Mona Koja vs. Abed Koja W1999-00993-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge W. Frank Crawford
Trial Court Judge: Karen R. Williams
Wife was granted a divorce and received a division of marital property and alimony in futuro. The trial court denied Wife attorney fees and expenses. Wife has appeal. The trial court's order denying an award of attorney fees and expenses is reversed. The case is remanded for entry of an order awarding one-half of the attorney fees and expenses.
Shelby
Court of Appeals
Tuttle vs. Tuttle M1999-01578-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge W. Frank Crawford
Trial Court Judge: L. Craig Johnson
In a previous appeal, this divorce case was remanded to the trial court for a determination of whether the parties had any marital property and, if so, for the trial court to make an equitable division thereof. From the trial court's final decree in compliance with the order of remand, defendant appeals.
Coffee
Court of Appeals
In re: Adoption of a male child, Derrick Douglas Duncan M1999-01713-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge W. Frank Crawford
Trial Court Judge: C. K. Smith
This appeal involves a petition by prospective adoptive parents for termination of parental rights, temporary guardianship, and for adoption of the minor child of the defendant father. In a non-jury trial, at the conclusion of petitioner's proof, the trial court found that they had failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant father had abandoned the child and dismissed the petition. The prospective adoptive parents have appealed.
Smith
Court of Appeals
Phelps vs. TDOC M1999-02109-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge William B. Cain
Trial Court Judge: Carol L. Mccoy
Petitioner/Appellant, a state prisoner, filed his petition for common law certiorari asserting that he was being unconstitutionally and illegally incarcerated by the state and had not been given proper credits under various sentence reduction credit statutes and policies. The trial court granted summary judgment and Petitioner appealed. We affirm.
Davidson
Court of Appeals
Green vs. Innovative Recovery Services, Inc. M1999-02227-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Ben H. Cantrell
Trial Court Judge: Carol L. Mccoy
The attorney for a woman who had been injured in an auto accident claimed that his services entitled him to a portion of the subrogation interest asserted by TennCare against the settlement proceeds. The trial court dismissed his claim. We affirm the trial court.
Davidson
Court of Appeals
Witt vs. Witt M1999-02234-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Ben H. Cantrell
Trial Court Judge: Muriel Robinson
This is an appeal of the trial court's division of marital property in a divorce proceeding. Finding no error in the trial court's judgment, we affirm.
Davidson
Court of Appeals
Blankinship vs. TDOC M1999-02381-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Ben H. Cantrell
Trial Court Judge: Ellen Hobbs Lyle
A prisoner filed a petition to compel the Department of Correction to establish a mandatory parole date for his benefit. The trial court dismissed the petition for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. We affirm the trial court.
Davidson
Court of Appeals
Rodgers vs. TDOC M1999-02585-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Herschel P. Franks
Trial Court Judge: Carol L. Mccoy
In this Declaratory Judgment plaintiff sought statutory credits on his prison sentences. The Trial court granted the State summary judgment. On appeal, we affirm.
Davidson
Court of Appeals
Clark vs. Crow M1999-00916-COA-R9-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge William B. Cain
Trial Court Judge: Marietta M. Shipley
We grant this interlocutory appeal to consider a question of first impression regarding whether there is a right to jury trial prior to the issuance of an order of protection pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 36-3-605, (hereinafter "order of protection"). Specifically, we are asked to determine whether a party against whom an order of protection is sought is entitled to a jury trial as a matter of right before this order is issued. After reviewing Tennessee's constitutional and statutory guarantees to a jury trial, we have determined that there is no right to a jury trial prior to the issuance of an order of protection. The circuit court's decision is affirmed and remanded for further proceedings.
Davidson
Court of Appeals
Abbott vs. Gateway M1999-00653-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge William B. Cain
Trial Court Judge: Carol L. Soloman
The General Sessions Court of Davidson County awarded a judgment against the defendant below, Nationwide Insurance Company, in a case involving a car accident. Nationwide filed an appeal to the Davidson County Circuit court but failed to secure a trial date within 45 days as required by Davidson County Local Rule of Practice 20(b) (1999). The circuit court dismissed the case due to Nationwide's failure, and Nationwide filed a Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 60.02 motion to set aside the circuit court dismissal due to its attorney's excusable neglect. When the circuit court denied Rule 60.02 relief Nationwide appealed to this court. On appeal, we reverse the decision of the circuit court finding that it should have granted Nationwide's request for Rule 60.02 relief and set aside the dismissal of Nationwide's circuit court appeal.
Davidson
Court of Appeals
Barbara Madison, etc. vs Marie Love, et al E2000-01692-COA-RM-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Charles D. Susano, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: G. Richard Johnson
Upon remand from the Supreme Court and upon further consideration, we reverse ourselves and conclude that the trial court erred in granting the defendants summary judgment on the plaintiff's claim of negligent failure to render aid to another in peril. Accordingly, we vacate the trial court's judgment and remand for further proceedings.
Washington
Court of Appeals
TN Farmers vs. Roger Hostetler, et al W1999-00368-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Alan E. Highers
Trial Court Judge: Joseph H. Walker, III
This appeal arises from a declaratory judgment action filed in the Lauderdale County Circuit Court by Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Company. The complaint sought a declaration that Tennessee Farmers was not obligated to defend or indemnify its insureds against a wrongful death lawsuit filed by James Drake, executor of the estate of Mattie Lee Drake. After both sides filed motions for summary judgment, the trial court ruled that coverage did not exist under the Personal Liability Insurance Policy and entered summary judgment in favor of Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Company.
Lauderdale
Court of Appeals
Glenda Tate vs. Baptist Memorial W1999-00553-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge W. Frank Crawford
Trial Court Judge: Kay S. Robilio
Hospital employee was accused of negotiating payroll checks of other employees and was discharged. Employee filed defamation suit, and trial court granted summary judgment because the pleadings and affidavits established that there was no publication of the alleged defamatory words since all communication thereof was to hospital employees.
Shelby
Court of Appeals
Glenda Tate vs. Baptist Memorial W1999-00553-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge W. Frank Crawford
Trial Court Judge: Kay S. Robilio
Hospital employee was accused of negotiating payroll checks of other employees and was discharged. Employee filed defamation suit, and trial court granted summary judgment because the pleadings and affidavits established that there was no publication of the alleged defamatory words since all communication thereof was to hospital employees.
Shelby
Court of Appeals
Timothy P. Hancock, et al vs. The Chattanooga- Hamilton Cty Hospital Authority , d/b/a T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital, et al E1999-00169-COA-R9-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Charles D. Susano, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Samuel H. Payne
The issues in this medical malpractice case turn on whether the holding of the Supreme Court in the case of Jordan vs. Baptist Three Rivers Hospital, 984 S.W.2d 593 (Tenn. 1999) applies to the facts now before us. Because the cause of action in the instant case accrued prior to the release of the Supreme Court's opinion in Jordan, we conclude that the holding in that case cannot be retrospectively applied to the instant case. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court's judgment dismissing that portion of the amended complaint seeking loss of consortium damages.
Hamilton
Court of Appeals
Roane County, TN vs. Christmas Lumber Co. E1999-00370-COA-R9-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Charles D. Susano, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Russell E. Simmons, Jr.
This is a condemnation case. The trial court entered an order finding that Roane County ("the County") has the right to condemn the respondents' property for use as an industrial park. We granted the respondents' application for an interlocutory appeal to review the trial court's determination that the County has the right to condemn the subject property. Finding that the County's petition is legally deficient, we vacate the trial court's order and remand for further proceedings.
Roane
Court of Appeals
Phillips vs. Phillips M1999-00212-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge David R. Farmer
Trial Court Judge: Muriel Robinson
This appeal arises from a dispute between Plaintiff Melanie Dianne (Davis) Phillips ("Wife") and Defendant Thomas Hickman Phillips ("Husband") regarding the terms of their divorce. The trial court (1) granted a divorce to Wife, (2) divided the parties' marital property, (3) awarded rehabilitative alimony to Wife, (4) awarded attorney's fees to Wife, and (5) denied a motion for costs filed by Husband. For the reasons set forth below, we modify the court's division of the parties' marital property. In all other respects, however, we affirm the ruling of the trial court.
Davidson
Court of Appeals
Hunt vs. Hunt M1997-00221-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge William C. Koch, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Thomas E. Gray
This appeal involves the financial aspects of a divorce that ended a seventeen-year marriage. Both parties sought a divorce, and following a bench trial, the Chancery Court for Sumner County granted the wife a divorce based on the husband's inappropriate marital conduct. The trial court awarded the wife most of the marital estate, apart from the parties' pensions. The court also directed the husband to pay most of the marital debt and a portion of the wife's legal expenses. While the trial court did not require the husband to pay long-term alimony, it required him to pay $4,200 in alimony in solido. The wife asserts on this appeal that the trial court should have awarded her a greater portion of the marital estate and permanent spousal support. We have determined that the trial court's distribution of the marital estate is essentially equitable. However, in light of the length of the marriage and the disparity in income, we have determined that, in addition to the alimony in solido, the husband should pay the wife $120 per month beginning after his last alimony in solido payment through January 2007.
Sumner
Court of Appeals
Johnson vs. Sumner Regional Health Systems M2000-00248-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge David R. Farmer
Trial Court Judge: Arthur E. Mcclellan
James Johnson, as the next of kin and natural son of Belvia Johnson, appeals the trial court's final judgment dismissing his medical malpractice action against Appellee Sumner Regional Health Systems, Inc., d/b/a Sumner Regional Medical Center. Belvia Johnson (Decedent) sustained injuries when she fell off a gurney while being treated in the Medical Center's emergency room. After the Decedent's death several months later, James Johnson filed a medical malpractice complaint against the Medical Center in which he sought to recover for the "serious and permanent injuries, pain and suffering, medical expenses, and death" of the Decedent caused by her fall in the emergency room. The trial court entered summary judgment in favor of the Medical Center and dismissed Johnson's medical malpractice complaint based upon Johnson's concession that the record contained no evidence to support his claim that the Decedent's death was caused by the Medical Center's negligence. Our review of the record on appeal reveals that, although Johnson conceded that he lacked proof to support his wrongful death claim, Johnson did have proof to support his medical malpractice claim against the Medical Center. Specifically, the record contains evidence that, as a proximate result of the Medical Center's negligence, the Decedent suffered injuries that otherwise would not have occurred. Accordingly, we reverse the trial court's judgment of dismissal, and we remand this cause for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Sumner
Court of Appeals
Blake Industries, Inc. vs. General Agents Ins. Co. of America M1999-01891-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge David R. Farmer
Trial Court Judge: Irvin H. Kilcrease, Jr.
In this declaratory judgment action, the appellant has appealed to the Court from the order of dismissal entered in the trial court. Specifically, the trial court found that the insurance contract between the plaintiff/appellant and the defendant/appellee, a commercial insurance company, excluded from coverage liability for damage sustained as a result of the plaintiff/appellant's workmanship. For the reasons stated herein, we affirm the trial court's order.
Davidson
Court of Appeals
Green vs. Johnson M1999-00808-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge David R. Farmer
Trial Court Judge: Tom E. Gray
James R. Green appeals the trial court's final judgment dismissing his petition to establish the parentage of A.G.J., the minor daughter of Appellee Jennifer Leigh Johnson. Green previously filed a petition to establish parentage in April 1997, but this petition was dismissed with prejudice based on Green's failure to prosecute the action. In June 1999, Green filed the present petition in which he sought relief identical to that sought in the earlier petition. We agree with the trial court's ruling that Green's present petition is barred by principles of res judicata, and we affirm the trial court's judgment of dismissal.
Sumner
Court of Appeals
Saddler vs. Saddler M1999-01258-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge David R. Farmer
Trial Court Judge: Robert P. Hamilton
This appeal arises from a dispute between Plaintiff Dwight Saddler and Defendants Leonard and Paula Saddler regarding the ownership of a piece of real property in the estate of Edwina Groom Saddler known as the Hancock Farm. The trial court awarded this property to Dwight Saddler, finding that he is the owner of the property as the beneficiary of a resulting trust. Because we agree that Dwight Saddler has proven with the required degree of certainty that the Hancock Farm is the subject of a resulting trust in his favor, we affirm the ruling of the trial court.
Wilson
Court of Appeals
Boles vs. TN Farmers Mutual Ins. Co. M1999-00727-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge David R. Farmer
Trial Court Judge: John W. Rollins
In this action for breach of insurance contract, Plaintiffs Dorothy Calatrello Boles and her husband, Marty Boles, appeal the trial court's final judgment dismissing their complaint against Defendants/Appellees Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Company and Lee Brooks, individually and as agent for Tennessee Farmers. Contrary to the trial court's ruling, we conclude that the Plaintiffs adequately complied with the service of process requirements set forth in rule 4.04 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure. Accordingly, we reverse the trial court's judgment of dismissal, and we remand this cause for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Coffee
Court of Appeals
The Shelby Ins. Co. and The Anthem Cas.Ins. Group vs. Henry Mathes , Joann Mathes and Jerry Stewart E2000-00186-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Herschel P. Franks
Trial Court Judge: Jean A. Stanley
In this declaratory judgment action the insurance company sought a declaration that an incident giving rise to a suit by Stewart against the insurance company's insured Mathes, was not covered due to an exclusion in the policy. The Trial Judge ruled the exclusion did not apply, and the insurance company appealed. We affirm.
