Justia Alaska Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

An employee filed an affidavit of readiness for hearing in her workers' compensation case approximately four years after her employer filed a controversion of her written workers' compensation claim. The employer petitioned to dismiss her claim based on the statutory deadline for a hearing request. After a hearing, the Alaska Workers' Compensation Board dismissed her claim, and the Alaska Workers' Compensation Appeals Commission affirmed the Board's decision. Because the employee did not file a timely request for a hearing and was not excused from doing so, the Supreme Court affirmed the Commission's decision. View "Pruitt v. Providence Extended Care" on Justia Law

A hotel worker fell and injured her back while cleaning a room. Her employer initially paid benefits, but it filed a controversion of benefits after its doctor doubted the accident’s occurrence and said any work injury was not the substantial cause of the worker’s continuing need for medical care. The Alaska Workers’ Compensation Board decided that the fall was the substantial cause of the worker’s disability, finding the worker’s testimony about the injury credible and the employer’s doctor’s testimony not credible. Based on the testimony of the worker and her treating physician, as well as an MRI showing a herniated disc, the Board decided that the injury was compensable. The Alaska Workers’ Compensation Appeals Commission reversed the Board’s decision because, in the its view, substantial evidence did not support the decision. Because the Commission incorrectly decided the substantial evidence question, the Supreme Court reversed the Commission’s decision. View "Sosa de Rosario v. Chenega Lodging" on Justia Law

In 2008 a city promoted a police officer to chief. The city’s hiring determination and the officer’s subsequent conduct led four police department employees to sue the police chief and the city. The employees asserted several claims including wrongful termination, sexual harassment, and negligent hiring. The superior court entered summary judgment in favor of the police chief and the city on all claims. The employees appealed several of the superior court’s summary judgment rulings, its denial of sanctions for evidence spoliation, and an attorney’s fees award in the city’s favor. Upon review, the Supreme Court concluded that there were no genuine issues of material fact barring judgment, and affirmed the superior court’s dismissal of both the employees’ hostile work environment sexual harassment claims against the police chief and the employees’ negligent hiring claim against the city. And because the superior court did not abuse its discretion in denying discovery sanctions, the Supreme Court affirmed that ruling too. But because genuine issues of material fact precluded summary judgment as to the employees’ claims against the city for wrongful termination and sexual harassment, the Court reversed those rulings, vacated the attorney’s fees award, and remanded for further proceedings. View "Mills v. Hankla" on Justia Law

While receiving workers' compensation benefits for an injury, an employee periodically endorsed benefit checks that included a certification that she had "not worked in any employment or self-employment gainful or otherwise." Her employer obtained surveillance videos of her activities at an herb store owned by her boyfriend and filed a petition with the Workers' Compensation Board alleging that she had fraudulently misrepresented her employment status for the purpose of obtaining benefits. The Board denied the petition, finding credible the employee's testimony that she did not consider her activities to be work that needed to be reported. On appeal, the Alaska Workers' Compensation Appeals Commission concluded that the Board erred in determining that the employee had not "knowingly" misrepresented her work status, but it affirmed the Board's denial of the petition on the alternative ground that the employer had not shown the requisite causal link between the allegedly fraudulent check endorsements and the payment of benefits. Upon review of the matter, the Supreme Court concluded that the Commission erred in its interpretation of the "knowingly" element of the test for fraud. Nevertheless, the Court affirmed the Commission's decision because, based on the Board's binding credibility determination, the employee's statements were not knowingly false and therefore not fraudulent. View "ARCTEC Services v. Cummings" on Justia Law

Jason Coday shot and killed Simone Kim with a rifle obtained from Ray Coxe’s gun store. Kim’s Estate brought a wrongful death action against Coxe, alleging that Coxe negligently or illegally provided Coday the rifle. Coxe defended in part by asserting immunity under the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA). The Estate argued against applying the PLCAA and alternatively that it was unconstitutional. The superior court ruled that the PLCAA was constitutional and, interpreting and applying the PLCAA’s immunity provisions to the facts of this case, granted summary judgment dismissing the Estate’s claims against Coxe. The Estate appealed. Upon review, the Supreme Court affirmed the superior court’s ruling that the PLCAA was constitutional and its interpretation of the PLCAA, but because it was unclear whether certain evidence before the superior court actually was or should have been considered when granting summary judgment dismissing the Estate’s claims, the Court vacated the summary judgment ruling and remanded the case for further consideration. View "Estate of Simone Young Kim v. Coxe" on Justia Law

Appellant Simone Greenway sued Appellee Larry Heathcott alleging among other things, identity theft and breach of domestic partnership and fiduciary duties. After a bench trial at which both parties were pro se, the superior court denied Appellant's claims. She argued on appeal to the Supreme Court that the trial court erred in denying her a continuance so a particular lawyer could represent her when he became available, so she could compose her case, and so she could obtain testimony from a witness whose subpoena was quashed. She also argued that the court failed to help her sufficiently and failed to explain she could call the witnesses telephonically after it rejected her witness affidavits. Upon review, the Supreme Court concluded that the court did not abuse its discretion as to these issues. She also asserted that the trial judge was biased, or appeared to be biased, against her. The audio recording of the trial refuted those assertions and demonstrated that the trial judge was impartial, patient, and courteous in dealing with Greenway and in trying to obtain understandable evidence from her. The Court therefore affirmed the superior court's judgment. View "Greenway v. Heathcott" on Justia Law

Appellee Simone Greenway and her friend Carrie Randall-Evans were dancing together in a suggestive manner and teasing Jeffrey Evans, Carrie’s husband. Jeffrey left the room, returned with a pistol, and shot everyone inside, killing Carrie. He then shot and killed himself. David Hurn, father of Carrie’s two minor children sued Appellee, claiming that Appellee's participation in the dance was negligent either because it breached her duty as homeowner to control her guests or because it created a foreseeable and unreasonable risk of violence. Appellee moved for summary judgment. Because property owners generally have no duty to control the conduct of third parties in their homes, and because murder was not the foreseeable result of suggestive dancing, the Supreme Court declined to hold Appellee liable. View "Hurn v. Greenway" on Justia Law

A tenant fell on the outside stairs of her rented apartment and sustained a serious back injury. She sued her landlord alleging that her fall was caused by the landlord's negligent failure to inspect and maintain the staircase. Before trial, the tenant filed a series of motions in limine, including one seeking to prevent the admission of evidence not previously disclosed during discovery on the issues of comparative negligence and failure to inspect and maintain, and another seeking to prevent the defendants from misstating the respective duties of landlords and tenants. The superior court denied these motions. At the close of evidence, the tenant moved for a directed verdict on the landlord's comparative negligence defense and the landlord's attempt to allocate fault to a deceased party. She also moved to preclude the landlord from making arguments based on medical records admitted at trial. The superior court denied each motion. The jury returned a verdict finding no negligence. The tenant appealed the denial of her motions in limine and for directed verdict, as well as the superior court's denial of her motion to preclude opposing counsel from arguing from certain medical records. She also argued that the superior court erred in allowing the landlord to attempt to allocate fault to a deceased party. Furthermore, she argued that the jury's finding that the landlord was not negligent was contrary to the evidence. Upon review, the Supreme Court affirmed because the superior court did not err, and the jury's verdict was not contrary to the evidence. View "Heynen v. Fairbanks" on Justia Law

The underlying tort action in this appeal resulted from a car accident in which the insured, while driving a rental truck, hit a person who was lying in the middle of the road. Both the driver and the person struck were intoxicated, in addition to a passenger in the truck. The person who was struck died from his injuries. The victim's estate sued. The insurance company offered to settle the case against both the driver and the passenger (who may have faced liability for his actions after the accident) for policy limits. These offers were rejected. The estate offered to settle for the release of the named insured only, but the insurer rejected that offer. The occupants of the vehicle later settled with the estate. Unable to reach settlement, the insurer filed a declaratory action to clarify its duties under the policy and resolve issues of who was driving the vehicle, the number of occurrences, and possible breaches of the insurance contract by the insureds. The insureds assigned their claims against the insurer to the estate, which answered and counterclaimed for breach of contract and bad faith. The insurer prevailed on nearly all issues. The personal representative of the estate, for herself and as assignee of the insureds, appealed that result. After review, the Supreme Court found that the insurer did not breach its duties to the insured, and accordingly the Court affirmed the superior court's decision. View "Williams v. GEICO" on Justia Law

A bar served a man alcohol while he was visibly intoxicated, and the man murdered a woman later that evening. The lawyer representing the bar in the subsequent dram shop action did not attempt to add the murderer as a party for apportionment of fault. Following entry of a large judgment against the bar, the bar brought a legal malpractice suit against its attorney. The attorney moved to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted, arguing that where case law is unsettled, as a matter of law an attorney cannot be held liable for an error in judgment. The superior court granted the motion and the bar appealed. "Because the existence of unsettled law does not excuse an attorney from fulfilling a duty of care," the Supreme Court reversed and remanded the case for further proceedings. View "L.D.G., Inc. v. Robinson" on Justia Law