State of Tennessee v. Christopher Charles Hall M2001-00599-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge John Everett Williams
Trial Court Judge: Judge James K. Clayton, Jr.
The defendant pled nolo contendere to reckless homicide, a Class D felony. The defendant contends the trial court erred in refusing to grant him full probation and sentencing him to two years of split confinement, with six (6) months to be served in the county jail and the remainder served on probation. Due to the reckless nature of the killing, involving alcohol use simultaneous with the handling of weapons, we conclude the trial court did not erroneously sentence the defendant to a two-year sentence involving some form of confinement. We affirm the defendant's sentence imposed by the trial court.
Rutherford
Court of Criminal Appeals
Christy Bauer vs. William Bauer M2001-00266-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Herschel P. Franks
Trial Court Judge: Russell Heldman
In this divorce case, the Trial Court awarded custody of the child of the parties to the mother, and awarded attorney fees to the mother. Father has appealed these awards. We affirm.
Williamson
Court of Appeals
Cecelia Hutcheson v. Andrew W. Hutcheson M2000-02340-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge William B. Cain
Trial Court Judge: Arthur E. Mcclellan
On August 18, 2000, Appellant was held to be in civil contempt of court for failure to pay alimony and failure to deliver property to his former wife in compliance with the previous divorce judgment in the case. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Sumner
Court of Appeals
Nicole Keeler v. Michael Keeler M2001-00684-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Ben H. Cantrell
Trial Court Judge: Carol A. Catalano
In this divorce case, the trial court awarded the parties joint custody of their minor children, with primary physical custody awarded to the father. The mother contends on appeal that she is the more fit parent and should have been given primary custody. We affirm the trial court.
Montgomery
Court of Appeals
Sylvester Young v. Leah Barrow M2001-00876-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge William C. Koch, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Marietta M. Shipley
This appeal arises out of a minor intersection accident. The complaints of the driver and passenger of one of the motor vehicles against the driver of the second motor vehicle were consolidated in the Circuit Court for Davidson County. The trial court granted a directed verdict against the plaintiff driver at the close of the plaintiffs' proof. Thereafter, the plaintiff driver filed a second lawsuit against the defendant driver and her insurer. The trial court dismissed the second suit on the ground of res judicata and granted the insurer's motion for a judgment on the pleadings. The plaintiff driver has perfected this appeal. We affirm the dismissal of his second complaint.
Davidson
Court of Appeals
Mark Tinsley v. Suzanne Tinsley M2001-02319-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Patricia J. Cottrell
Trial Court Judge: Robert E. Burch
Mother sought modification of child support and a judgment against Father for contempt in the form of retroactive child support due to his failure to supply her with a yearly statement of his income as required by the final divorce decree. The trial court ordered a modification of the prospective child support, determining the amount of the obligation by averaging Father's fluctuating income for the three years prior to the hearing and awarded Mother a $54,192.00 judgment for retroactive child support during the five years that Father failed to provide his income statements to Mother. Because the trial court correctly calculated the prospective child support obligation, we affirm the amount of Father's monthly obligation in the amount of $1,300.00 from the date the petition was filed. However, because the trial court has no authority to award retroactive child support modification, we vacate the $54,192.00 judgment for retroactive child support. We remand the case for further proceedings to set reasonable attorney fees.
Cheatham
Court of Appeals
Paul Ivy v. Tennessee Department of Correction M2001-01219-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge William C. Koch, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Carol L. Mccoy
This appeal involves a dispute between a prisoner and the Department of Correction regarding a disciplinary proceeding at the Deberry Special Needs Facility in Davidson County. The prisoner filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the Chancery Court for Davidson County alleging the disciplinary board acted illegally, arbitrarily, and vindictively by violating the Department's Uniform Disciplinary Procedures when it disciplined him for attempted escape. The Department filed a Tenn. R. Civ. P. 12.02(6) motion to dismiss, and the trial court, citing Sandin v. Conner, 512 U.S. 472, 115 S.Ct. 2293 (1995), dismissed the petition. The prisoner has appealed. We have determined that the order dismissing the prisoner's petition should be reversed in part and that the case should be remanded for further consideration in light of Willis v. Tennessee Dep't of Corr., 113 S.W.3d 706 (Tenn. 2003).
Davidson
Court of Appeals
Jeffrey Haithcote v. Donal Campbell M2001-01828-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Ben H. Cantrell
Trial Court Judge: Carol L. Mccoy
A prisoner convicted of numerous crimes filed a Petition for Declaratory Judgment, arguing that the Department of Correction had erred in its calculation of his sentence expiration date, and that he was entitled to be released. The Department stood by the correctness of its calculations. The petitioner's sentence expired during the course of the proceedings, and he was released. The trial court then dismissed the petition as moot. We affirm.
Davidson
Court of Appeals
Estate of Theresa Cunningham M2001-01965-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Ben H. Cantrell
Trial Court Judge: Floyd Don Davis
The plaintiff filed a claim against the estate of the deceased more than eighteen months after the first publication of notice to creditors and twenty months after her death. The trial court granted him a judgment against the estate for the full amount of his claim. We reverse.
Franklin
Court of Appeals
William Steele v. Richard Berkman M2001-02250-COA-R10-CV
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Alan E. Highers
Trial Court Judge: Hamilton V. Gayden, Jr.
This appeal arises from a medical malpractice complaint filed by the Appellees in the Circuit Court of Davidson County against the Appellant, six other doctors, and two hospitals. The Appellant filed a motion for summary judgment. The trial court denied the Appellant's motion for summary judgment. The Appellant filed an application for extraordinary appeal with this Court pursuant to Rule 10 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure. This Court granted the application for extraordinary appeal. For the reasons stated herein, we reverse the trial court's denial of summary judgment against the Appellant.
Davidson
Court of Appeals
Thomas Dyer v. TDOC M2001-01446-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Ben H. Cantrell
Trial Court Judge: Irvin H. Kilcrease, Jr.
Davidson
Court of Appeals
Thomas Dyer v. TDOC M2001-01446-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Ben H. Cantrell
Trial Court Judge: William C. Koch
Davidson
Court of Appeals
Lisa Davis v. Charles Jensen M2001-00973-COA-R3-CV
Trial Court Judge: Alfred L. Nations
Appellant, an incarcerated prisoner in the Department of Corrections of California, appeals the action of the Juvenile Court of Williamson County in terminating his parental rights to his biological child. He refused to participate in the termination hearing by means of telephonic communication as authorized by the trial court demanding, instead, that the trial court either continue the case until after his release from confinement, or have him transported from California to Williamson County for personal participation. The trial court held that he waived his right to participation in the termination proceedings and terminated his parental rights. We affirm the trial court.
Williamson
Court of Appeals
Tony Makoka v. Howard Cook M2001-01013-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Patricia J. Cottrell
Trial Court Judge: Ellen Hobbs Lyle
Davidson
Court of Appeals
Tony Makoka v. Howard Cook M2001-01013-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Patricia J. Cottrell
Trial Court Judge: Ellen Hobbs Lyle
Davidson
Court of Appeals
Jack Charles Blankenship v. Donal Campbell, et al M2001-01014-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge William C. Koch, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Carol L. Mccoy
This appeal involves a dispute between a prisoner and the Tennessee Department of Correction regarding the prisoner's sentence credits and eligibility for parole. The prisoner filed a petition for declaratory judgment in the Chancery Court for Davidson County requesting the correction of his sentence and an immediate parole hearing. The Department filed a motion for summary judgment based on laches. When the prisoner failed to respond to the motion, the trial court granted the summary judgment in accordance with Davidson County Local R. 26.04(c), (f). Thereafter, the trial court denied the prisoner's motion to set aside the summary judgment, and the prisoner has appealed. We have determined that the summary judgment must be vacated because the Department's motion and supporting affidavit do not demonstrate that it is entitled to a judgment on its laches defense as a matter of law.
Davidson
Court of Appeals
Mark Percy v. Dept of Correction M2001-01629-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge William C. Koch, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Ellen Hobbs Lyle
This appeal involves a dispute between a multiple rapist and the Tennessee Department of Correction regarding the prisoner's sentence expiration date. The prisoner filed a petition for a declaratory order in the Chancery Court for Davidson County asserting that the Department had misclassified him and that he was eligible to be released because his sentence had expired. The Department responded with a motion for summary judgment supported by an affidavit of a sentencing technician asserting that the prisoner had been correctly classified and that his sentence had not expired. The trial court granted the summary judgment and dismissed the petition. We find that the trial court reached the correct result, and, therefore, we affirm the judgment dismissing the prisoner's petition.
Davidson
Court of Appeals
Steven Bohanon, et al vs. Jones Bros., Inc. M1998-00954-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge William C. Koch, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Ernest B. Pellegrin
This appeal involves a property damage claim arising from blasting activities incident to the construction of improvements to State Highway 52 in Macon County. Two neighboring property owners filed suit against the contractor responsible for the blasting in the Circuit Court for Macon County seeking actual and punitive damages. A jury returned a verdict for the contractor, and the trial court denied the property owners' post-trial motions. The property owners assert on this appeal that the trial court erred by permitting the introduction of incompetent evidence regarding compliance with the Tennessee Blasting Standards Act of 1975 and by failing to give a promised curative instruction. They also challenge the evidentiary support for the verdict. We have determined that the trial court did not commit reversible error either by admitting the evidence regarding the contractor's seismic monitoring or by overlooking the requested curative instruction. We also decline to second-guess the verdict to the extent that it rested on an assessment of the property owners' credibility regarding the nature and extent of the damages caused by the blasting. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment.
W2001-01941-COA-R3-JV W2001-01941-COA-R3-JV
Authoring Judge: Judge W. Frank Crawford
Trial Court Judge: Christy R. Little
Madison
Court of Appeals
James Emmett Moses, Jr. v. State of Tennessee W2001-01394-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert W. Wedemeyer
Trial Court Judge: Judge Joseph H. Walker, III
The Petitioner pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated burglary, two counts of robbery and one count of theft under $500.00. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced the Petitioner as a Range III persistent offender to twelve years for the aggravated burglary conviction, thirteen years for each of the robbery convictions, and eleven months and twenty-nine days for the misdemeanor theft conviction. The sentencing court imposed consecutive sentences for the robbery convictions, resulting in an effective sentence of twenty-six years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. This Court affirmed the sentences on appeal, and the Tennessee Supreme Court denied the Petitioner's application for permission to appeal. The Petitioner subsequently filed for post-conviction relief, claiming that his plea was constitutionally defective because he was inadequately represented and that his plea was not voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently entered. The trial court denied relief. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Defendant, Jeret Phillips, appeals from the order of the Sullivan County Criminal Court which revoked Defendant's probation and required him to serve his sentence in the Tennessee Department of Correction. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
The defendant, Billy Harold Arnold, appeals his misdemeanor theft conviction for which the Sullivan County Criminal Court sentenced him to eleven months twenty-nine days, all suspended except for thirty days confinement, "day for day." He contests the sufficiency of the evidence, the admission into evidence of prior similar conduct, and his sentence. We affirm the trial court, although we also note that a "day for day" term of confinement does not bar application of relevant good conduct credit statutes.
Sullivan
Court of Criminal Appeals
State vs. Walter Lee Allen E1998-00416-SC-R11-CD
Authoring Judge: Justice Janice M. Holder
Trial Court Judge: Ben W. Hooper, II
Jefferson
Supreme Court
State vs. Walter Lee Allen E1998-00416-SC-R11-CD
Authoring Judge: Justice Janice M. Holder
Trial Court Judge: Ben W. Hooper, II
