Justin M. Finch v. 28th Judicial District IV-D Child Support Agency, et al.
The trial court dismissed the appellant’s petition on a Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 12.02 motion. Because the appellant’s brief falls well short of the requirements of both the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure and the rules of this Court, we dismiss the appeal. |
Haywood | Court of Appeals | |
Stephanie Allen, individually and surviving spouse and next-of-kin of Donald A. Allen, Deceased et al. v. Benjamin Dehner, M.D. et al. (concurring in part/dissenting in part)
In considering this appeal, the majority thoughtfully moves through the labyrinthian requirements of Tennessee health care liability actions. While the majority’s analysis presents a well-considered direction to go, I cannot follow their route for its full course. Holding onto statutory language that hopefully serves the role of the thread used by Theseus in navigating out of the labyrinth, 1 I believe that the proper way back through the maze follows that statutory thread along a different path. Accordingly, I concur in part and dissent in part. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
Ina Grace Jacobi v. VendEngine Inc.
Ina Grace Jacobi sued VendEngine, Inc. (“VendEngine”), alleging that she was wrongfully arrested due to VendEngine’s negligent design and operation of an inmate messaging system. The trial court determined that the gravamen of Ms. Jacobi’s claim was for malicious prosecution and granted summary judgment to VendEngine after concluding she failed to prove the elements of that claim. Ms. Jacobi appealed. Discerning no error, we affirm the trial court’s decision. |
Robertson | Court of Appeals | |
Nehad Abdelnabi v. Fatma Adel Sekik
This appeal concerns the trial court’s grant of a petition for civil contempt for failure to comply with orders regarding the division of marital assets and awards of spousal and child support against the husband and his relatives, who held an interest in the properties at issue. We affirm the trial court’s grant of orders of civil contempt against all parties. We also conclude that this appeal is frivolous and remand for an assessment of damages. |
Knox | Court of Appeals | |
Thompson School Road Neighborhood Association Et Al. v. Knox County, Tennessee, Et Al.
This appeal arises from a declaratory judgment action regarding a decision of the Knox County Commission to amend zoning for the subject property. The trial court affirmed the rezoning. Finding no error, we affirm the ruling of the trial court. |
Knox | Court of Appeals | |
Glenya Cole-Jackson v. Costco Wholesale Corporation d/b/a Costco
This is an appeal from a directed verdict in a personal injury lawsuit. Glenya Cole-Jackson (“Plaintiff”) sued Costco Wholesale Corporation d/b/a Costco (“Defendant”) in the Circuit Court for Shelby County (“the Trial Court”) over an incident in which she was hit by a shopping cart pulled by one of Defendant’s employees. The case went before a jury. At the close of Plaintiff’s proof, Defendant moved for a directed verdict. The Trial Court granted the motion, finding that Plaintiff failed to submit evidence that the shopping cart incident caused her injuries. Plaintiff appeals. Contrary to Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 27 and Rule 6 of the Tennessee Court of Appeals, Plaintiff’s brief fails to cite the record. In addition, the record contains no transcript or statement of evidence of the trial, hence we have no basis for determining that the Trial Court erred. We find that Plaintiff has waived her issues. We affirm. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
Brendan Todd Negron v. Andrew Nicholas Roach
Petitioner’s ex-wife became romantically involved with the Respondent. The Petitioner sought an order of protection for himself and his children against the Respondent, asserting that the Respondent stalked him and his children. The Respondent opposed the petition, asserting that he had only ever been near the Petitioner for the legitimate purpose of protecting Petitioner’s ex-wife and children from Petitioner, who has a troubling history of violence and who allegedly continued to emotionally harm the children during their online visitation. The General Sessions Court concluded that the Petitioner failed to prove stalking and declined to grant an order of protection. Petitioner advanced the petition to Circuit Court. The Circuit Court also refused to grant an order of protection and found that the Petitioner made knowingly false allegations at the time of filing his order of protection petition. Accordingly, the Circuit Court awarded attorney’s fees and costs to the Respondent. The Petitioner appeals. We affirm. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
Katherine Poling Robeson v. Travis Wilson Robeson
In this divorce action the husband appeals the classification of two substantial assets as marital property, each of which he contends are separate property because they were gifted to him by his father. The husband also challenges the trial court’s determination of his income for purposes of child support and alimony. On different grounds, the wife challenges the trial court’s determination of the husband’s income for child support purposes. The wife also appeals the trial court’s denial of her request for attorney’s fees as alimony in solido based upon its finding that her fees had been paid out of marital assets pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated § 36-4-121 and that an award of alimony in solido would constitute “double dipping.” She further seeks an award of her attorney’s fees on appeal. We affirm the trial court’s determination of the husband’s income for purposes of child support and alimony. Moreover, we affirm the classification of the 7.6-acre parcel with the cabin as marital property but reverse the classification of the husband’s partnership interest in Berry’s Chapel Ventures, LLC, as marital property and remand with instructions to classify it as Husband’s separate property. We further find that the appreciation in the value of the husband’s interest during the marriage is his separate property. Resultingly, on remand, the trial court is to reconsider the equitable division of the marital estate and enter judgment accordingly. Because of significant changes in the marital estate, we vacate the award of alimony in futuro and remand with instructions to reconsider this award upon settling the marital estate and to enter judgment accordingly. We affirm the trial court’s denial of Wife’s request for attorney’s fees as alimony in solido, albeit on different grounds. Each party shall be responsible for their attorney’s fees and expenses incurred on appeal. |
Williamson | Court of Appeals | |
Michael Adams v. Lacandra Kendrick, et al.
Pro se Appellant, Michael Adams, has appealed an order of the Shelby County Circuit Court that was entered on November 1, 2024. We determine that the trial court’s order does not constitute a final appealable judgment. As a result, this Court lacks jurisdiction to consider this appeal. The appeal is, therefore, dismissed. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
Lisa Garramone v. Dr. Joe Curtsinger
A petitioner obtained an ex parte temporary order of protection in general sessions court. The respondent counter-petitioned to dismiss under the Tennessee Public Participation Act (“TPPA”). After a hearing, the general sessions court denied the respondent’s petition, but it also declined to extend the temporary protective order and dismissed the underlying petition for lack of proof. The respondent appealed the decision on “attorney’s fees” to circuit court. After a de novo review, the circuit court determined that the respondent was not entitled to attorney’s fees under either the order of protection statute or the TPPA. In this appeal, the respondent challenges denial of his request for attorney’s fees under the TPPA. Because the circuit court lacked appellate jurisdiction over the general sessions court’s order denying the petition to dismiss under the TPPA, we vacate in part and remand. |
Williamson | Court of Appeals | |
Cynthia Thompson ET AL. v. Stormy W. Moody ET AL.
Following an automobile accident, Appellant filed a complaint for negligence and personal injuries against appellees, the at-fault driver and her husband. Appellees moved for summary judgment, arguing that appellant’s claims should be dismissed because she settled with appellees’ insurance carrier and released her claims against them prior to filing suit. The trial court granted the motion for summary judgment. Because there are disputes of material facts concerning whether appellant agreed to settle and release her claims, we reverse. |
Madison | Court of Appeals | |
Carlos Durand v. Michelle Miller
Because the order from which the appellant has filed an appeal does not constitute a final appealable judgment, this Court lacks jurisdiction to consider this appeal. |
Carter | Court of Appeals | |
Troy L. Rouzer v. CSX Transportation, Inc.
This appeal concerns whether a railroad employee’s negligence claim brought under the Federal Employers Liability Act, 45 U.S.C. § 51, et seq. (“FELA”) is precluded by the Federal Railroad Safety Act, 49 U.S.C. § 20101, et seq. (“FRSA”). Troy L. Rouzer (“Plaintiff”), a locomotive engineer, sued CSX Transportation, Inc. (“Defendant”) in the Circuit Court for Hamilton County (“the Trial Court”) under FELA for injuries he sustained in a collision. Plaintiff alleged insufficient training. Defendant filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that FRSA precludes Plaintiff’s FELA claim. Defendant argued that national uniformity in safety rules requires this result. The Trial Court granted Defendant’s motion. Plaintiff appeals. We hold, inter alia, that in view of the United States Supreme Court’s holding in POM Wonderful LLC v. Coca-Cola Co., 573 U.S. 102, 134 S.Ct. 2228, 189 L.Ed.2d 141 (2014), exemplified in its statement that “[w]hen two statutes complement each other, it would show disregard for the congressional design to hold that Congress nonetheless intended one federal statute to preclude the operation of the other[,]” id. at 115, Plaintiff’s FELA claim is not precluded by FRSA as both federal statutes complement one another toward the goal of rail safety. We, therefore, reverse the Trial Court’s grant of summary judgment to Defendant and remand for further proceedings consistent with this Opinion. |
Hamilton | Court of Appeals | |
Virginia Curtis Ex Rel. Bruce Allen Curtis v. Tiffany L. Sharp Et Al.
This appeal arises from the dismissal of a health care liability action. The plaintiff’s husband passed away after a complication that occurred during a medical procedure. The plaintiff provided pre-suit notice of her claim to five health care providers but ultimately filed suit against only three of the providers. The plaintiff voluntarily dismissed her initial action, but then she re-filed it within a year. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss the re-filed suit, alleging that the plaintiff failed to substantially comply with the requirements of Tennessee Code Annotated section 29-26-121. The trial court granted the motion to dismiss after finding that the plaintiff failed to substantially comply with section 29-26-121(a)(2)(E) due to limiting language included in HIPAA authorizations she had provided to the defendants. The trial court also found that the plaintiff failed to substantially comply with section 29-26-121(a)(4), which requires plaintiffs to file certain documentation with their complaint. We hold that the trial court erred in finding that the plaintiff failed to comply with section 29-26-121(a)(4) but did not err in finding that the plaintiff failed to comply with section 29-26-121(a)(2)(E). Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed in part and reversed in part. |
Knox | Court of Appeals | |
Rasheed Ranter v. Ronald Earl Solomon
This is an accelerated interlocutory appeal as of right pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 10B § 2.02 from the trial court’s denial of a motion for recusal. We have determined that the petition must be summarily dismissed due to substantive failures to comply with Rule 10B. Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed. |
Knox | Court of Appeals | |
In Re Conservatorship of Tracy Robinson
This is an appeal from a final order entered on September 20, 2024. The envelope within which the notice of appeal was mailed reflects that it was mailed from the prison mailroom of the facility where the appellant was incarcerated on November 9, 2024, more than thirty days from the date of entry of the order from which the appellant is seeking to appeal. Because the notice of appeal was not timely filed, we have no jurisdiction to consider this appeal. |
Hamilton | Court of Appeals | |
Charles F. Holland et al. v. Cheatham County et al.
In this action filed pursuant to 42 United States Code § 1983, the plaintiffs alleged that the defendant law enforcement officers had violated one plaintiff’s constitutional rights by using excessive force when the officers shot and injured him at the scene of a “road rage” incident that did not involve the injured plaintiff. The defendants subsequently moved for summary judgment, arguing that the officers’ use of deadly force was objectively reasonable under the totality of the circumstances because the injured plaintiff had appeared at the scene of the road rage investigation suddenly and without warning, had approached the officers rapidly, and had been armed with a rifle. Following a hearing, the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants and dismissed the action with prejudice, determining, inter alia, that the officers’ use of deadly force had been objectively reasonable. The plaintiffs timely appealed. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm. |
Cheatham | Court of Appeals | |
Kayden K., by and through Alicia Kelly v. Jessica Ruffin, M.D., et al.
A minor Plaintiff, acting through his grandmother, sued several healthcare providers for injuries stemming from his birth. The Plaintiff later voluntarily dismissed his lawsuit. The Plaintiff provided statutorily compliant pre-suit notice to each defendant within a year of dismissal but did not refile the suit for over a year after dismissal. The Plaintiff asserted this was permissible in accordance with the 120-day extension available under Tennessee’s Healthcare Liability Act. The trial court rejected this contention and dismissed the suit. On appeal, much of the parties’ respective briefing tracked the arguments before the Tennessee Supreme Court in the case of Richards v. Vanderbilt University Medical Center, __ S.W.3d __, No. M2022-00597-SC-R11-CV, 2025 WL 259059 (Tenn. Jan. 22, 2025). While the suit was pending on appeal, the Tennessee Supreme Court decided that the 120- day extension does not apply to the one-year deadline for refiling suit after a voluntary dismissal. This case is controlled by the Richards decision. Accordingly, we affirm. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
Lanora Henry v. Jeffery W. Henry
Husband and wife divorced. In dividing the parties’ marital assets, the trial court granted Husband significantly less equity than Wife in the parties’ marital residence. In its oral ruling, the trial court also set a five-year horizon before Wife needed to sell or refinance the home. On appeal, Husband challenges both the amount of the equity in the home that he was awarded and the failure to order a quicker sale or refinancing by Wife of the marital residence. Both parties agree the trial court inadvertently failed to memorialize in its written final order a sale or refinancing requirement for the end of this five-year horizon. We remand to the trial court for modification of its order in accordance with the parties’ agreed understanding; otherwise, we affirm the trial court’s order. |
Montgomery | Court of Appeals | |
Quality Motors, LLC v. Motohaven Automotive Group, LLC Et Al.
Quality Motors, LLC, a defunct used car dealership owned by Chris Yousif, filed suit in the Circuit Court for Knox County (“the Trial Court”) against Ali Hussein Khalil and Motohaven Automotive Group, LLC (“Motohaven”), pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 29- 30-101 to -111. Quality Motors claimed that Khalil had converted for his personal benefit fourteen of its cars, four of which had been sold to Motohaven. At the conclusion of Quality Motors’ proof at trial, the Trial Court granted Motohaven’s motion for directed verdict, which we construe as a motion for involuntary dismissal. At the conclusion of trial, the Trial Court found that Quality Motors had failed to meet its burden of proof against Khalil and entered a judgment dismissing Quality Motors’ case. The Trial Court granted Khalil’s and Motohaven’s respective motions for exemplary damages pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-30-110. Quality Motors appealed. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm. |
Court of Appeals | ||
Jane Doe v. John David Rosdeutscher, M.D., et al.
This is the second appeal arising from a lawsuit in which the plaintiff alleges the defendants engaged in tortious conduct and committed breach of contract when they filed certain medical records into the record of a separate healthcare liability lawsuit. The plaintiff is the same in both cases as are two of the defendants. The defendants’ motion to dismiss was granted, and sanctions were imposed against the plaintiff’s attorney. The plaintiff appealed to this Court, and we affirmed. We also deemed the appeal to be frivolous and awarded the defendants attorneys’ fees and costs incurred litigating the appeal. Upon remand, the trial court calculated the attorneys’ fees and costs incurred and the plaintiffs subsequently filed this appeal. Finding that our award of fees in the prior appeal became the law of the case, we affirm. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
Steven Brecker v. Virginia Story et al.
The plaintiff filed this lawsuit against his former attorney and her law firm, alleging legal malpractice and related claims. The defendants filed a motion for summary judgment, supported by the affidavit of the defendant-attorney and various other documents. Just days before the hearing on the motion for summary judgment, the plaintiff filed an untimely response to the motion for summary judgment along with voluminous exhibits. The defendants asked the trial court to disregard the late-filed exhibits and grant them summary judgment. The trial court found that the plaintiff’s response was untimely and deemed it stricken. In the absence of a response, the trial court also took the defendants’ statements of undisputed material facts as true. It then examined each of the causes of action asserted by the plaintiff and concluded that no genuine issues of material fact existed and that the defendants were entitled to judgment as a matter of law on all claims. The plaintiff appeals. We affirm and remand for further proceedings. |
Williamson | Court of Appeals | |
Janett Galloway v. Earl Scott Et Al.
In this boundary dispute, the plaintiff brought an action seeking a declaratory judgment to establish the boundary line between the plaintiff's improved real property and the defendants' improved real property. Following a bench trial, during which the court heard expert testimony from two competing surveyors, the trial court declared the property boundary to be established according to the survey prepared by the plaintiff's expert witness. The defendants have appealed. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm. The plaintiff's request for attorney's fees on appeal is denied. |
Morgan | Court of Appeals | |
In Re Estate of Barbara Jean Huff
The probate court declared a will executed on September 5, 2021, to be the decedent’s last will and testament and admitted it to probate. The beneficiary under an earlier will contested the validity of the 2021 will. In moving for summary judgment, the beneficiary argued that the decedent lacked testamentary capacity to make the will. Based on the undisputed facts, the trial court agreed. We affirm. |
Montgomery | Court of Appeals | |
Brenda Sands v. Robert Williard, et al.
The Plaintiff, who was injured by tripping on a sidewalk, filed suit against the private property owners and city but failed to properly serve the city. In their original answer, the private property owners asserted the city’s comparative fault but not in express terms. The Plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the city as a defendant. In an amended answer, the private property owners expressly asserted comparative fault against the city. The Plaintiff promptly amended her complaint to add the city as a defendant under Tennessee Code Annotated section 20-1-119, which provides a plaintiff 90 days after the filing of an answer asserting comparative fault against a non-party to add that non-party as a defendant, even if doing so would otherwise be barred by a statute of limitations. The city asserted this was not in accordance with the statute because the private property owners asserted comparative fault against the city in the original answer. The trial court determined that, although the original answer did raise comparative fault of the city, this did not trigger the 90-day window under the statute because the city was a party at the time. The trial court concluded that the amended answer was timely filed within 90 days of the filing of the first answer alleging comparative fault against a non-party, which was the amended answer. The city appeals. We affirm. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals |
