EMPLOYMENT LAW Daniel Clark In Kennedy v. Anchorage Police & Fire Retirement System, 485 P.3d 1030 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that the Anchorage Municipal Codes require that court ordered damages or settlements be considered retroactive compensation in calculating retirement benefits; however, such retroactive compensation does not entitle retirees to accrue credited service for Continue Reading »
HEALTH LAW Peter Graham In the Matter of Mabel B., 485 P.3d 1018 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that the substantive due process rights of involuntarily committed mental health patients are violated when procedural delays to patients’ release or extended hospitalization are caused by understaffed mental health hospitalization facilities. (Id. at 1026). State law Continue Reading »
CIVIL PROCEDURE Daniel Clark In Doan v. Banner Health, 485 P.3d 537 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that settlement funds may be withheld for non-settling defendants’ eventual attorneys’ fees; however, the court also held that reserved settlement funds may be partially distributed for the payment of plaintiff’s attorneys’ fees. (Id. at 542–45). In 2013, Continue Reading »
HEALTH LAW Maddie Ayer In Beistline v. Footit, 485 P.3d 39 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that a pharmacist’s expert testimony was insufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact about the prevailing standard of care for an internist, affirming the lower court’s decision to grant summary judgment to the medical providers in Continue Reading »
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW Sloane Bessey In State, Department of Corrections v. Porche, 485 P.3d 1010 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that records from an unsubstantiated internal agency investigation are exempted from disclosure by the Alaska Open Records Act. (Id. at 1018). In May 2018, Porche was informed by the Department of Corrections (DOC) that he Continue Reading »
FAMILY LAW Megan Mason Dister In In re Protective Proceedings of Nora D., 485 P.3d 1058 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held, under Alaska’s guardianship statute, Alaska Statute section 13.26.241(a), a respondent may refuse to answer questions in an interview other than questions about the respondent’s capacity to make personal medical decisions. (Id. at 1060). Continue Reading »
MARITIME LAW Maddie Ayer In State v. North Pacific Fishing, Inc., 485 P.3d 1040 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that a fishery resource landing tax imposed on two commercial fishing companies did not violate the Import-Export and Tonnage Clauses of the United States Constitution or 33 U.S.C. § 5(b). (Id. at 1045). The fishing Continue Reading »
EMPLOYMENT LAW Adam Beyer In Alaska State Commission for Human Rights v. United Physical Therapy, 484 P.3d 599 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that the Alaska Workers’ Compensation Board acted reasonably when it interpreted the merits of a provider’s claim to require a review of the underlying medical care. (Id. at 606–07). The case Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL LAW Clara Nieman In Lord v. State, 489 P.3d 374 (Alaska Ct. App. 2021), the court of appeals held that Alaska’s “guilty but mentally ill” (GBMI) statutes did not violate equal protection of GBMI defendants by denying them the same treatment given to defendants found not guilty by reason of insanity, and that a Continue Reading »
ELECTION LAW Maddie Ayer In State, Office of Lieutenant Governor v. Vote Yes for Alaska’s Fair Share, 478 P.3d 679 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that the lieutenant governor’s summary of a ballot initiative was not true and impartial as required by law, and granted in part the lieutenant governor’s request to insert a Continue Reading »
