FRANKFORT, Ky. - The Kentucky Supreme Court issued opinions on several cases Thursday, two of which are drawing attention.

A bankrupt mental health agency must pay their unfunded liability back to the state’s pension system the Kentucky Supreme Court has ruled.

Centerstone, formally known as Seven Counties, a non-profit provider of mental health services, filed for bankruptcy in April 2013 and tried to use the bankruptcy to avoid paying the Kentucky Employee Retirement System upwards of $100 million in owed payments.

Seven Counties said they could not sustain the increased employer contributions to the state’s pension system and used that as a major reason for their Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

 Supreme Court Justices unanimously sided with the Kentucky Retirement Systems that they were not off the hook for those payments saying Seven Counties participation in KERS is based on statutory obligation.

“Payments by an employer to KERS pursuant to KRS Chapter 61 are essentially assessments, statutorily-imposed contributions to the KERS trust fund required of the employer in order for its employees to be members of KERS,” the opinion read. “The relationship between KERS and Seven Counties is and always has been purely statutory.”

This is a major victory for the state’s troubled pension system who feared other agencies could use bankruptcy filings to forgo their liability owed to the pension system.

The Supreme Court also ruled on a case involving who can approve contingency fees, the Attorney General’s Office or the Finance and Administration Cabinet. The Supreme Court ruled it was the Finance Cabinet that has the final say on these types of contracts.

This case surrounds a contract Attorney General Andy Beshear entered into with Morgan & Morgan in September 2017 to investigate violations of state law dealing with manufacturing, distribution and dispensing of opioids. The Finance Cabinet rejected the contact and canceled the contract.

Beshear filed a suit in Franklin Circuit Court arguing his office was exempt from review by the Finance and Administration Cabinet and Government Contract Review Committee and sought a permanent injunction preventing the Legislative Research Commission and the Finance Cabinet from interfering with the contract with Morgan & Morgan.

While the lower courts agreed with Beshear, the Supreme Court ultimately determined the authority to enter into contingency-fee based contracts with outside companies is subject to overriding authority by the General Assembly.

“We cannot say that the Committee and Secretary Landrum committed a “clear error of judgment” in deciding to cancel the contract based on the contract’s failure to maximize any potential recovery for the Commonwealth,” the opinion reads. “Simply put, the Committee and Secretary Landrum considered relevant factors and decided to cancel the contract based on those factors, making it impossible for a reviewing court to say that the decision to cancel was a “clear error of judgment.”

Beshear says this case could have troubling implications on future cases.

"Matt Bevin just gave the opioid companies one of their biggest wins nationwide. This decision has devastating impacts on our cases against companies that have ravaged our state and will cost taxpayers millions,” he said in a tweet. “Bevin took these actions to prevent the attorney general from holding these companies responsible for the death and addiction they have fueled. We will seek a rehearing because the stakes are too high."

Bevin responded to the ruling saying,  With today’s ruling, Andy Beshear can no longer engage in this type of soft corruption and will be subject to the same procurement laws and financial oversight as other state agencies. If Andy Beshear feels that he and his office are not competent to fight against the opioid manufacturers, he can still hire outside counsel, but he must do it legally."

While the justices agreed on the decision, Justice Hughes and Keller issued separate opinions.