COURT OF APPEALS OPINIONS

01A01-9602-CH-00054
01A01-9602-CH-00054
Trial Court Judge: Robert S. Brandt

Davidson Court of Appeals

James v. Doramus
01A01-9603-CH-00139
Trial Court Judge: Henry Denmark Bell

Williamson Court of Appeals

Forbes vs. Wilson Co. Emergency
01A01-9602-CH-00089
Trial Court Judge: C. K. Smith

Wilson Court of Appeals

Forbes vs. Wilson Co. Emergency
01A01-9602-CH-00089

Wilson Court of Appeals

02A01-9504-CV-00095
02A01-9504-CV-00095
Trial Court Judge: D'Army Bailey

Shelby Court of Appeals

02A01-9506-CH-00128
02A01-9506-CH-00128
Trial Court Judge: George R. Ellis

Gibson Court of Appeals

02A01-9504-CH-00080
02A01-9504-CH-00080
Trial Court Judge: D. J. Alissandratos

Shelby Court of Appeals

01A01-9601-CV-00038
01A01-9601-CV-00038
Trial Court Judge: Thomas Goodall

Sumner Court of Appeals

01A01-9601-CV-00038
01A01-9601-CV-00038

Court of Appeals

01A01-9602-CV-00078
01A01-9602-CV-00078
Trial Court Judge: Donald P. Harris

Williamson Court of Appeals

01A01-9511-CH-00501
01A01-9511-CH-00501
Trial Court Judge: Irvin H. Kilcrease, Jr.

Davidson Court of Appeals

01A01-9603-CH-00125
01A01-9603-CH-00125
Trial Court Judge: Henry Denmark Bell

Williamson Court of Appeals

William Bland and Lena Bland, v. Allstate Insurance Company
02A01-9412-CV-00273
Authoring Judge: Judge Holly Kirby Lillard
Trial Court Judge: Judge Robert A. Lanier

This is a suit brought by William Bland (Bland) against Allstate Insurance Company (Allstate) for breach of contract for failure to pay a claim under his homeowner’s insurance policy. At trial, the jury found for Bland and awarded him damages under the insurance contract for the loss of his home and its contents due to a fire. Allstate argued at trial that material misrepresentations on the application, as a matter of law, warranted Allstate’s decision to void Bland’s policy ab initio. Allstate appeals the denial of its motion for directed verdict and alleges error in a number of the jury instructions. We affirm the trial court.

Shelby Court of Appeals

Henry County Medical Center, v. Henry Gronski, M.D.
02A01-9412-CV-00279
Authoring Judge: Judge Holly Kirby Lillard
Trial Court Judge: Judge C. Creed Mcginley

This is a breach of contract action brought by Henry County Medical Center (HCMC) against Henry Gronski, M.D. (Gronski). In response, Gronski admitted the amounts owed to HCMC under the contract but claimed that he was owed a larger amount as set-off. The trial court awarded HCMC a judgment of $44,900.40 on the contract and awarded Gronski $56,204 as set-off. The court also ordered HCMC to pay Gronski's attorney's fees and accountant fees. HCMC appeals the court’s award of set-off to Gronski as well as the award of attorney’s and accountant fees. We affirm the trial court on all issues.

Henry Court of Appeals

Eldred L. Reid v. Jerry Stover and Charles Noles
02A01-9601-CV-00016
Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Highers
Trial Court Judge: Judge Joe G. Riley. Jr.

Plaintiff, Eldred Reid, is a prisoner currently incarcerated at the Northwest 2 Correctional Center in Tiptonville, Tennessee. Plaintiff brought this suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that various officials at the correctional center violated his constitutional rights.

Lake Court of Appeals

Harold Wayne Gibson, and wife, Sylvia Gibson, v. Kit G. McGlothlin, D/B/A Kit McGlothlin Builders, Inc., et al.
03A01-9601-CH-00019
Authoring Judge: Senior Judge William H. Inman

This is an action for damages for breach of a construction contract and of an implied warranty of good workmanship and materials and for negligent construction.

Sullivan Court of Appeals

Herman Davis and wife, Darnell Davis, v. Paul A. Hatcher, Sr., M.D.
03A01-9601-CV-00016
Trial Court Judge: Senior Judge William H. Inman

This malpractice action was dismissed on motion for summary judgment. It arose from a routine prostate resection which went awry, resulting in adverse consequences to the plaintiff. A device referred to as a resectoscope manufactured by the Circon ACMI Ohio Manufacturing Company,1 malfunctioned while being used by and under the control of the defendant, Dr. Paul Hatcher [hereafter, the “defendant”]. It is not disputed that a portion of the penis of the plaintiff, Herman
Davis [hereafter, “plaintiff”], was either chemically, thermally or electrically burned away, with disastrous results unnecessary here to be recounted.

Knox Court of Appeals

Herman Davis and wife, Darnell Davis, v. Paul A. Hatcher, Sr., M.D.
03A01-9601-CV-00016
Authoring Judge: Senior Judge William H. Inman

This malpractice action was dismissed on motion for summary judgment. It arose from a routine prostate resection which went awry, resulting in adverse consequences to the plaintiff. A device referred to as a resectoscope manufactured by the Circon ACMI Ohio Manufacturing Company,1 malfunctioned while being used by and under the control of the defendant, Dr. Paul Hatcher [hereafter, the “defendant”]. It is not disputed that a portion of the penis of the plaintiff, Herman Davis [hereafter, “plaintiff”], was either chemically, thermally or electrically burned away, with disastrous results unnecessary here to be recounted.

Knox Court of Appeals

Joseph Tyree Glanton, v. Brenda Richardson Glanton (Cherry)
01A01-9601-PB-00013
Authoring Judge: Judge Ben H. Cantrell
Trial Court Judge: Judge Marietta M. Shipley

This appeal involves a post-divorce contempt proceeding. The appellant, Mrs. Brenda Cherry, filed an unverified complaint in the Probate Court for Davidson County seeking to recover unpaid child support from her former husband, Mr. Songoleke Kurante Kotunu (formerly Joseph Tyree Glanton). Mr. Kotunu filed a Motion to Dismiss arguing the Complaint was defective since Mrs. Cherry had not verified it. The probate court agreed with Mr. Kotunu, and dismissed Mrs. Cherry’s suit. The court also awarded Mr. Kotunu his attorneys fees. Mrs. Cherry asserts on appeal that the probate court erred by requiring her to have verified her complaint, and in granting Mr. Kotunu’s attorneys fees. We partially disagree with Mrs. Cherry, and therefore affirm the probate court in part.

Davidson Court of Appeals

Douglas E. Samuelson, as the Natural Father and Personal Representative of Kevin L. Samuelson, v. Cecil E. McMurtry, M.D., et al.
01A01-9602-CV-00060
Authoring Judge: Judge Ben H. Cantrell
Trial Court Judge: Judge Thomas W. Brothers

In this wrongful death case we have determined that when the plaintiffappellant accepted a jury verdict finding the decedent was forty-nine percent at fault, that finding became binding in the appeal of the trial judge’s action in dismissing another defendant on the day of the trial. We, therefore, pretermit the issues raised by the appellant and affirm the judgment below.

Davidson Court of Appeals

Douglas E. Samuelson and Kevin L. Samuelson v.Cecil E. McMurtry, M.D., et. al. - Dissenting
01-A-01-9602-CV-00060
Authoring Judge: Judge William C. Koch, Jr.

This appeal involves one of the central principles of our comparative fault system - that all persons involved in an occurrence giving rise to injury or damages should have their rights and liabilities determined in one action. Douglas Samuelson perfected this appeal solely to obtain appellate review  of the summary dismissal of his malpractice claim against one of  several defendants on the day of trial. Rather than deciding this question, the majority has decided that the jury’s verdict with regard to the remaining parties somehow forecloses Mr. Samuelson from ever obtaining relief from the defendant who was removed from the case even before the trial started. I cannot agree with this decision.

Davidson Court of Appeals

Allen E. Cole, v. Tennessee Board of Paroles
01A01-9605-CH-00216
Authoring Judge: Judge Samuel L. Lewis
Trial Court Judge: Chancellor Robert S. Brandt

This is an appeal by petitioner, Allen B. Cole, from the judgment of the Chancery Court of Davidson County granting the motion to dismiss of respondent, the Tennessee Board of Paroles ("the Board").

Davidson Court of Appeals

Allen B. Cole, v. Tennessee Board of Paroles
01A01-9605-CH-00216
Authoring Judge: Judge William C. Koch, Jr.

Even though I concur completely with Judge Lewis’s opinion, I have prepared this separate opinion to elaborate further on the procedure whereby a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted is converted to a motion for summary judgment. Tenn. R. Civ. P. 12.02(6) requires this conversion whenever “matters outside the pleading are presented to and not excluded by the [trial] court.”

Court of Appeals

Afsoon Vafaie (formerly) Jane Doe, v. Walter R. Owens, III and wife, Cheryl Roberts Owens
01A01-9510-CV-00472
Authoring Judge: Judge David R. Farmer
Trial Court Judge: Judge Barbara N. Haynes

In this case, Plaintiff-Appellant, Dr. Afsoon Vafaie Elmore, appeals the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to Defendant-Appellee, Dr. Walter R. Owens, III, with respect to Plaintiff’s claims against Dr. Owens for assault, malicious harassment and civil conspiracy. Plaintiff also appeals the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to Defendant-Appellee, Cheryl Roberts Owens as to Plaintiff’s claims against Mrs. Owens for assault, malicious harassment, outrageous conduct and civil conspiracy. Plaintiff further appeals certain evidentiary rulings made by the trial court during the course of Plaintiff’s jury trial against Dr. Owens in which the Plaintiff sought to recover damages for severe emotional distress, arising from the alleged outrageous conduct of Dr. JuOwens.

Davidson Court of Appeals

Dodson Roberts, v. National Safety Associates, Inc.
02A01-9506-CH-00134
Authoring Judge: Judge David R. Farmer
Trial Court Judge: Chancellor Neal Small

This is an action by Appellee, Dodson Roberts(Roberts), to recover the compensation allegedly due him from his former employer, the appellant, National Safety Associates, Inc. (NSA).

Shelby Court of Appeals