE , J. After the death of Shawn Ney (Shawn), his father, Michael Ney (Michael), filed a claim under a life insurance contract naming Shawn as the insured and Michael as the sole beneficiary. Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company (FBL) denied payment of the death benefit under the policy. Michael then filed a lawsuit seeking the policy value of the death benefit. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of FBL. On appeal from the court's judgment, Michael argues the...
HILL , J. This is an appeal of a district court order declaring that an administrator of an intestate estate lacked standing to appeal a magistrate's ruling that the Estate of Blanche A. Area was legally liable for a note. For reasons set out below, we reverse and remand. A lady moves from her home to assisted living. Blanche A. Area lived in Horton and had seven children. Five of her seven adult children agreed to lend her money to build a home in Horton. On June 27, 1995, Blanche...
BRUNS , J. This case presents an issue of first impression in Kansas. We are asked to decide whether the judicially created firefighter's rule (previously referred to as the "fireman's rule") applies to law enforcement officers. We find that the public policy expressed by the Kansas Supreme Court in Calvert v. Garvey Elevators, Inc., 236 Kan. 570 , 694 P.2d 433 (1985), applies equally to firefighters and law enforcement officers. Accordingly, we conclude that the firefighter's rule...
