State of Tennessee v. Sanquez Keshawn Jones and Deion Jamaar Glover
In this consolidated appeal, the Defendants, Sanquez Keshawn Jones and Deion Jamaar Glover, appeal their convictions for aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery, attempted carjacking, and employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. For these convictions, both Defendants received an effective sentence of twenty-four years’ incarceration. Relative to Defendant Jones’s appeal, he contends the trial court violated Tennessee Rule of Evidence 404(b)’s general prohibition on propensity evidence by admitting a photograph depicting him possessing a firearm as a juvenile because such behavior is a criminal act. As to Defendant Glover, he first argues the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions because the State’s proof failed to establish his identity as one of the perpetrators of these offenses. He further alleges the trial court erred by admitting a photograph showing him possessing a firearm, arguing this photograph was irrelevant under Tennessee Rule of Evidence 402, unfairly prejudicial under Tennessee Rule of Evidence 403, and propensity evidence violative of Tennessee Rule of Evidence 404(b). Next, Defendant Glover contends he is entitled to plain error relief because his right to confrontation was violated when his cell phone data was extracted by a non-testifying Federal Bureau of Investigation agent and admitted against him at trial. Finally, he challenges the trial court’s imposition of consecutive sentencing based upon the dangerous offender classification of Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-35-115(b). After review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court in all respects. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Darlene Ann Price Et Al. v. The Center for Family and Implant Dentistry, PLLC
A dental patient brought this negligence action against the dentist who performed implant procedures on her and his dental practice. After the patient voluntarily dismissed the case against the dentist, the trial court granted the dental practice’s motion for summary judgment. We have determined that genuine issues of material fact exist as to when the dental patient reasonably should have discovered that the dentist had acted wrongfully. We, therefore, reverse the trial court’s decision. |
Sullivan | Court of Appeals | |
Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation, Inc. v. Dr. James P. Little
This appeal concerns the trial court’s dismissal of the defendant’s claims for the return of funds held by the plaintiff hospital as untimely filed. We reverse the dismissal, holding that the plaintiff was estopped from pleading the statute of limitations as a defense and that the plaintiff revived the obligation throughout its repeated negotiations with the defendant. |
Hamilton | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Tanya Ilic
Following a bench trial on April 8, 2022, Defendant, Tanya Ilic, was found guilty of one count of aggravated child abuse. Defendant was sentenced to sixteen years and six months of confinement at a rate of 100 percent service. On appeal, Defendant contends the evidence is legally insufficient to sustain her conviction. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Bradley | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jeffrey L. Roberts v. Barry Lynn Carter, et al.
This is an appeal concerning the application of the Tennessee Governmental Tort Liability Act, specifically to Tennessee Code Annotated sections 29-20-203, 29-20-204, and 29-20- 205 of the Act. At issue is the trial court’s entry of summary judgment dismissing the plaintiff’s claims against a county government for damages sustained from an automobile accident allegedly caused by the washout of a road maintained by the county. For the reasons stated herein, we affirm the trial court’s summary judgment dismissing the plaintiff’s action. |
Benton | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Johnathan James Gilley
A Hawkins County jury convicted the Defendant, Johnathan James Gilley, of aggravated |
Hawkins | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
In Re Estate of Joe Richard Estes
This appeal concerns the statute of limitations for a will contest. David Estes (“Petitioner”) filed a will contest in the Probate Court for Wilson County (“the Probate Court”) seeking to set aside the will of Petitioner’s father, Joe Richard Estes (“Decedent”). Jennifer Brooke Estes Little, Executrix of the Estate of Joe Richard Estes (“Respondent”), Petitioner’s sibling, filed a motion to dismiss arguing that the applicable two-year statute of limitations had expired by the time of day that Petitioner filed his will contest. The Probate Court granted Respondent’s motion. Petitioner appeals to this Court. Petitioner’s will contest was filed two years from the date that Decedent’s will was admitted to probate; thus, it was timely filed. The exact hour and minute of the day the will contest was filed is immaterial. We, therefore, vacate the judgment of the Probate Court, and remand for this case to proceed. |
Wilson | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee Ex Rel. Union County, Tennessee v. Michelle Cole
Pro se litigant sought to receive part of the proceeds of a delinquent tax sale. The trial court found that she failed to prove her case. She appealed. We dismiss the appeal due to her failure to follow Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 27. |
Union | Court of Appeals | |
Larry McKay v. State of Tennessee
This is an interlocutory appeal from the trial court’s order granting the motions of Defendant, Larry McKay, (“Defendant”) and Shelby County District Attorney General, Steven J. Mulroy, (“DA Mulroy”) to disqualify the Office of Attorney General and Reporter (“Attorney General”) from representing the State during Defendant’s capital error coram nobis proceeding. The trial court concluded that a recently enacted statute, which gave the Attorney General “exclusive control over the [S]tate’s defense of the request for collateral review” in capital cases, see 2023 Tenn. Pub. Acts ch. 182 (“Public Chapter 182”), violated Article VI, § 5 of the Tennessee Constitution. The Attorney General obtained permission from the trial court and this court to file an interlocutory appeal on behalf of the State to address this constitutional issue of first impression. After thoroughly considering the briefs and arguments of the parties and amici curiae, this court concludes that the trial court erred in finding that Public Chapter 182 was unconstitutional. Accordingly, the order of the trial court is reversed, and this case is remanded for further proceedings. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Anthony Cornelius Baylis
Defendant, Anthony Cornelius Baylis, appeals his Monroe County Circuit Court jury conviction of trafficking a person for a commercial sex act, arguing that the trial court erred in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal; that the trial court erred in affirming his conviction as the thirteenth juror; that the trial court erred by denying his motion to dismiss the indictment for lack of the grand jury foreperson’s signature attesting that witnesses were sworn; that the trial court erred by admitting certain testimony; that the State wrongfully commented on Defendant’s election to not testify; and that the trial court erred by imposing a fully-incarcerative sentence. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm. |
Monroe | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Antwan Jacques Whitehead
Defendant, Antwan Jacques Whitehead, was convicted by a Wilson County jury for second degree murder by unlawful distribution of fentanyl, for which he received a twenty-three year sentence. Defendant appeals, arguing that the trial court erred in admitting certain text messages and that the evidence was insufficient to establish that he knew the substance was fentanyl. After review of the entire record, the briefs of the parties, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Wilson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Triston Robert Milke
The Defendant, Triston Robert Milke, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, a Class C |
Cumberland | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
David Hayes v. Extreme Excavation, LLC
A property owner filed suit against a contractor, asserting that a driveway built by the contractor was defective. The contractor filed a counterclaim against the property owner, seeking compensation for the balance owed for the driveway and additional work the contractor had done on the property. Prior to trial, the contractor made a motion to enforce a purported settlement agreement between the parties. The trial court denied the motion. After a trial on the merits, the court awarded the property owner the cost of repairing the driveway and dismissed the contractor’s counterclaim. The contractor appealed the court’s order. Because we conclude that the trial court should have granted the contractor’s motion to enforce the parties’ settlement agreement, we reverse. |
Washington | Court of Appeals | |
David Hayes v. Extreme Excavation, LLC
The majority opinion adopts Extreme Excavation’s position on appeal that the email exchanges between the parties’ attorneys contained all the material terms of the settlement, making the correspondence an enforceable contract. I must respectfully disagree. I believe that the parties here made an agreement to agree. Agreements to agree are unenforceable in Tennessee because their terms lack the definiteness required for performance. Four Eights, LLC v. Salem, 194 S.W.3d 484, 486-87 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2005). Contracts must have terms of sufficient definiteness to allow courts to give them exact meanings. United Am. Bank of Memphis v. Walker, 1986 WL 11250, at *1 (Tenn. Ct. App. Oct. 10, 1986). |
Washington | Court of Appeals | |
David Ashley Leonard v. Kimberly Champion Leonard
In this divorce action, the wife appeals the trial court’s distribution of the marital estate, the duration of the transitional alimony awarded to her, and the denial of her request for attorney’s fees and expenses as alimony in solido. The husband challenges the trial court’s decision to award any transitional alimony to the wife. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm. We deny the parties’ respective requests for attorney’s fees on appeal. |
Bradley | Court of Appeals | |
Kisha Dean Trezevant v. Stanley H. Trezevant, III
This is a post-divorce criminal contempt case. The trial court found Appellant guilty of four counts of criminal contempt based on Appellant’s violations of the trial court’s order. Discerning no error, we affirm |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Diann Marie Hicks
The defendant, Diann Marie Hicks, appeals the order of the trial court revoking her probation and ordering her to serve the remainder of her ten-year sentence in confinement. Upon our review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the revocation and disposition of the defendant’s probation. |
Benton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. William McDaniel
Petitioner, William McDaniel, appeals the denial of his motion to correct an illegal |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jennifer A. Seiber v. David S. Seiber
This is an appeal from a final order entered on July 25, 2024. The notice of appeal was not filed with the Appellate Court Clerk until September 3, 2024, more than thirty days from the date of entry of the order from which the appellant is seeking to appeal. Because the notice of appeal was not timely filed, we have no jurisdiction to consider this appeal. |
Anderson | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Steven Lawrence Sabo
The Defendant, Steven Lawrence Sabo, appeals from the Claiborne County Criminal |
Court of Criminal Appeals | ||
Commercial Painting Company, Inc. v. The Weitz Company, LLC, et al.
This appeal is before this court on a remand from the Tennessee Supreme Court to address issues that had been previously pretermitted related to a punitive damages award. Upon consideration of the pretermitted issues in the present case, we affirm the judgment of the chancery court. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
Vicki Marlene (Almonrode) Taylor v. Jack Elmer Taylor, Jr.
Husband appeals aspects of the trial court’s classification, valuation, and division of property in its order of absolute divorce. The trial court’s decision is affirmed in part, vacated in part, and reversed in part, and the matter is remanded to the trial court for further consideration. |
Cannon | Court of Appeals | |
Kerry Clay v. City of Memphis Sanitation Division
This suit was filed pursuant to the Tennessee Governmental Tort Liability Act. The plaintiff was a home improvement contractor replacing a door at a client’s home. He discarded the old door, which was placed in a garbage truck allegedly owned and operated by the defendant. The truck’s compacting mechanism was engaged, causing the door to rise and strike the plaintiff in the head. The plaintiff filed suit and was awarded damages based on injuries he suffered. The defendant filed this appeal raising several issues. Because we have determined that the evidence in the record does not preponderate against the findings of the trial court, we affirm. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Johnny Wilkerson
A Shelby County jury convicted the Defendant, Johnny Wilkerson, of two counts of aggravated robbery. The trial court imposed twenty-year sentences for each conviction and ordered them to be served consecutively for a total effective sentence of forty years. The Defendant challenged the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain his convictions, and this court affirmed the judgments. State v. Wilkerson, No. W2016-00078-CCA-R3-CD, 2016 WL 6596103, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App. Nov. 7, 2016), no perm. app. filed. The Defendant sought post-conviction relief, which the post-conviction court denied, and this court affirmed on appeal. Wilkerson v. State, No. W2019-00459-CCA-R3-PC, 2020 WL 506781, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App. Jan. 30, 2020), no perm. app. filed. Subsequently, the Defendant filed a motion pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36.1, challenging the imposition of consecutive sentencing. The trial court denied the Defendant’s motion on the grounds that consecutive sentencing was authorized pursuant to statute and therefore the Defendant’s sentence was not illegal. On review, having determined that the Petitioner has failed to state a colorable claim for Rule 36.1 relief, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Thomas J. Wolaver Et Al. v. JBEEZ, Inc.
A husband and his wife found their rental boat unsatisfactory. So they sued the rental company, alleging a violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act. The rental company moved to dismiss based on a forum-selection clause in the rental agreement that required all disputes to be brought in a different county. The husband and wife responded that the venue provision of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act controlled over the forum-selection clause. The trial court agreed with the rental company and dismissed the suit without prejudice. We vacate the judgment. |
Franklin | Court of Appeals |