Ajalon Elliott, et al. v. Harold Junior Monger, et al.
This appeal arises from an automobile accident. Appellants, one of the drivers and her husband, filed a complaint for negligence against appellees, the other driver and his employer. Appellees filed a motion for summary judgment, alleging that immediately preceding the collision, the appellee-driver experienced a heart attack that left him physically incapacitated and unable to control his vehicle. In granting the motion for summary judgment and dismissing the case, the trial court found that the sudden physical incapacitation doctrine provided appellees with a defense to appellants’ negligence claim. Discerning no error, we affirm. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
Joseph E. Graham v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Joseph E. Graham, appeals from the Montgomery County Circuit Court’s denial of post-conviction relief from his convictions for two counts of first degree felony murder, seven counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, five counts of attempted aggravated robbery, and one count of especially aggravated burglary and his effective sentence of life imprisonment plus twenty years. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the post-conviction court erred by (1) denying relief on his ineffective assistance of counsel claim and (2) denying his motion for a continuance of the post-conviction hearing. We affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Dora Rathbone Brown Et Al. v. James H. Fitchorn Et Al.
Pro se appellant appeals from an order to partition real property. Due to the deficiencies in the appellant’s brief, including the lack of any specific issues for appellate review, we dismiss the appeal. We also conclude the appeal is frivolous and remand for an assessment of damages. |
Cocke | Court of Appeals | |
Mickey Verchell Shanklin v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Mickey Verchell Shanklin, appeals the post-conviction court’s order denying his petition for post-conviction relief in which he challenged his convictions for the sale of heroin, the delivery of heroin, the sale of fentanyl, and the delivery of fentanyl and his effective sentence of thirty years of imprisonment as a Range III, persistent offender. On appeal, Petitioner asserts that trial counsel was ineffective in failing to submit the controlled substance for independent testing. Because Petitioner filed an untimely notice of appeal, we dismiss the appeal. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Nedra R. Hastings v. Larry M. Hastings, Jr., et al.
The notice of appeal in this case was not timely filed. Therefore, this Court lacks jurisdiction to consider this appeal. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. William Wylie
A Maury County jury convicted the Defendant, William Wylie, of second degree murder, among other offenses. The trial court imposed a sentence of twenty years. On appeal, the State asks this court to dismiss the appeal because the Defendant’s notice of appeal was untimely. Upon our review, we agree that the Defendant’s notice of appeal was untimely and that the interest of justice does not require us to waive the timely filing requirement. We respectfully dismiss the appeal. |
Maury | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
In Re Santana M., et al.
This is a termination of parental rights case. Father appeals the termination of his parental rights on the grounds of: (1) abandonment by failure to provide a suitable home; (2) substantial noncompliance with the permanency plan; (3) persistence of conditions; (4) failure to manifest an ability and willingness to assume custody or financial responsibility; and (5) abandonment by an incarcerated parent. We affirm. |
Dyer | Court of Appeals | |
Hunters Point Quarry LLC v. Metropolitan Government of Hartsville and Trousdale County, Tennessee et al.
A county regional planning commission denied the petitioner’s application to place a quarry in an agricultural zone. The zoning laws included certain requirements for quarrying. None of the zones, however, permitted quarrying, and all the zones prohibited any unpermitted uses. The petitioner sought a writ of certiorari. The trial court granted summary judgment to the county respondents, concluding that the planning commission did not act illegally, capriciously, fraudulently, or without material evidence. Because the zoning laws for the agricultural zone did not permit quarrying and explicitly prohibited unpermitted uses, we affirm the grant of summary judgment. |
Trousdale | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Brentnol Calvin James
A Davidson County jury convicted the Defendant, Brentnol Calvin James, of first degree premeditated murder, and the trial court imposed a life sentence. On appeal, the Defendant asserts that the evidence of premeditation was insufficient to support his conviction, and that the trial court erred by failing to provide a jury instruction on self-defense. After review, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Brittany Sharayah Lehmann v. Jerry Scott Wilson
This appeal concerns custody and child support determinations regarding a minor child. Because the trial court failed to identify and employ the applicable legal standard, we vacate the judgment as to the limitation of Father’s parenting time, the imposition of supervised parenting time, and the suspension of Father’s parental rights. Additionally, we vacate the award of attorney’s fees to Mother because the trial court failed to determine their reasonableness. The judgment is otherwise affirmed as to the remaining issues and the case is remanded for further proceedings. |
Rutherford | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Joey Dewayne Callahan
Joey Dewayne Callahan (“Defendant”) appeals from his Marshall County Circuit Court convictions for possession with intent to sell or deliver more than 0.5 grams of methamphetamine, possession of a prohibited weapon, possession with the intent to use drug paraphernalia, resisting arrest, and reckless driving, for which he received a total effective sentence of fifteen years’ incarceration. Defendant contends that the evidence was insufficient to establish his intent to sell the methamphetamine. Following a thorough review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Marshall | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Howard Levy v. James Franks et al.
This appeal concerns claims for nuisance, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and enforcement of a local zoning ordinance. The plaintiff, Howard Levy, alleged that his neighbor, James Franks, engaged in an intentional and malicious course of conduct that included paving over a corner of Levy’s property, building a wooden fence along Levy’s property line, and routing construction vehicles over the parties’ shared driveway. Levy also alleged that the fence violated the Zoning Ordinance of Franklin, Tennessee, and that Franks was operating a construction company on his property in violation of the same. The trial court dismissed Levy’s fence-zoning claim at the summary judgment stage because he had not produced evidence that he was “specially damaged” as required by Tennessee Code Annotated § 13-7-208(a)(2). At the close of Levy’s proof during the bench trial, the court dismissed the remaining claims pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 41.02. The court also enjoined Levy from interfering with the installation of underground power lines under Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 65.04(2). This appeal followed. We conclude the trial court was without jurisdiction to enter the injunction, which was unrelated to any of the underlying claims, but we affirm the trial court’s judgment in all other respects. |
Williamson | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jamarea Dashon Alderson
After being indicted on multiple charges in two separate cases, Jamarea Dashon Alderson, Defendant, entered an open guilty plea to the offenses of aggravated assault, two counts of simple possession of marijuana, possession of oxycodone, possession of hydrocodone, and evading arrest. The trial court denied alternative sentencing and sentenced Defendant to serve an effective sentence of five years, eleven months, and twenty-nine days, ordering partial consecutive sentencing. Defendant appeals, arguing that the trial court erred in denying alternative sentencing and ordering consecutive sentencing. Defendant also challenges the trial court’s admission of testimony about pending charges during the sentencing hearing. Because the trial court did not abuse its discretion, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Maury | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Monoleto D. Green v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Monoleto D. Green, acting pro se, appeals from the order of the Davidson County Criminal Court summarily dismissing his second petition seeking a writ of habeas corpus. Pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals, we affirm. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Mitchell D. Horst, et al. v. Gary Gaar
The Plaintiffs filed suit against the former father-in-law of one of the Plaintiffs, complaining that, following alleged statements the former father-in-law made to a third party, the third party moved money that had been invested with the former son-in-law. The former father-in-law sought to dismiss the claims that were asserted against him, both pursuant to a Tenn. R. Civ. P. 12 motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim and pursuant to a petition under the Tennessee Public Participation Act. After initially dismissing the Plaintiffs’ complaint for failure to state a claim and denying a motion to alter or amend, the trial court held a separate hearing regarding dismissal under the Tennessee Public Participation Act. Ultimately, the trial court ruled that dismissal under the Tennessee Public Participation Act was appropriate and concluded that the former father-in-law was entitled to costs and attorney’s fees in connection with this litigation, both in relation to the Tennessee Public Participation Act petition and the Rule 12 dismissal. For the specific reasons stated herein, we affirm the trial court’s dismissal under Rule 12, vacate its dismissal—and award of costs and attorney’s fees—under the Tennessee Public Participation Act, and affirm the award of costs and attorney’s fees that stemmed from the trial court’s Rule 12 dismissal. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
In Re Daniel W. 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) the persistence of conditions which led to removal; (2) substantial noncompliance with the permanency plans; and (3) 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. |
Bradley | Court of Appeals | |
In Re Brian Z. Et Al.
Father appeals the termination of his parental rights, arguing that termination was not in his child’s best interests. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm. |
Campbell | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. William Swafford
The Defendant, William Swafford, was convicted by a Hamblen County jury of especially |
Hamblen | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Joshua L. Hutcherson
The defendant, Joshua L. Hutcherson, pleaded guilty to four counts of vehicular assault, two counts of driving on a revoked license with a prior DUI, one count of leaving the scene of an accident with injuries, four counts of reckless aggravated assault, and one count of felony reckless endangerment, and the trial court imposed an effective sentence of fourteen years’ incarceration in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the defendant argues the trial court erred in denying alternative sentencing and in failing to apply an appropriate mitigating factor. After reviewing the record and considering the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. However, we remand the case for corrected judgment forms. |
Henderson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Tracy L. Harris v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Tracy L. Harris, pleaded guilty in Carroll County Circuit Court to first degree murder and aggravated rape and was sentenced to an effective sentence of life without parole. After unsuccessful challenges to his convictions and sentences in Tennessee and federal courts, Petitioner filed a pro se petition pursuant to the Post-Conviction DNA Analysis Act of 2001 (“The Act”), Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-30-301, et. seq., requesting DNA analysis on several items and samples taken from the crime scene. After the State responded in opposition, the post-conviction court dismissed the petition without a hearing and found that Petitioner had not met the statutory requirements of the Act. On appeal, Petitioner challenges the post-conviction court’s dismissal of his petition. We conclude that the post-conviction court did not err in dismissing the petition, and we affirm. |
Carroll | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Tray Simmons v. Dr. Shahidul Islam et al.
A patient brought a health care liability action against his psychiatrist and the psychiatrist’s employer, alleging the psychiatrist engaged in improper sexualized conduct that caused him psychological injury. The patient secured an expert witness in support of his suit, but the expert withdrew following the expert’s deposition. The patient obtained a new expert witness. However, relying on the cancellation rule, the trial court determined a conflict existed between the second expert’s affidavit and deposition testimony relating to the issue of damages. The trial court granted summary judgment to the defendants and also granted the defendants’ request for an award of discretionary costs. The patient appeals. We affirm. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jaylon Hatch
The Defendant, Jaylon Hatch, was convicted by a Shelby County Criminal Court jury of attempted premeditated first degree murder, a Class A felony; aggravated assault in concert with two or more persons, a Class B felony; reckless endangerment by discharging a firearm into a habitation, a Class C felony; and employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, a Class C felony. See T.C.A. §§ 39-13-202 (first degree murder), 39-13-102 (Supp. 2019) (subsequently amended) (aggravated assault), 39-13-103 (Supp. 2019) (reckless endangerment), 39-17-1324 (Supp. 2019) (subsequently amended) (employing a firearm). The trial court imposed an effective twenty-one-year sentence. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to establish that he was the perpetrator of the conviction offenses because they are based on the uncorroborated testimony of an accomplice. We affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Roderick Redmond
The Defendant, Roderick Redmond, was convicted by a Shelby County Criminal Court jury of rape of a child, a Class A felony, and aggravated sexual battery, a Class B felony. See T.C.A. §§ 39-13-522 (Supp. 2020) (subsequently amended) (rape of a child), 39-13- 504 (2018) (aggravated sexual battery). The trial court sentenced him to consecutive sentences of thirty years for rape of a child and ten years for aggravated sexual battery, for an effective forty-year sentence. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions. We affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. William Paul Climer
The defendant, William Paul Climer, was indicted by the Dyer County Grand Jury for one count of aggravated kidnapping and two counts of aggravated assault. On September 8, 2023, the defendant pled guilty to one count of aggravated assault. Per the terms of his plea agreement, the defendant agreed to be sentenced as a Range II, multiple offender with the length and manner of service to be determined by the trial court. Additionally, the State agreed to dismiss the aggravated kidnapping charge and the second count of aggravated assault. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced the defendant to a term of six years’ incarceration and imposed a fine of $2500. On appeal, the defendant contends the trial court erred in denying alternative sentencing and in imposing a fine without making the appropriate findings. Upon our review of the record, the parties’ briefs, and the applicable law, we affirm the trial court’s denial of alternative sentencing; however, the trial court failed to make the appropriate findings concerning the imposition of the $2500 fine, and therefore, we remand the matter to the trial court to determine if a fine is appropriate and make such findings as necessary. |
Dyer | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
In Re Rome W.
The juvenile court terminated a mother’s parental rights to two of her children. The mother appealed and challenges the court’s determination that clear and convincing evidence established grounds for termination and that termination of her rights was in the children’s best interests. We find no error and affirm. |
Anderson | Court of Appeals |