William H. Mansell v. Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, LLC et al.
After a benefit review conference in the Department of Labor and Workforce Development failed to produce a settlement, the employee filed suit for workers’ compensation benefits. Because the suit had already been filed, the trial court denied a request by the employer for an independent medical examination pursuant to the medical impairment rating (“MIR”) process in Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-204(d)(5) (2008 & Supp. 2012). After hearing all other proof relating to the claim, the trial court awarded compensation to the employee and questioned the constitutionality of the MIR process. The employer appealed; the Attorney General filed a brief as amicus curiae; and this Court vacated the judgment and remanded the cause for additional proceedings. On remand, the AttorneyGeneral was added as a defendant to address the constitutional issue. The trial court considered additional evidence, which included an MIR report by an independent medical examiner, and ruled that section 50-6-204(d)(5), which requires our courts to consider the opinion of an independent medical examiner appointed under that section as presumptively accurate, is an unconstitutional infringement upon the powers of the judiciary. In the alternative, the trial court held that the statutory presumption of the accuracy of the report, if compliant with constitutional principles, was overcome by the other medical evidence, and that the employee was entitled to a 10% permanent impairment rating rather than the 7% rating in the MIR report. In this appeal, the employer and the Attorney General argue that the statute meets constitutional standards. We hold that the MIR process does not violate constitutional principles, and we further find that the evidence did not clearly and convincingly rebut the statutory presumption. The judgment of the trial court is, therefore, reversed in part, and affirmed and modified in part. The cause is remanded for additional proceedings consistent with this opinion. |
Smith | Supreme Court | |
First Community Bank, N.A. v. First Tennessee Bank, N.A.
Plaintiff brought this action against Defendants for fraud, constructive fraud, negligent misrepresentation, civil conspiracy, unjust enrichment, and violation of the Tennessee Securities Act, codified at Tennessee Code Annotated section 48-1-101, et seq. The claims arose out of the purchase of asset-backed securities. Defendants filed motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim, while Nonresident Defendants also objected to the court’s personal jurisdiction. The court dismissed the complaint as requested for failure to state a claim and for lack of personal jurisdiction. Plaintiff appeals. We affirm the dismissal of the complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction as to Nonresident Defendants but reverse the dismissal of the complaint for failure to state a claim as to the remaining defendants. We remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion. |
Knox | Court of Appeals | |
Velda J. Shore v. Maple Lane Farms, LLC et al.
This appeal involves a dispute over the noise from amplified music concerts being conducted on farm land in rural Blount County. After the business owners who hosted the concerts defied the county zoning authority’s order limiting the concerts to one per year, a neighboring property owner filed suit in the Chancery Court for Blount County seeking to abate the concerts as a common-law nuisance and to enforce the decision of the county board of zoning appeals. The trial court granted the defendants’ motion for an involuntary dismissal at the close of the plaintiff’s proof, finding that the Tennessee Right to Farm Act, Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 43-26-101 to -104 (2007), precluded nuisance liability and that the concerts were exempted from the local land use regulations because they qualified as “agriculture.” The Court of Appeals affirmed. Shore v. Maple Lane Farms, LLC, No. E2011-00158-COA-R3-CV, 2012 WL 1245606 (Tenn. Ct. App. Apr. 11, 2012). We granted the plaintiff homeowner permission to appeal. We hold that the trial court erred by granting the motion to dismiss because the plaintiff homeowner presented a prima facie case of common-law nuisance and because the concerts are not “agriculture” for the purpose of the zoning laws. |
Blount | Supreme Court | |
Damon Houston v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Damon Houston, was convicted of especially aggravated robbery and sentenced to fifteen years as a Range I, violent offender. He was unsuccessful on direct appeal to this Court. State v. Damon Houston, No. W2010-00399-CCA-R3-CD, 2011 WL 2672015, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Jackson, Jul. 8, 2011). Petitioner subsequently filed a petition for post-conviction relief alleging that he received ineffective assistance of counsel, that there were “unconstitutional errors” in the trial process, that his conviction was based on a coerced confession, that his conviction was based on the use of evidence obtained pursuant to an unlawful arrest, and that there was newly discovered evidence. We have reviewed the record on appeal and conclude that Petitioner has not proven that he was denied effective assistance of counsel. Furthermore, because of his failure to cite authority and put forth arguments to support his assertions, the remaining issues are waived. Therefore, we affirm the post-conviction court’s denial of the petition. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Lester Page v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Lester Page, contends that his guilty plea to incest, a Class C felony, was not knowingly and intelligently entered because he received the ineffective assistance of counsel and that the post-conviction court erred in denying him post-conviction relief. After a thorough review of the record and the applicable authorities, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Robert Eugene Crawford, Jr.
The Defendant, Robert Eugene Crawford, Jr., was convicted by a Sullivan County jury of aggravated child abuse and aggravated child neglect. The trial court imposed consecutive terms of twenty-five years for each of these convictions. In this direct appeal, the Defendant contends that (1) the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress his statements to the police; (2) he was entitled to disclosure of grand jury materials; (3) reenactment photographs of the abuse were improperly admitted into evidence; (4) he should have been permitted to conduct individual voir dire of the potential jurors; (5) the trial court improperly limited his cross-examination of two witnesses; (6) his investigator should have been permitted to testify as a lay witness about the Defendant’s susceptibility to suggestion and the investigation techniques used; (7) he should have been allowed to present evidence from his mental evaluation about his reading comprehension difficulties; and (8) the trial court made several erroneous sentencing determinations, including the denial of his right to allocution, the length of the sentences imposed, and the imposition of consecutive sentencing. Following our review of the record and the applicable authorities, the judgments of the trial court are affirmed. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Eugene O. Dale
Appellant, Eugene O. Dale, pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor, where the number of materials possessed was greater than fifty and less than one hundred, a Class C felony, subject to a reserved certified question of law that challenged the trial court’s denial of appellant’s motion to suppress evidence. The trial court imposed the agreed-upon sentence of eight years with a release eligibility of thirty-five percent. On appeal, appellant argues that the warrant authorizing the search of his computer was not supported by probable cause because the affidavit for the search warrant relied upon unconstitutionally obtained information. Following our review of the parties’ arguments, the record, and the applicable law, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
In Re: Travion L.M.B., et al.
This is a termination of parental rights case focusing on Travion B. and Davion B., the minor children (“Children”) of Samantha B. (“Mother”). The Children were taken into protective custody by the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (“DCS”) on January 24, 2011, after the younger child suffered a head injury. On October 6, 2011, DCS filed a petition to terminate the parental rights of Mother. Following a bench trial spanning four days, the trial court granted the petition upon its finding, by clear and convincing evidence, that Mother had committed severe child abuse. The court further found, by clear and convincing evidence, that termination of Mother’s parental rights was in the Children’s best interest. Mother has appealed. We affirm. |
Knox | Court of Appeals | |
Troy Steven Potter v. Christa Gilman Potter
This case focuses on the proper classification and distribution of the parties’ assets incident to a divorce. Troy Steven Potter (“Husband”) filed a divorce complaint against Christa Gilman Potter (“Wife”) on August 17, 2011. The parties proceeded to trial in August 2012 on the issues of alimony and classification and division of property. The court awarded transitional alimony to Wife and divided the parties’ assets and debts. Husband appeals the trial court’s classification and division of property. We affirm. |
Hamilton | Court of Appeals | |
Tyrone Leon Nelson v. State of Tennessee
A Tipton County Grand Jury returned an indictment against Defendant, Tyrone Leon Nelson, charging him with possession of more than one-half ounce of marijuana with intent to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of a firearm with the intent to go armed during the commission of a dangerous felony. After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of the lesser offense of facilitation of possession of more than one-half ounce of marijuana with intent to deliver, and possession of a firearm with the intent to go armed during the commission of a dangerous felony. Defendant was acquitted of the paraphernalia charge. The trial court sentenced Defendant to eleven months, twenty-nine days for the facilitation charge and three years for the firearm charge to be served concurrently for an effective three-year sentence in the Department of Correction. On appeal, Defendant argues that (1) the trial court erred by failing to grant his motion for acquittal of the conviction for possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony when the jury acquitted him of the underlying felony, and (2)the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction for facilitation of possession of more than one-half ounce of marijuana with intent to deliver. After a thorough review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Tipton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Rodney V. Johnson v. Trane U.S., Inc., et al.
Plaintiff sued his former co-worker, and months later, he filed an amended complaint naming his former employer and several other employees as additional defendants. The trial court granted a motion to dismiss the claims asserted against the new defendants, finding them barred by the applicable statutes of limitations. Plaintiff appeals, arguing that the claims should have been deemed timely pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 15.03 and/or Tennessee Code Annotated section 20-1-119. We affirm. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
CALVIN EUGENE BRYANT v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
The Petitioner, Calvin Eugene Bryant, appeals the Davidson County Criminal Court’s denial of post-conviction relief. The Petitioner argues on appeal that trial counsel provided ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to request a jury instruction on the lesser included offense of facilitation. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
ROBERT J. SKILLEN v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Robert J. Skillen ("the Petitioner"), proceeding pro se, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, alleging that the indictment for his two convictions for sexual battery by an authority figure and four convictions for rape of a child is defective because it failed to allege any facts constituting an offense. The habeas corpus court summarily denied relief, and this appeal followed. We affirm the habeas corpus court’s judgment pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. |
Wayne | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Michael Brandon Adams v. Dwight Barbee, Warden
The Petitioner, Michael Brandon Adams, appeals the Lauderdale County Circuit Court’s summary dismissal of his petition for the writ of habeas corpus from his guilty plea conviction for aggravated child abuse, for which he is serving an eighteen-year sentence at 100%. The Petitioner contends that the trial court erred in dismissing the petition. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Lauderdale | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Charles H. Roberts v. MCCX Disciplinary Board, et al
The order from which the pro se incarcerated appellant, Charles H. Roberts, seeks to appeal was entered on April 3, 2013. The Notice of Appeal was filed more than thirty (30) days from the date of entry of the April 3, 2013 order, even considering the date upon which the appellant placed the Notice of Appeal in the mail for filing with the trial court clerk (May 9, 2013). See Tenn. R. App. P. 20(g). Because the Notice of Appeal was not timely filed, we have no jurisdiction to consider this appeal. |
Morgan | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Angela M. Merriman
The defendant was arrested for driving under the influence, reckless endangerment with a motor vehicle, reckless driving, driving on a suspended license, and violation of the implied consent law. The arresting officer recorded his pursuit and stop of the defendant’s vehicle using video recording equipment installed in his patrol vehicle, but the video recording was subsequently lost. The defendant filed a motion to dismiss alleging that the State’s failure to preserve potentially exculpatory evidence would deprive her of a fair trial. Following a pre-trial evidentiary hearing, the trial court conducted an analysis under State v. Ferguson, 2 S.W.3d 912 (Tenn. 1999), and dismissed several of the charges. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the trial court’s judgment, concluding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing the charges. State v. Merriman, No. M2011-01682-CCA-R3-CD, 2012 WL 524474, at *3 (Tenn. Crim. App. Feb. 17, 2012). We granted the State permission to appeal. We apply a de novo standard of review and determine that, based on this record, the trial court did not err by finding that it would be fundamentally unfair to require the defendant to go to trial without the video recording. We also conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in choosing dismissal as an appropriate remedy for the State’s loss of the video recording. |
Warren | Supreme Court | |
State of Tennessee v. Jeffrey Scott Gold
A Sullivan County jury convicted the Defendant-Appellant, Jeffrey Scott Gold, of aggravated child abuse and aggravated child neglect, Class A felonies, for which he received concurrent terms of twenty-two-years’ imprisonment. On appeal, he argues that the trial court erred in (1) granting the State’s motion to depose a prospective witness to preserve that witness’s testimony for trial; (2) denying his motion for judgment of acquittal as to the aggravated child neglect conviction; and (3) imposing an excessive sentence. Following a thorough review, we reverse and vacate the aggravated child neglect conviction. In regard to the other issues, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Marianne Greer v. Philip Ernest Cobble
This appeal concerns a settlement agreement in a divorce. The parties purportedly had reached an agreement regarding the division of their property. An order, proposed by the wife, was signed by counsel for both parties and entered by the trial court. The husband later filed a pro se notice of appeal containing allegations that he did not agree to the terms of the settlement and that it is incomplete. We remand this matter to the trial court for further proceedings. |
Knox | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Myron Tyrone Harrison
Appellant, Myron Tyrone Harrison, entered a guilty plea to sale of a Schedule II controlled substance and received a seven-year suspended sentence. Subsequently, his probation officer filed probation violation warrants alleging that: (1) appellant had tested positive for cocaine on a drug test; (2) he had failed to obtain employment; and (3) he was arrested for public intoxication and failed to report the arrest. Following a hearing, the trial court revoked appellant’s probation and ordered execution of his sentence. Upon our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. John D. Pruitt
Appellant, John D. Pruitt, entered guilty pleas to vandalism of property valued at more than $500 but less than $1,000, burglary, felony escape, and theft of property valued at $10,000 or more but less than $60,000. Pursuant to the terms of the guilty plea, appellant received an effective six-year sentence, and the State dismissed the remaining charges against him. The parties submitted the issue of alternative sentencing to the trial court for determination. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court ordered the effective six-year sentence to be served in the Tennessee Department of Correction (“TDOC”). Appellant contends that the trial court did not properly consider his request for split confinement. Following our review, we discern no error and affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Grundy | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Ernest N. Bowen v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Ernest N. Bowen, appeals the Bedford County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his three convictions for selling a Schedule II controlled substance and one conviction for one possessing a Schedule II controlled substance for resale and resulting effective fifteen-year sentence. On appeal, the Petitioner claims that he received the ineffective assistance of trial counsel, which resulted in his pleading guilty unknowingly and involuntarily. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the post-conviction court’s denial of the petition. |
Bedford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Alina Donegan
The Defendant, Alina Donegan, appeals as of right from the Dickson County Circuit Court’s order revoking her probation and requiring her to serve the remainder of her sentence in confinement. In September 2011, the Defendant pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, a Class C felony; one count of possession of less than .5 grams of methamphetamine, a Class C felony; and one count of promotion of methamphetamine manufacture, a Class D felony. See Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-12-103, -17-417, -17-433. The trial court imposed an effective six-year sentence and suspended the sentence to probation upon the Defendant’s "successful entrance into and completion of the drug court" program. In this appeal as of right, the Defendant contends that the trial court violated her right to due process by not allowing her to present witnesses at the revocation hearing. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Dickson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Davis Bradley Waldroup, Jr.
The Polk County Grand Jury indicted Appellant, Davis Bradley Waldroup, Jr., for two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, one count of first degree murder, and one count of attempted first degree murder. These charges stemmed from an altercation Appellant had with his wife and her best friend at his trailer on Kimsey Mountain. A jury convicted Appellant of one count each of aggravated kidnapping, especially aggravated kidnapping, voluntary manslaughter, and attempted second degree murder. The trial court sentenced Appellant to an effective sentence of thirty-two years. On appeal, Appellant argued that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction of aggravated kidnapping, that the trial court erred in denying his motion for change of venue, erred in allowing the introduction into evidence of a photograph of one of the victim’s injuries, and erred in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal. After a thorough review of the record on appeal, we affirmed the judgments of the trial court. Appellant filed a Rule 11 application, pursuant to the Tennessee Rules of Appellant Procedure requesting an appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court. On April 2, 2012, the Tennessee Supreme Court granted the application and remanded the case to this Court for reconsideration in light of the Tennessee Supreme Court’s decision in State v. White, 362 S.W.3d 559 (Tenn. 2012). After reconsidering the facts and circumstances of the case at hand with regard to our supreme court’s decision in White, we conclude the we must reverse the convictions for aggravated kidnapping and especially aggravated kidnapping and remand for a retrial on these two counts. We affirm all other judgments of the trial court. |
Polk | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Anthony D. Mathis
The defendant, Anthony D. Mathis, appeals the sentencing decision of the Washington County Criminal Court revoking his probationary sentence. The defendant pled guilty to facilitation of the possession of a Schedule II controlled substance for resale, a Class C felony, and was sentenced, as a Range II offender, to six years. However, the trial court suspended the sentence and ordered the defendant to serve eight years probation. Thereafter, a violation report was filed charging the defendant with multiple violations of the terms and conditions of his probation. Following a hearing, the trial court found that the defendant had left the county without permission in violation of the probationary agreement. The court revoked the defendant’s probation and ordered him to serve the six-year sentence. On appeal, the defendant contends that the court erred in that revocation. Following review of the record, we find no error and affirm the revocation of probation. |
Washington | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Sharon Lynn Puckett v. Bobby Wayne Puckett
Sharon Lynn Puckett (“Wife”) sued Bobby Wayne Puckett (“Husband”) for divorce. After a trial, the Trial Court entered its order on October 4, 2012 finding and holding, inter alia, that Husband was entitled to a divorce on the grounds of Wife’s inappropriate marital conduct, that Wife was guilty of perjury, and that Wife was in contempt of court both for selling property during the pendency of the divorce in violation of the restraining order and for possessing a cell phone in court. Wife appeals raising the sole issue of whether the Trial Court erred in refusing to grant her motion for recusal. We hold that Wife failed to show any grounds justifying recusal, and we affirm. |
Greene | Court of Appeals |