COURT OF APPEALS OPINIONS

Robert Mallory v. Jim Keras Chevrolet
W2011-00402-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Per Curiam
Trial Court Judge: Judge J. Weber McCraw

Appellant appealed the trial court’s order granting a motion to stay proceedings and compel arbitration. We dismiss for lack of jurisdiction.

Fayette Court of Appeals

Robert Lee Melvin v. Wendy Ann Melvin
M2010-01418-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge David R. Farmer
Trial Court Judge: Chancellor Charles K. Smith

Plaintiff Husband appeals the trial court’s order awarding him no visitation with the parties’ children, its classification and award of property to Mother, and the award of attorney’s fees to mother. We reverse in part, affirm in part, and remand to the trial court to set visitation.

Wilson Court of Appeals

Kenneth Carpenter v. David Metler, State Farm Insurance & Cortese Tree Specialist, Inc.
E2011-00415-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Per Curiam
Trial Court Judge: Judge Wheeler A. Rosenbalm

Appellant filed a notice of appeal for a non-final judgment entered by the trial court. We dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

Knox Court of Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Danny Osborne
E2010-02211-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Jerry L. Smith
Trial Court Judge: Judge David R. Duggan

Appellant, Danny Osborne, pled guilty to promotion of methamphetamine manufacture, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a schedule II controlled substance, and criminal impersonation. As a result, he received a two-year sentence in the Department of Correction. Appellant was subsequently released to probation. One month later, a warrant was issued for violation of probation. After a hearing, the trial court revoked Appellant’s probation and ordered him to serve the balance of the original sentence in confinement. After a review of the record, we determine that the trial court did not abuse its discretion where there was substantial evidence to support the revocation of probation. Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

Blount Court of Appeals

Metropolitan Government of Nashville Davidson County v. David Douglas Ollis
M2010-02046-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Andy D. Bennett
Trial Court Judge: Judge Joseph P. Binkley, Jr.

Driver of a sedan was given citations for not having the certificate of public convenience and license necessary to operate a taxicab. The citations were upheld by the general sessions and circuit courts. Driver appeals, claiming that his sedan is not a taxi and that the lower courts did not have jurisdiction to hear the matter. We affirm.

Davidson Court of Appeals

Marsha Jean (Coughlin) Kennedy and Darlene Camp, as Administratrix c.t.a. of the Estate of Lois D. Coughlin v. State Farm Insurance Company
W2010-01024-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Holly M. Kirby
Trial Court Judge: Chancellor Arnold B. Goldin

This is an insurance case. The plaintiff daughter purchased a home with her mother as tenants in common. The homeowner’s insurance policy listed both the daughter and the mother as named insureds. The daughter later quitclaimed her interest in the property to her mother. Years later, the daughter had an accident on the property and filed a claim under the homeowner’s insurance policy. The insurance company denied recovery based on the policy’s exclusion from coverage for injury to an insured. The daughter filed this lawsuit against the defendant insurer, contending, inter alia, that she was not an insured because she did not sign the contract with the defendant insurer. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the insurance company. We affirm.

Shelby Court of Appeals

Eddie Frank Graves v. Tennessee Department of Correction et al.
M2011-00059-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Frank G. Clement, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Jim T. Hamilton

Petitioner appeals from the dismissal of three petitions for writ of certiorari for review of his disciplinary conviction for assault while incarcerated at the South Central Correctional Facility. The trial court dismissed the action based on Petitioner’s failure to adhere to the statutory verification requirements in his petitions. Petitioner appealed. We affirm.

Wayne Court of Appeals

Gerald Thomas v. Rivergate Auto Parts, et al.
M2010-01649-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Patricia J. Cottrell
Trial Court Judge: Judge Hamilton V. Gayden, Jr.

An individual took his automobile to an auto parts company, apparently to sell it for parts. The individual alleged that he had electronics and baseball cards in the automobile that were stolen at the auto parts company. The trial court dismissed the complaint without making findings of fact, and the individual appealed. The record contains the exhibits introduced at trial but no transcript of the proceedings or deposition testimony. Without a record of the proceedings from the lower court to review, we are unable to reverse the trial court or provide the appellant with the relief he seeks. We therefore affirm the trial court’s judgment dismissing the complaint.

Davidson Court of Appeals

Michael Morris v. Trucy Bloodworth
M2010-01963-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Andy D. Bennett
Trial Court Judge: Judge Amanda Jane McClendon

Inmate filed a legal malpractice action against the attorney who represented him in the direct appeal of his criminal conviction for aggravated robbery. Three years later, the trial court dismissed the inmate’s lawsuit for failure to prosecute. We affirm the result reached by the trial court because the denial of the inmate’s petition for post-conviction relief precludes his claim for legal malpractice.

Davidson Court of Appeals

Stephen Brown v. Columbia Precast, LLC, et al.
M2010-00971-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Patricia J. Cottrell
Trial Court Judge: Judge Jim T. Hamilton

An employee was promised 10% ownership interest in the company he worked for if he stayed with the company for six years. When the time came to transfer the employee’s 10% interest to him, however, the parties learned that the tax laws then in effect made the transfer impractical at that time. The parties therefore decided to delay the transfer. The parties entered into a contract the following year which the employer interpreted to mean that the employee was giving up his 10% ownership interest in exchange for a raise in his salary plus 10% of the company’s net profits each year. The employee claimed he did not give up his 10% ownership interest and sued the company and former majority owner for his 10% interest when the company was sold a few years later. The trial court concluded the employee did not give up his 10% ownership interest by signing the later agreement and awarded the employee 10% of the company’s net profits for the years following the employee’s termination plus 10% of the ultimate purchase price. We affirm the trial court’s judgment.

Maury Court of Appeals

Willie J. High v. Sumner County, Tennessee
M2010-01899-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Patricia J. Cottrell
Trial Court Judge: Chancellor Tom E. Gray

An employee of Sumner County was injured on the job and sought disability benefits pursuant to the Sumner County compensation plan. The employee’s physicians initially gave him an anatomical impairment rating of 20%, but later determined that the employee was totally disabled and could not work. The County treated the employee’s disability as a permanent partial disability and offered the employee a lower settlement than if the  employee’s disability were treated as a total permanent disability. The employee appealed the initial offer to the administrative review board, which upheld the initial offer of settlement. The employee petitioned the chancery court for a writ of certiorari and asked the court to review the administrative decision and rule that it was arbitrary and capricious. The chancery court found the review board should have considered whether the employee was totally disabled based on the evidence in the record and remanded the case back to the review board for this purpose. The County appealed, and we affirm the trial court’s decision. The plain language of the county plan does not support the administrative decision not to consider the employee’s total disability in determining the compensation he is entitled to receive.

Sumner Court of Appeals

Leonora Washington v. Gale Vogel, Ph.D., et al.
M2010-02461-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Andy D. Bennett
Trial Court Judge: Chancellor Robert E. Corlew III

Teacher who received a reprimand brought this action to challenge the actions of school officials and the school board. She argues that the school failed to provide due process to her and defamed her. The trial court found in favor of the defendants, and we affirm.

Rutherford Court of Appeals

State of Tennessee, et a. v. Centurion Industria e Comercio de Cigarros, L.T.D. A., et al. and Tantus Tobacco, L.L.C. v. State of Tennesse, et al.
M2010-02602-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge J. Steven Stafford
Trial Court Judge: Judge Barbara N. Haynes

This is an appeal from the trial court's grant of summary judgment to the Appellee. After reviewing the record, we conclude that the order granting summary judgment fails to comply with Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 56.04, as it does not “state the legal grounds upon which the court denies or grants the motion.” Consequently, this Court cannot proceed with our review and must vacate the judgment of the trial court. Vacated and remanded.

Davidson Court of Appeals

Haweya-Surer Dahir v. Abdulrahim Muhammed Abshir
M2010-00594-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Richard H. Dinkins
Trial Court Judge: Chancellor J. Mark Rogers

Former wife appeals the dismissal of an order of protection she had secured against her husband; the failure of trial court to hear her petition for annulment of the marriage; and the failure of trial court to state specifically the facts upon which the court’s finding of husband’s improper marital conduct was based. Finding no error, we affirm the trial court in all respects.

Rutherford Court of Appeals

Regency Construction LTD, Inc. et al. v. Kathy Leslie et al.
M2010-01586-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Frank G. Clement, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Joseph P. Binkley, Jr.

This dispute arises from an agreement to construct a duplex in a residential area. The issue in dispute pertains to the cost of change orders that were not reduced to writing as the construction contract required. To resolve the dispute amicably, the parties entered into an agreement titled “Settlement of Disputed Amount.” The defendant paid part of the agreed amount timely but failed to pay the balance of $23,000. This action followed. The trial court ruled in favor of the contractor for the balance owed pursuant to the agreement and applied an offset in favor of the defendant in the amount of $5,220.55. Defendant appealed. We affirm.

Davidson Court of Appeals

Kenneth E. Diggs v. Strand Analytical Laboratories, LLC
W2011-00318-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Per Curiam
Trial Court Judge: Judge Robert L. Childers,

Appellant appealed the dismissal of the action by the trial court. We dismiss this appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

Shelby Court of Appeals

David Larkin Wall v. Amy Ballesteros Wall
W2010-01069-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Holly M. Kirby
Trial Court Judge: Chancellor Kenny W. Armstrong

This is a post-divorce petition to modify a parenting plan. In the divorce decree, the mother was designated as the primary residential parent of the parties’ daughter. Two years later, the father filed this petition to modify the decree to designate him as the primary residential parent, alleging that the mother had inadequate child care arrangements while the mother was at work, and that the mother had not been adequately caring for the child’s basic personal and educational needs. The parenting plan was temporarily modified to designate the father as the temporary primary residential parent. Nevertheless, the father was ordered to continue paying child support to the mother pending the trial, in order to maintain the status quo. After a hearing, the trial court found a material change in circumstances, but found it was not sufficient to change the designation of primary residential parent to the father on a permanent basis. The father was awarded substantially more parenting time. The father now appeals the denial of his petition to change the designation of primary residential parent and the award of child support to the Mother while he was the temporary primary residential parent.  We affirm the award of child support, but reverse the denial of the petition to change the designation of the primary residential parent based on the mother’s consistently poor judgment in decisions related to the care of the child.

Shelby Court of Appeals

Hosie Johnson et al. v. Nick Dattilo et al.
M2010-01967-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Frank G. Clement, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Ross H. Hicks

The purchasers of a lot and newly constructed residence filed this action against the builders, seeking damages and rescission of the construction and sale agreement. The plaintiffs allege the defendants breached the agreement by failing to construct the home in accordance with “good building practices,” and breached the implied warranty of workmanship. They also allege that statements made by the foreman during construction, concerning the condition of the property, amount to a violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-104(b)(7), as well as common law negligent and fraudulent misrepresentation.The trial court granted the defendant’s motion for a directed verdict on all claims. Finding plaintiffs failed to provide evidence of key elements in each of their claims, we affirm.

Montgomery Court of Appeals

Swift Roofing, Inc. v. State of Tennessee, Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development
M2010-02544-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge J. Steven Stafford
Trial Court Judge: Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman

This appeal arises from a petition seeking judicial review of an administrative agency order, which affirmed citations for workplace safety violations. The Chancery Court affirmed the citations. After reviewing the appellate record, we conclude that the administrative agency did not provide the required findings of fact, conclusions of law, and reasons for its decision. Consequently, judicial review is not possible based on the record before this Court. Therefore, we vacate the order of the Chancery Court and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Davidson Court of Appeals

Commercial Bank, Inc., et al., v. Hollis Fay Summers, et al.
E2010-02170-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Herschel Pickens Franks
Trial Court Judge: Chancellor Billy Joe White

Plaintiffs alleged that defendants had borrowed money from the Bank and executed a trust deed to secure the loan and the property was properly foreclosed by the Bank as the successful bidder. Further, that defendants then filed numerous documents in the Register of Deeds office to slander plaintiffs' title. Defendants never answered the Complaint and after several months plaintiffs moved for a default judgment which was granted at a hearing before the Trial Court. The Trial Court ruled that the various documents filed by the defendants in the Register of Deeds office were null and void and assessed costs to the defendants. Defendants appealed pro se, and we dismiss the appeal on the grounds that they failed to comply with any of the applicable rules of appellate procedure governing appeals.

Union Court of Appeals

Angela L. (Lyles) Melton v. Jackie B. Melton
E2010-01302-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge John W. McClarty
Trial Court Judge: Judge Dennis W. Humphrey

In this divorce case, the husband challenges the trial court’s distribution of the marital property, valuation of the marital residence, and award of alimony to the wife. Without a transcript or statement of the evidence, this court cannot adequately review the issues raised by the husband. Finding that the trial court did not err as a matter of law, we affirm.

Roane Court of Appeals

In the matter of: Shyronne D. H., et al.
W2011-00328-COA-R3-PT
Authoring Judge: Judge J. Steven Stafford
Trial Court Judge: Judge John R. McCarroll, Jr.

This is a termination of parental rights case with an unusual procedural history. Following an incident with one of her children, Appellant Mother was charged with one count of aggravated child neglect or endangerment and one count of aggravated child abuse of a child under eight years of age. She pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced to six years’ incarceration. In a separate proceeding, the children were adjudicated to be dependent and neglected and victims of severe child abuse. At the termination of parental rights hearing, which is the subject of this appeal, the trial court determined that the previous finding of severe child abuse was res judicata and did not permit the parties to relitigate the issue. We conclude that the trial court erred in finding the issue of severe child abuse to be res judicata because the order finding the children to be dependent and neglected and victims of severe child abuse is not a final judgment. Consequently, Appellant should have been permitted to present evidence and argument at the termination proceeding as to whether she committed severe child abuse. The judgment of the trial court is vacated and remanded.

Shelby Court of Appeals

Rebecca Gribble Waddell v. Gregory C. Rustin
E2010-02342-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge D. Michael Swiney
Trial Court Judge: Chancellor Telford Forgety

This case stems from a lawsuit over an alleged implied partnership. Rebecca Gribble Waddell (“Waddell”) and Gregory C. Rustin (“Rustin”) were involved romantically for a number of years. After the couple separated, Waddell sued Rustin in the Chancery Court for Jefferson County (“the Trial Court”), alleging, among other things, that a partnership existed between Waddell and Rustin. The Trial Court held, inter alia, that there was no partnership between Waddell and Rustin and ordered divestiture of certain property from Waddell to Rustin. Waddell appeals to this Court, and both parties raise multiple issues. Rustin also argues that this appeal is frivolous. We affirm the judgment of the Trial Court on all issues except for that concerning divestiture of certain property from Waddell, which we reverse. We decline to hold this appeal frivolous. We affirm, in part, and, reverse, in part.

Jefferson Court of Appeals

Ann Laure Chamberlain v. Jeremy Steven Moore
E2011-00697-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge D. Michael Swiney
Trial Court Judge: Judge Jacqueline Schulten Bolton

On December 10, 2010 the Trial Court entered an Agreed Order on Parenting Time. Ann Laure Chamberlain (“Appellant”) filed a motion to set aside the December 10, 2010 order. On February 28, 2011 the Trial Court entered its order, inter alia, denying the motion to set aside, reserving child support matters, and stating that the parties may mediate any remaining issues regarding parenting time. Appellant appeals to this Court. We dismiss this appeal for lack of a final judgment.

Hamilton Court of Appeals

In Re: Gabriel D.A., ET AL
E2011-01161-COA-R3-PT
Authoring Judge: Judge D. Michael Swiney
Trial Court Judge: Judge Brandon Fisher

The order from which the appellant William E. J. seeks to appeal was entered on Tuesday, April 12, 2011. A notice of appeal was filed by the appellant on Thursday, May 19, 2011, the 37th day following the entry of the trial court’s order. Because the notice of appeal was not filed timely, we have no jurisdiction to consider this appeal. Accordingly, this appeal is dismissed.

Anderson Court of Appeals