John Wesley Green, Individually and as Shareholder of Champs-Elysees, Inc. v. Champs-Elysees, Inc., et al
This appeal stems from the denial of a Rule 60.02 motion, filed by an attorney on his own behalf, to set aside an order. The attorney tried unsuccessfully to derail a sheriff’s sale of his client’s property through the use of an elaborate contrivance. In the aftermath, contempt charges were filed against the attorney. In the ensuing civil contempt proceedings, the trial court entered an order that concluded that the trial court was unable to hold the errant attorney in civil contempt of court. The order included obiter dictum in which the trial court questioned the attorney’s veracity as an officer of the court, stated that he could have been held in criminal contempt had he been charged with such, and referred the matter to the Board of Professional Responsibility. Over five years later, the attorney and his client filed the Rule 60.02 motion that is the subject of this appeal, asking the trial court to set aside the order with the offending dicta. The trial court dismissed the Rule 60.02 motion, finding that it either did not have subject matter jurisdiction to set aside the order or, in the alternative, that the motion to set aside was untimely and without merit. The attorney and his client appeal. We reverse the trial court’s holding that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction to adjudicate the Rule 60.02 motion, but affirm the trial court’s alternative holding that the motion to set aside is untimely and wholly without merit. In light of improper statements made in the attorney’s appellate brief about the trial judge, we also find it necessary to refer the appellant attorney to the Board of Professional Responsibility. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
David A. and Kasey H. v. Wand T.
This is a termination of parental rights case. Father’s parental rights were terminated on the ground of abandonment for willful failure to visit and willful failure to support. Because the trial court’s order terminating Father’s parental rights fails to set forth sufficient findings, we are unable to adequately address the issue of abandonment in this case. Accordingly, we vacate the judgment of the chancery court and we remand for entry of an order that sets forth sufficient findings of fact and conclusions of law regarding the termination of Father’s parental rights. |
Robertson | Court of Appeals | |
Jeremiah R. Key v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Jeremiah R. Key, sought post-conviction relief from his guilty-pleaded convictions for aggravated robbery, second degree murder, and coercion of a witness. The post-conviction court denied relief after an evidentiary hearing. On appeal, petitioner raises the following issues: (1) ineffective assistance of counsel for failure to adequately communicate with petitioner; (2) ineffective assistance of counsel for failure to ensure that his guilty pleas were voluntarily entered; and (3) involuntariness of his guilty pleas. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Keryl Fillers, as personal representative of the Estate of John J. Craig v. Dwight A. Collins, et al
This appeal involves Wife’s attempt to set aside a judgment entered against her relating to her failure to fulfill seven promissory notes. The trial court granted Wife’s motion to set aside, in part, affirming her liability for three of the seven notes but holding that Wife was not liable for the remaining notes. Wife appeals. We affirm the decision of the trial court. |
Knox | Court of Appeals | |
Priscilla Lee Slagle v. Lawrence Fred Slagle
Lawrence Fred Slagle (“Husband”) appeals the Trial Court’s finding that he has the ability to pay to purge his civil contempt. We find no error in the Trial Court’s determination that Husband failed to make a prima facie showing that he had an inability to pay the purge amount, and we affirm. |
Cumberland | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jeffrey M. Forguson
A Stewart County jury convicted the Defendant, Jeffrey M. Forguson, of sale of a schedule IV drug (Alprazolam) and sale of a Schedule III drug (Dihydrocodeinone). The trial court sentenced the Defendant to serve consecutive six-year sentences for an effective sentence of twelve years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the Defendant contends that: (1) the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions; (2) consecutive sentencing was improper in his case; and (3) the trial court could not properly fulfill its role as thirteenth juror. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the trial court’s judgments. |
Stewart | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jeffrey M. Forguson - Concurring
I concur in the majority opinion in this case and only write separately to respectfully comment about the issue of the trial judge’s Facebook “friendship” with the confidential informant in this case. |
Stewart | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Tina G. Strickland v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Tina G. Strickland, appeals the Carter County Criminal Court’s denial of her petition for post-conviction relief from her 2010 conviction upon a guilty plea for vehicular homicide and her twelve-year sentence. The Petitioner contends that the trial court erred by finding that her guilty plea was knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently entered because she received the ineffective assistance of counsel. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Carter | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Rebecca Coleman, DVM v. The Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County, A Tennessee not for profit organization and Ginger Morgan
This appeal involves a veterinarian’s common law and statutory claims for retaliatory discharge and her claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress. The defendant employer filed a motion for summary judgment on all claims. The trial court granted the employer’s motion for summary judgment on the negligent infliction of emotional distress claim because the veterinarian had not introduced expert proof to support her claim. The trial court denied the motion for summary judgment on the retaliatory discharge claims. Both parties filed applications for interlocutory appeal pursuant to Rule 9 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure, which were granted by the trial court and by this Court. We reverse the trial court’s grant of summary judgment on the negligent infliction of emotional distress claim, and we affirm the trial court’s denial of summary judgment on the retaliatory discharge claims. This matter is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
Rebecca Little v. City of Chattanooga
This appeal questions the propriety of the trial court’s award of attorney’s fees and costs pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated § 10-7-505(g) (Supp. 2013). The statute provides that an award of fees and costs can be made when a municipality wrongfully fails to disclose public documents requested pursuant to the Public Records Act. In the prior appeal of this action, this Court determined that the trial court abused its discretion in failing to award the plaintiff fees and costs she incurred in seeking the disclosure of public documents from the City of Chattanooga pursuant to the referenced statute. Upon remand, the plaintiff filed a petition seeking attorney’s fees and costs exceeding $70,000.00. The trial court found that the total fees and costs sought by the plaintiff were unreasonable and excessive, and the court reduced the amount of fees awarded to $50,284.50. The court also reduced the costs awarded for mileage and court reporter charges. Plaintiff appeals. We reverse the trial court’s judgment and remand for entry of an award of the full amount of fees and costs sought. |
Hamilton | Court of Appeals | |
Valerie Ann Tipton v. Joel David Constance
This is an interlocutory appeal as of right pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 10B from the Trial Court’s denial of a Motion to Recuse in a post-divorce proceeding. Having reviewed the petition for recusal appeal filed by the Petitioner/Former Husband, Joel David Constance (“Petitioner”), pursuant to Rule 10B of the Rules of the Tennessee Supreme Court, we affirm the Trial Court. |
Rhea | Court of Appeals | |
William Arthur Shelton v. David Sexton, Warden
The Petitioner, William Arthur Shelton, appeals the Morgan County Circuit Court’s summary dismissal of his petition for habeas corpus relief from his 2004 convictions for first degree murder, three counts of false imprisonment, and two counts of vandalism and his effective life sentence. The Petitioner contends that the trial court erred by summarily denying relief. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Morgan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Victor Thompson
The Defendant, Victor Thompson, was convicted by a Gibson County Circuit Court jury of second degree murder, a Class A felony, and theft of property valued at $500 or less, a Class A misdemeanor. See T.C.A. §§ 39-13-210(a)(1), 39-14-103 (2010). The trial court sentenced the Defendant as a Range I, standard offender to consecutive terms of twenty-five years for second degree murder and eleven months, twenty-nine days for theft. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the trial court erred during sentencing. We conclude that the lengths of the sentences are proper but that the trial court erred by failing to state on the record the facts and conclusions which support consecutive sentences pursuant to State v. Wilkerson, 905 S.W.2d 933, 938 (Tenn. 1995). We remand the case in order of the court to make its findings and conclusions on the record. |
Gibson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Travis Andrew Harris
The Defendant, Travis Andrew Harris, was convicted by a Davidson County Criminal Court jury of attempt to commit especially aggravated robbery, a Class B felony, and evading arrest, a Class A misdemeanor. See T.C.A. § 39-12-101, 39-13-403, 39-16-603 (2010). He was sentenced as a Range I, standard offender to concurrent sentences of eleven years for the attempted especially aggravated robbery conviction and eleven months, twenty-nine days for the evading arrest conviction. On appeal, the Defendant contends that (1) the evidence is insufficient to support his attempted especially aggravated robbery conviction and (2) the trial court improperly admitted hearsay testimony as substantive evidence. We affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Tamara Simerly v. Crete Carrier Corporation
Pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 51, this appeal has been referred to the Special Workers’ Compensation Appeals panel for a hearing and a report of findings of fact and conclusions of law. In this case the employee was an over-the-road truck driver attempting to make a delivery of refrigerated goods in Atlanta, Georgia. Because she was late, she was forced to wait 11 hours in her truck in high temperatures without air conditioning. She suffered a ruptured aneurysm as she exited the truck to complete the unloading process, which she alleged was caused by the high temperatures, anxiety, and emotional stress. Her employer denied the claim, and she filed suit for workers’ compensation benefits in Rutherford County, Tennessee. The trial court found that the ruptured aneurysm was caused by the stress of work conditions and awarded 65% permanent partial disability. The employer has appealed. We affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Rutherford | Workers Compensation Panel | |
Luis Rodriguez v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Luis Rodriguez, appeals the Davidson County Criminal Court’s summary dismissal of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus regarding his 2008 conviction for especially aggravated robbery, for which he is serving a twenty-five-year sentence. The Petitioner contends that the trial court erred in dismissing the petition when his guilty plea was unknowingly and involuntarily entered. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Candace Watson v. City of Jackson
This accelerated interlocutory appeal pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 10B results from the trial court’s denial of a post-trial recusal motion. The Appellant filed a motion seeking recusal of the trial judge from presiding over the preparation of the record for her appeal of the substantive issues in the case. The trial judge denied the motion by written order, making specific findings of fact. The Appellant appeals. Discerning no evidence that would lead a reasonable person to question the trial judge’s impartiality, we affirm the denial of Appellant’s recusal motion. |
Madison | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Larry Jereller Alston, et al
In this State appeal, the State challenged the Knox County Criminal Court’s setting aside the jury verdicts of guilty of especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated burglary, and possession of a firearm with intent to go armed during the commission of a dangerous felony and ordering dismissal of the charges. This court reversed the judgment of the trial court setting aside the verdicts and dismissing the charges of especially aggravated kidnapping and aggravated burglary, reinstated the verdicts, and remanded the case to the trial court for sentencing. We also determined that although the trial court erred by dismissing the firearms charge on the grounds named in its order, error in the indictment for that offense nevertheless required a dismissal of those charges. Finally, we affirmed the defendants’ convictions of aggravated robbery. Upon the defendant’s application for permission to appeal, the Tennessee Supreme Court remanded the case to this court for consideration in light of State v. Cecil, 409 S.W.3d 599 (Tenn. 2013). Having reconsidered the case in light of the ruling in Cecil, we confirm our earlier holdings. The jury verdicts of especially aggravated kidnapping and aggravated burglary are reinstated, and those convictions are remanded to |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Virgil Calvin Howell
Appellant, the State of Tennessee, appeals after the Hardeman County Circuit Court granted a motion to dismiss the indictments against Appellee, Virgil Calvin Howell. Appellee was indicted by the Hardeman County Grand Jury for three counts of contracting without a license in violation of Tennessee Code Annotated sections 62-6-103 and 62-6-120. After a hearing, the trial court dismissed the indictments. On appeal, the State insists that the trial court improperly determined that Appellee was not a contractor because Appellee was supervising more than $25,000 of improvements to buildings that he owns and are intended for public use. After a review of the record and applicable authorities, we determine that the trial court improperly dismissed the indictments where the plain language of the statute indicates that the actions performed by Appellee amounted to contracting as defined by the statute. Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court is reversed, and the matter is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. |
Hardeman | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Regions Bank N.A. v. Joseph P. Williams, et al.
The trial court found that Defendants were liable to Plaintiff bank for losses stemming from a scheme wherein Defendants defrauded Plaintiff bank into making automobile loans to unqualified borrowers who were customers of a defendant. Defendants appeal. We affirm. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Damien O. Armstrong
The defendant, Damien O. Armstrong, was convicted by a Dyer County Circuit Court jury of possession of .5 grams or more of cocaine with intent to sell or deliver, a Class B felony, and sentenced to eight years, with one year of confinement and the remainder on probation. On appeal, he argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence found in his home because the search warrant was defective. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Dyer | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Roger Joseph v. David Sexton, Warden
Roger Joseph (“the Petitioner”) filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus, asserting, among other claims, that, due to mental illness, he could not have formed the requisite intent for first degree murder. The habeas corpus court dismissed his petition without a hearing. The Petitioner now appeals. After a thorough review of the record and the applicable law, we affirm the habeas corpus court’s judgment dismissing the Petitioner’s habeas corpus petition. |
Bradley | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
In the Matter of: T.R.Y.
This appeal involves the modification of a parenting arrangement. After many years without parenting time, the mother asked the juvenile courtto designate her as the primaryresidential parent for the parties’ daughter. The juvenile court held domestic violence in the father’s home constituted a materialchange in circumstances. However,the juvenile courtconcluded that, despite the incidents of domestic violence, it was in the daughter’s best interest for the father to remain as the primary residential parent. The juvenile court awarded the mother alternate residential parenting time. The mother appeals, raising numerous issues. We affirm. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
James And Patricia Cullum v. Baptist Hospital System, Inc., et. al
The trial court prohibited the use of taped testimony from a prior trial when a doctor exercised his statutory right not to appear at trial, ordering that the doctor “needs to testify live or not at all.” Efforts of the defendants’ counsel to secure the doctor’s live testimony were successful,only to have the plaintiffs’ counsel argue that counsel was being ambushed. The trial court finally determined not to allow the doctor to testify. The issues relating to prohibiting the doctor’s taped testimony and then prohibiting the doctor’s live testimony were appealed, along with other issues that arose during the trial. We find these two testimonial issues dispositive. We reverse the trial court on both issues and remand for a new trial. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
In the Matter of: Candice S.
Mother’s parental rights to her daughter were terminated on the grounds of abandonment by failure to visit and failure to pay support, and persistence of conditions. Mother appeals, asserting that the evidence in support of the grounds is not clear and convincing and that the record does not show that termination of her rights would be in the child’s best interest. Finding no error, we affirm the decision of the trial court. |
Williamson | Court of Appeals |