State vs. Helen Cumberbatch E2000-00047-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge David H. Welles
Trial Court Judge: Rebecca J. Stern
The Defendant appeals as of right from the trial court's revocation of her community corrections sentence. She argues that the trial court erred in revoking her community corrections sentence based on unreliable, undocumented hearsay evidence that she had failed a drug screen. The State asserts that the Defendant has waived appellate review of the admission of the hearsay evidence because she failed to object at the hearing. We hold that the trial judge properly considered the hearsay evidence, and she did not abuse her discretion in revoking community corrections because the evidence was sufficient to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the Defendant had violated the conditions of community corrections by using cocaine. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the trial court revoking the Defendant's community corrections sentence.
Corporate Catering, Inc. vs. Corporate Catering, Etc., LLC, et al M1997-00230-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge William C. Koch, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Walter C. Kurtz
This appeal involves a dispute over the use of a defunct catering business's trade name and menu. The owner of the catering business filed suit in the Circuit Court for Davidson County seeking damages for conversion, breach of common-law copyright, and infringement of its business trade name and the distinctive names of its menu items. The trial court granted the defendants' motions for directed verdict regarding the conversion and the common-law copyright claims. After the jury returned a $12,500 verdict on the infringement of the trade name claim, the trial court granted the defendants' motion for a judgment in accordance with their motion for a directed verdict. In the alternative, the trial court, acting as thirteenth juror, set the verdict aside and granted a new trial. On this appeal, the defunct catering business asserts that the trial court erred by dismissing its claims for conversion and breach of common-law copyright. It also asserts that the trial court erred by failing to enter a judgment on the jury's verdict on the trade name claim. We have determined that the trial court decisions are supported by the law, and therefore, we affirm.
The Travelers Ins. Co. v. Karen Morrisett 03S01-9708-CH-00097
Authoring Judge: Roger E. Thayer, Special Judge
Trial Court Judge: Hon. Chester S. Rainwater, Jr.
This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tenn. Code Ann. _ 5-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting to the Supreme Court of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The appeal has been perfected by the employee-defendant, Karen Morrisett, from a ruling of the trial court in dismissing her complaint for benefits against the plaintiff-insurance carrier, The Travelers Insurance Company. The Chancellor held the employee had failed to carry the burden of proof in establishing a physical and/or mental injury had occurred as a result of her employment activities. Defendant, 34 years of age, possessed a G.E.D. certificate and had worked for her employer, Rittenhouse, for about eight years. She did heavy work and operated a machine that cut large rolls of paper. On April 19, 1995, she testified she was rolling a 2-25 lb. roll of paper underneath a conveyor belt and as she pushed it, she felt a "pull" in her back and upon raising up, she felt pain. She reported the incident and was taken to the emergency room where she said she saw a Dr. Ellis. The next day she saw Dr. John W. Fetzer, the company doctor, who referred her to Dr. Sidney L. Wallace at the Knoxville Orthopedic Clinic. Later she saw several other doctors. She stated her job caused a lot of stress; that she had been told by her supervisor that if her production rate did not increase she would be fired. She also accused her supervisor of sexual abuse. When questioned about this allegation, she said "He liked to touch me." When asked how long this had been going on, she responded, "As long as he was supervisor, but I would always tell him to leave me alone." Counsel asked if anything ever happened between her and the supervisor to which she replied, "No." There were no other details concerning this subject. She also testified she experienced difficulty in walking and sometimes she could not get out of bed on her own movement; that her legs would be numb. On cross-examination, she admitted she had seen a therapist at Cherokee Mental Health Center on April 13, 1995, which was several days prior to the incident in question. She told the therapist she suffered from stress at work; that sometimes she could not swallow her food; that she had panic attacks while driving a vehicle; and she suffered from head pain and dizziness. She admitted she had been 2
Knox
Workers Compensation Panel
Angela N. Bilbrey v. American Nat'L. Bank & Trust Co. 03S01-9708-CH-00092
Authoring Judge: Joe C. Loser, Jr., Special Judge
Trial Court Judge: Hon. Howell N. Peoples,
This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tenn. Code Ann. section 5-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The appellant contends the evidence preponderates against the chancellor's findings that the employee's permanent mental and physical injuries arose out of and in the course of her employment. As discussed below, the panel has concluded the judgment should be affirmed. At the time of the trial, the employee or claimant, Angela Bilbrey, was fifty years old. She has a high school education and attended a business school for two years. She has served in the United States Navy, where she received some technical training. She has worked for American National Bank, now SunTrust, since 1979 as a collector or account adjuster. In April of 1987, she went to Sierra-Tuscon, an alcohol and drug dependency center, where she was treated for emotional problems related to her family situation and her difficulty coping with them. There is some history of mental dysfunction in her family and there is evidence she was mistreated by her mother and that her former husband is a recovering alcoholic. She told a psychologist at Sierra- Tuscon she wanted "to know why I am unhappy a lot." She worked on the third floor of her employer's building. On June 29, 1993, she and another employee entered an elevator on the third floor to go to the lobby floor. The elevator fell from the third floor to some distance below the lobby floor, before stopping suddenly. She remained "stuck" in the elevator for approximately half an hour until she could be removed by other persons. Following the injury, she complained of shoulder pain and, after receiving emergency care at East Ridge Hospital, she was referred by the employer to Dr. George Seiters, a licensed and board certified orthopedic surgeon practicing in Chattanooga. Dr. Seiters diagnosed a cervical sprain, left rotator cuff tendinitis with mild impingement syndrome and possible bursitis in the left shoulder, all of which he treated conservatively. When her shoulder pain and loss of motion persisted, he injected her shoulder with six milligrams of cortisone on October 2
