Robert Ferguson v. M. Brown Construction, Inc. et al.
A property owner hired a local contractor to build a custom-designed home. A payment dispute arose midway through construction, and the contractor stopped working. The owner paid others to repair and complete the home. Then he filed suit against the contractor asserting multiple theories of recovery. Among other things, the trial court found the contractor liable for breach of contract and fraudulent misrepresentation. As compensatory damages, it awarded the owner the additional costs he incurred to repair and complete the home above the contract price. We affirm in part, vacate in part, and remand for recalculation of compensatory damages. |
Cheatham | Court of Appeals | |
In Re Charles B.
Mother and Father appeal the termination of their parental rights. As to Mother, the trial court found three grounds for termination: substantial noncompliance with a parenting plan, persistent conditions, and failure to manifest an ability and willingness to assume custody. Regarding Father, the trial court found four grounds for termination: severe child abuse, imprisonment for two years for conduct qualifying as severe child abuse, imprisonment for ten years when the child is under eight years of age, and failure to manifest an ability and willingness to assume custody. The trial court also determined that terminating each parent’s rights was in the child’s best interest. The trial court properly determined that a termination ground existed as to each parent and that terminating each parent’s rights was in the child’s best interest. We affirm. |
Van Buren | Court of Appeals | |
Deborah Fly et al. v. Haley Rae Fly et al.
A grandparent petitioned for visitation with her grandchild. The juvenile court found that the loss or severe reduction of visitation with the grandparent would cause severe emotional harm. The child’s mother appeals. Because the evidence preponderates against the court’s finding that denial of grandparent visitation would cause severe emotional harm, we reverse. |
Wilson | Court of Appeals | |
John E. Sullivan, Jr. GST Exempt Trust, et al. v. Frank G. Sullivan, et al.
Testator created a generation-skipping trust and instructed the eventual trustee to distribute all remaining trust funds to the “then living descendants of the child per stirpes” upon the death of Testator’s child. Testator’s child later died, leaving two generations of descendants. Each first-generation descendant is the parent of a corresponding second-generation descendant, and neither predeceased the Testator’s child. Trustee brought a declaratory judgment action, seeking to ascertain whether only the first generation of the child’s descendants should inherit trust funds or if, instead, members of both generations should take equally. Relying on Testator’s choice of a per stirpes distribution system, the probate court concluded that trust funds should be split equally between the first-generation descendants, reasoning that the funds do not go any further under a traditional per stirpes framework. We affirm. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
In Re Dorothy A. et al.
In this case involving termination of the father’s and mother’s parental rights to two of their minor children, the trial court determined that two statutory grounds had been proven as to each parent by clear and convincing evidence. The trial court further determined that clear and convincing evidence demonstrated that termination of the father’s and mother’s parental rights was in the children’s best interest. The father and mother have each appealed. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm. |
Dickson | Court of Appeals | |
Abdolhossain Motealleh v. Remax Tristar Realty Et Al.
This appeal arises from a complaint filed by Abdolhossain Motealleh (“Plaintiff”) entitled, “Petition for Criminal Conspiracy to Petition David Margulies for Representations.” The trial court dismissed the complaint upon the defendants’ Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 12.06(b) motion to dismiss for failing to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. Plaintiff appeals that decision. Due to profound deficiencies with Plaintiff’s brief, particularly his failure to comply with Rule 27(a)(4) and (7) of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure and Rule 6 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals of Tennessee in several material respects, Plaintiff has waived his right to an appeal. Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed. The defendants, ReMax Tri Star Realty and Jarrod Cruz, (“Defendants”) contend this is a frivolous appeal and seek an award of damages pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated § 27-1-122. Having determined that this appeal is devoid of merit, we find the appeal to be frivolous. Therefore, Defendants are entitled to recover their reasonable and necessary attorney’s fees and expenses incurred in defending this frivolous appeal. Accordingly, we remand this case to the trial court to make the appropriate award. |
Knox | Court of Appeals | |
Melissa Salmon v. Fellowship Bible Church of Williamson County
The plaintiff filed a declaratory judgment action seeking a declaration on whether a settlement agreement she signed in 2016 and amended in 2017 still requires her silence on the details of the alleged sexual abuse of her son in light of the 2018 enactment of Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-34-103, which makes such agreements “void and unenforceable as contrary to the public policy of this state.” The trial court granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss, issued a blanket sealing order, and held that the Attorney General and Reporter did not have to be notified of the action and that the plaintiff’s interpretation of the statute would lead to unconstitutional retrospective application. We reverse the trial court’s grant of the motion to dismiss, vacate the decisions on the remaining issues, and remand the matter for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. |
Williamson | Court of Appeals | |
In Re Ezmaie F., et al.
A father and mother appeal from an order terminating their parental rights to their two minor children. The trial court held that the evidence presented supported termination of each parent’s rights based on the statutory grounds of abandonment by failure to provide a suitable home, persistence of conditions which led to removal, severe child abuse, and failure to manifest an ability and willingness to assume custody or financial responsibility. The court also found that termination was in the children’s best interests. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm. |
Houston | Court of Appeals | |
Leslie Burke v. State of Tennessee Department of Children's Services
This appeal arises from a judgment upholding a decision by the Administrative Procedures Division of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services denying the appellant an award of reasonable expenses after a contested case hearing pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 4-5-301, et. seq. Upon the appellant seeking judicial review, the trial court affirmed the decision by the Department. We affirm. |
Greene | Court of Appeals | |
Brant Heath Grimm v. Michelle Lester Grimm
A husband filed for divorce from his wife in 2022. Just before they were set to go to trial in July of 2023, the parties settled their divorce and announced their agreement to the trial court. Before the written consent judgment could be entered, however, the wife filed a notice revoking her consent to the agreement. The trial court entered the judgment regardless, and the wife later filed a motion to set that judgment aside. The trial court denied the wife’s motion, and she appealed to this Court. Discerning no error, we affirm. |
Hawkins | Court of Appeals | |
Barbara J. Todd v. Metropolitan Historic Zoning Commission of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee
After a hearing before the Metropolitan Historic Zoning Commission, the appellant homeowner was ordered to remove a covered porch addition that was constructed without a preservation permit, as the Commission determined that the addition did not comply with the applicable design guidelines. The homeowner filed a petition for writ of certiorari, and the chancery court held a de novo hearing on the matter. After the evidentiary hearing, the chancery court likewise determined that the unpermitted covered porch did not meet the applicable design guidelines, and the court ordered its removal. The homeowner appeals, arguing that her due process rights were violated due to untimely notice of the hearing before the Commission and that the chancery court erred in finding that her covered porch was not in compliance with the guidelines. We affirm. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
April Hawthorne v. Morgan & Morgan Nashville, PLLC, ET AL.
This is an appeal from a trial court’s decision to grant class action certification. Discerning no abuse of discretion in the trial court’s decision to certify the class at issue, we affirm. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
Codie Lynn Anderson v. Leah Rae Marshall
This appeal concerns the change of custody and the relocation of a parent, as well as an evidentiary issue concerning the denial of the admission of certain psychiatric records. Because the mother failed to provide an offer of proof in connection with the juvenile court’s ruling concerning the inadmissibility of the psychiatric records, we conclude that this evidentiary issue was not properly preserved for appellate review. Regarding the remaining issues, the juvenile court determined that a material change in circumstances had occurred and modified the parenting plan by designating the father as the primary residential parent and providing the father with the majority of the parenting time. Because we conclude that the juvenile court did not abuse its discretion in modifying the parenting plan, we affirm the juvenile court’s modification. Furthermore, as discussed herein, we affirm the juvenile court’s decision permitting the father to relocate. |
Dyer | Court of Appeals | |
Mallory Sandridge v. Hollywood Henderson, et al.
This case arises from a car wreck. Following the accident, the at-fault driver was issued several citations for various violations of the City of Memphis traffic laws. The trial court denied Appellant’s motion for summary judgment, finding that Appellee’s lawsuit was not time barred. In so ruling, the trial court held that the citations given to the at-fault driver were criminal in nature and, thus, triggered the filing extension contemplated in Tennessee Code Annotated section 28-3-104(a)(2)(A). We granted this interlocutory appeal under Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 10. Because the citations in this case were civil in nature, we conclude that the two-year statute of limitations is not applicable, and Appellee’s lawsuit is time-barred. We reverse the trial court’s order and remand for entry of an order granting Appellant’s motion for summary judgment. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
Teli White v. Shelby County Board of Education
This appeal arises from the termination of a tenured schoolteacher. The trial court determined that the termination constituted an impermissible second punishment for conduct for which the schoolteacher had previously been suspended and ordered his reinstatement. Finding that the termination letter charged the schoolteacher with conduct which was not contemplated in the suspension letter, and with conduct which had not occurred at the time of the suspension, we reverse. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
Rachel Poyner Hight v. Billy Hugh Hight
Mother appeals the trial court’s ruling approving her request to relocate with the parties’ older daughter but denying her request with regard to the parties’ younger son. We affirm. |
Madison | Court of Appeals | |
Brittni (Gray) Haggard v. Joe Michael Carroll
Appellee filed a petition to modify parenting time and child support, and Appellant filed a countermotion and a Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 10B motion for recusal of the trial judge. The trial court did not enter an order on Appellant’s motion for recusal, and there was no order transferring the case to another judge by interchange. The new judge made substantive rulings, and Appellant filed a motion to alter or amend asserting that the judge lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over the case because the requirements of Tennessee Supreme Court Rules 11 and 10B were not met. We agree. Vacated and remanded. |
McNairy | Court of Appeals | |
Hamilton County and F/U/B of the State of Tennessee Et Al. v. Tax Year 2018 Delinquent Taxpayers Et Al.
This appeal arises from an action to recover excess proceeds from the tax sale of a parcel of real property. After the redemption period had ended, the appellants, heirs to the decedent whose property was sold at the tax sale, moved to claim the excess proceeds pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated § 67-5-2702. The appellee, a company that had held a valid judgment lien against the real property at the time of the tax sale, also moved to claim the excess proceeds, arguing that its lien held priority over the heirs’ claim pursuant to § 67-5-2702(c)(2). The heirs objected, asserting that because the company had allowed its judgment lien to lapse after the tax sale, the company no longer maintained priority to claim the excess proceeds from that sale. The trial court granted the company’s motion, determining that because its judgment lien had been valid and enforceable at the time of the tax sale, the company maintained priority over the heirs to receive the excess proceeds pursuant to § 67-5-2702(c)(2). Discerning no reversible error, we affirm. |
Hamilton | Court of Appeals | |
Thomas Kerry Jordan v. Roxana Bianca Jordan
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 because the petition for recusal appeal was untimely and the time for filing a petition for recusal appeal is jurisdictional and cannot be extended by this court. See Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 10B, § 2.08. We also find that the petition would have to be dismissed due to numerous and substantive failures to comply with Rule 10B § 2.02, including the failure to file a copy of the affidavit in support of the motion for recusal as well as the trial court’s order denying recusal. Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed. |
Roane | Court of Appeals | |
Benjamin Douglas v. Frank Strada, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Correction, et al.
This appeal stems from an inmate’s lawsuit seeking a transfer to another facility due to a claimed imminent risk of violence from other inmates. Benjamin Douglas (“Plaintiff”) sued Frank Strada, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Correction, and the Tennessee Department of Correction (“TDOC”) (“Defendants,” collectively) in the Chancery Court for Hardeman County (“the Trial Court”), asking for injunctive and declaratory relief based on the safe prisons clause of the Tennessee Constitution. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss, which the Trial Court granted. The Trial Court found that it lacked jurisdiction because Plaintiff failed to exhaust his administrative remedies. Plaintiff appeals. We hold, inter alia, that exhaustion of administrative remedies was not jurisdictional in this case; that the Trial Court abused its discretion in applying the exhaustion doctrine when Defendants failed to properly raise that affirmative defense; and that the Trial Court erred in considering matters outside the complaint at the motion to dismiss stage without converting the motion to one for summary judgment. We reverse and remand for further proceedings. |
Hardeman | Court of Appeals | |
Franklin Community Development v. Darlene Lee
This case involves an unlawful detainer action filed by a community development center against a tenant for failure to pay rent and for unruly conduct. The detainer action ultimately resulted in the tenant’s eviction and a monetary judgment against the tenant for delinquent rent payments. The tenant now appeals the judgment of the trial court. Because the tenant’s appellate brief does not comply with Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 27 and Tennessee Court of Appeals Rule 6, we hereby dismiss the appeal. |
Maury | Court of Appeals | |
In Re Josclyn M., et al.
This action involves the termination of a mother’s parental rights to her minor children. Following a bench trial, the court found that clear and convincing evidence existed to establish the following statutory grounds of termination: (1) abandonment for failure to provide a suitable home; (2) substantial noncompliance with the permanency plans; (3) persistence of conditions which led to removal; and (4) failure to manifest an ability and willingness to assume custody of the children. The court also found that termination was in the best interest of the children. We affirm the trial court’s termination decision. |
White | Court of Appeals | |
Robert Eugene Callaway v. Linda Marie Callaway
In this post-divorce action, the trial court partially granted the husband’s petition to modify or terminate spousal support, reducing the husband’s monthly alimony in futuro obligation to the wife from $1,750.00 to $1,500.00 upon finding that the husband’s retirement constituted a substantial and material change in circumstance warranting the reduction. The husband has appealed, arguing that the court erred by declining to terminate or further reduce his support obligation. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm. |
McMinn | Court of Appeals | |
Re Land TN II, Inc. v. 840 Development Group, LLC
Appellant appeals the denial of its motion to quash a notice of lien lis pendens. Because the trial court improvidently certified its order as final under Rule 54.02 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure, we dismiss this appeal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. |
Rutherford | Court of Appeals | |
Robert W. Halliman v. Austin Peay State University
This is an action for violation of the Tennessee Human Rights Act, Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 4- 21-101 to -1004 (“THRA”). The plaintiff, an associate professor at a state university, applied for promotion to the rank of full professor. While his application was under review, the plaintiff filed an age discrimination charge against the university with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”). A short time later, the university denied the plaintiff’s promotion based on his alleged lack of high-quality scholarship. The trial court dismissed the action at the summary judgment stage, reasoning that the plaintiff had not produced evidence to rebut the university’s stated reason for denying his promotion. This appeal followed. The plaintiff contends that the trial court erred because there was evidence that the university’s administration knowingly violated university policy by reevaluating the merits of the plaintiff’s peer-reviewed scholarship. We affirm the trial court’s judgment in all respects. |
Montgomery | Court of Appeals |
