Jason M. Peterson v. Jodi L. Carey
E2022-01656-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Kristi M. Davis
Trial Court Judge: Judge John S. McLellan, III

Jason M. Peterson (“Plaintiff”) was the passenger in a vehicle driven by Jodi L. Carey
(“Defendant”) at the time of a motor vehicle accident. Plaintiff filed a personal injury
action against Defendant more than one year after the accident. Plaintiff argues that
Tennessee Code Annotated section 28-3-104(a)(2) extends the statute of limitations for his
action to two years because Defendant was cited for the violation of a traffic ordinance
contained in the Kingsport Municipal Code in relation to the accident. The Circuit Court
for Sullivan County (“trial court”) applied the one-year statute of limitations set forth in
section 28-3-104(a)(1) and granted summary judgment in favor of Defendant. Finding no
error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

In Re Aaliyah P.
M2022-01645-COA-R3-PT
Authoring Judge: Judge Andy D. Bennett
Trial Court Judge: Judge Sheila Calloway

A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights on the grounds of abandonment by failure to support; abandonment by failure to provide a suitable home; substantial noncompliance with the permanency plans; persistent conditions; and failure to manifest an ability and willingness to assume custody of the children. The mother also appeals the trial court’s finding that termination of her parental rights was in the best interest of the children. We reverse the trial court’s finding on the ground of substantial noncompliance with the permanency plans because the initial permanency plan does not appear in the record, but we affirm the trial court in all other respects.

John H. Packard, IV v. Jonathan R. Bentley Et Al.
E2022-00982-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Kristi M. Davis
Trial Court Judge: Judge O. Duane Slone

The plaintiff, John H. Packard, IV (“Plaintiff”) was struck by a vehicle driven by Jonathan
R. Bentley while Plaintiff attempted to walk across a roadway in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
Plaintiff brought a suit arising in negligence against a number of parties, including the City
of Gatlinburg (“City”). As to City, Plaintiff alleged that it created an unreasonably
dangerous risk of harm to pedestrians attempting to use the crosswalk because it failed to
inspect and maintain LED lights it had previously installed on a nearby crosswalk sign.
The Circuit Court for Sevier County (“trial court”) granted summary judgment in favor of
City, finding that City negated an essential element of Plaintiff’s claim, that City was
entitled to immunity pursuant to the Tennessee Governmental Tort Liability Act
(“GTLA”), Tennessee Code Annotated section 29-20-101 et seq., and that City was also
immune pursuant to the public duty doctrine. Finding no error, we affirm the judgment of
the trial court.

State of Tennessee v. Jimmy Dewayne Richards
M2022-00831-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Timothy L. Easter
Trial Court Judge: Judge E. Shayne Sexton

Defendant, Jimmy Dewayne Richards, was convicted by a Fentress County jury of burglary, theft of property, and vandalism. On appeal, the Defendant argues, among other things, that the trial court erred by denying the Defendant’s pretrial motion to suppress. We cannot adequately review on the record before us whether the search was supported by probable cause or whether Defendant lacked standing to challenge the search. The trial court sua sponte raised the standing issue after all the proof was presented at the hearing and did not comply with its duties to judge the credibility of witnesses, to weigh the evidence, and to resolve factual issues in deciding the motion to suppress. We therefore remand this case for a new hearing on the motion to suppress in accordance with the instructions in this opinion.

Dustin Balch v. Brittanie Cilley
M2022-01100-COA-R3-JV
Authoring Judge: Judge John W. McClarty
Trial Court Judge: Judge Todd Burnett

A mother appeals from the judgment holding her in criminal contempt of court, denying her motion to dissolve an ex parte no-contact order entered against her, and denying her motion to transfer the case to another county. Upon a thorough review of the record, we affirm the judgment. Due to the passage of time and the position taken by the parties and by the trial court when issuing its ruling, we remand for a new evidentiary hearing on the ex parte order suspending the mother’s contact with the children.

Quintavious Montez Patton v. State of Tennessee
M2023-00207-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge John W. Campbell, Sr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Steve R. Dozier

The Petitioner, Quintavious Montez Patton, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, arguing that the post-conviction court erred in finding that he received effective assistance of trial counsel. Based on our review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court denying the petition.

Courtney Anderson v. State of Tennessee
W2023-00067-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge J. Ross Dyer
Trial Court Judge: Judge Paula L. Skahan

This is a State appeal, filed by the State Attorney General and Reporter, from the entry of
an order granting the petitioner’s, Courtney Anderson’s, motion to reopen his postconviction
and amending/reducing his original sentence of 162 years, 11 months, and 29
days to a time served sentence of 25 years. The State appealed, arguing the trial court
lacked jurisdiction to hear the petitioner’s motion as it was barred by the one-year statute
of limitations and the petitioner failed to prove the statute should be tolled. Additionally,
the State submits that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to amend the petitioner’s sentence
under the post-conviction statute and that the trial court’s actions amount to an improper
commutation of the petitioner’s sentence. The petitioner contends that the State waived
any challenge to the statute of limitations by failing to raise the issue below and that his
claim meets the requirements of the statute and allows for the tolling of the statute, and
therefore, the trial court properly granted the relief requested. Upon our thorough review
of the applicable law and the briefs and arguments of both parties, we conclude that the
instant petition is barred by the one-year statute of limitations and that the petitioner failed
to establish and the trial court failed to find a proper basis for tolling the statute.
Accordingly, the trial court lacked jurisdiction to hear the petitioner’s motion and amend
the petitioner’s sentence. Therefore, we reverse the decision of the trial court, reinstate the
petitioner’s original sentence, and remand this matter for further proceedings consistent
with this opinion.

State of Tennessee v. Frederick Peat
W2022-01348-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge J. Ross Dyer
Trial Court Judge: Judge Carolyn W. Blackett

A Shelby County jury convicted the defendant, Frederick Peat, of aggravated rape, for
which he received a sentence of twenty-five years in confinement. On appeal, the
defendant contends the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support his
conviction. The defendant also argues the trial court erred in preventing him from
impeaching the victim with evidence of the victim’s prior convictions and in imposing an
excessive sentence. After reviewing the record and considering the applicable law, we
affirm the judgment of the trial court.

State of Tennessee v. Juan De Paz Mondragon
W2023-00068-CCA-R3-Cd
Authoring Judge: Judge J. Ross Dyer
Trial Court Judge: Judge James Jones, Jr.

The defendant, Juan De Paz Mondragon, was convicted by a Shelby County Criminal Court
jury of two counts of second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, and
employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, and the trial court
imposed an effective sentence of thirty-eight years’ incarceration. On appeal, the
defendant argues that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions for seconddegree
murder and attempted second-degree murder, and the trial court abused its
discretion in imposing consecutive sentences. After review, we affirm the judgments of
the trial court. Furthermore, we remand to the trial court entry of corrected judgment forms
in counts one and two reflecting the merger of the defendant’s convictions for seconddegree
murder into a single conviction.

State of Tennessee v. Eric Dewayne Milton
W2023-00341-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge J. Ross Dyer
Trial Court Judge: Judge Bruce Irwin Griffey

The defendant, Eric Dewayne Milton, appeals from the trial court’s revocation of his
community corrections sentence and order directing the defendant to serve the remainder
of his eight-year sentence in confinement. On appeal, the defendant contends the trial court
abused its discretion by failing to treat the defendant’s violation as a violation of probation
and impose a thirty-day sentence of confinement. After a thorough review of the record,
the applicable law, and the briefs of the parties, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

State of Tennessee v. Chauncy Black
W2021-01435-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge J. Ross Dyer
Trial Court Judge: Judge Glenn Ivy Wright

The defendant, Chauncy Black, was found guilty by a Shelby County jury of reckless
endangerment of Kaleb Wakefield and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon of
Isabella Edwards for discharging a firearm into an occupied habitation. The trial court
imposed a six-and-a-half-year sentence. On appeal, the defendant contends the evidence
presented at trial was insufficient to support his conviction of reckless endangerment with
a deadly weapon of Isabella Edwards. The defendant also argues the trial court erred in
failing to instruct the jury as to a presumption of reasonableness in the use of deadly force
within his residence. Following our review, we affirm the defendant’s convictions.

State of Tennessee v. Taylor Brent Farley
M2022-01691-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Matthew J. Wilson
Trial Court Judge: Judge Justin C. Angel

Defendant, Taylor Brent Farley, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted delivery of fentanyl, a Class C felony. Defendant sought judicial diversion, but the trial court denied diversion and imposed a six-year sentence on Community Corrections. On appeal, Defendant contends the trial court erred by denying judicial diversion. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Edward Dean v. State of Tennessee
W2022-01513-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge J. Ross Dyer
Trial Court Judge: Judge Paula L. Skahan

The petitioner, Edward Dean, appeals the denial of his post-conviction petition, arguing
the post-conviction court erred in finding he received the effective assistance of counsel.
After our review of the record, briefs, and applicable law, we affirm the denial of the
petition.

Raymond D. Barnes, Jr. v. Marion L. Barnes
M2022-00328-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Jeffrey Usman
Trial Court Judge: Judge Philip E. Smith

After a long-term marriage, the parties divorced. The trial court, which found the husband’s testimony not to be credible, set the value of the marital property, divided the marital property, and awarded alimony in futuro to the wife.  The husband appeals, challenging the credibility finding, the trial court’s valuation of the marital property, the division of property, and the alimony award.  We affirm the trial court’s valuation and distribution of the marital property, but we vacate the trial court’s alimony award, remanding for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

State of Tennessee v. Will Vaughn
W2022-01795-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge James Curwood Witt, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge David L. Pool

The defendant, Will Vaughn, appeals his Shelby County Criminal Court jury conviction of
first-degree murder, challenging the sufficiency of the convicting evidence. Discerning no
error, we affirm.

Pratik Pandharipande, M.D. v. FSD Corporation
M2020-01174-SC-R11-CV
Authoring Judge: Justice Sarah K. Campbell
Trial Court Judge: Judge Jonathan L. Young

This case arises from a dispute between a property owner and his homeowners’ association. The property owner, Pratik Pandharipande, purchased a home in a vacation community on a Tennessee lake, intending to use it as a short-term rental. At the time of the purchase, the property was subject to covenants requiring that the home be used for “residential and no other purposes.” The covenants were amended several years later to allow leases with minimum lease terms of thirty days. Pandharipande contends that neither the original covenants nor the amendments prohibit him from leasing his property for short terms of two to twenty-eight days. His homeowners’ association disagrees on both scores. We agree with Pandharipande that the original covenants requiring residential use of the property do not bar his short-term rentals, but we agree with the homeowners’ association that the amendments do. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the homeowners’ association based on both the original covenants and the amendments. The Court of Appeals affirmed. We affirm the Court of Appeals in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

State of Tennessee v. Cedric D. Marshall, alias Edward Depriest
M2022-01579-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge James Curwood Witt, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Steve R. Dozier

The defendant, Cedric D. Marshall, appeals the Davidson County Criminal Court’s order revoking his community corrections sentence and resentencing him to an effective sentence of seven years’ incarceration for his guilty-pleaded convictions of evading arrest, burglary, and theft of property. Because the defendant’s notice of appeal is untimely, we dismiss the appeal.

State of Tennessee v. Lorie Ann Gerbis
M2023-00016-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Kyle A. Hixson
Trial Court Judge: Judge Jennifer L. Smith

The Defendant, Lorie Ann Gerbis, was convicted following a bench trial of two counts of aggravated assault. On appeal, the Defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to support her convictions. Specifically, she contends that the State’s evidence was inadequate to establish her identity as the perpetrator beyond a reasonable doubt. After review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Victericka Gilchrease v. State of Tennessee
W2023-00079-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert H. Montgomery, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Carolyn Wade Blackett

The Pettioner, Victercika Gilchrease, appeals from the post-conviction court’s denial of
her petition for post-conviction relief from her guilty plea convictions for second degree
murder and two counts of aggravated assault, for which she is serving an agreed, effective
twenty-one-year sentence. On appeal, she contends that the post-conviction court erred in
denying relief on her ineffective assistance of counsel claims. We affirm the judgment of
the post-conviction court.

State of Tennessee v. Mark L. Ward
E2022-00951-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Camille R. McMullen
Trial Court Judge: Judge Kyle A. Hixson

The Appellant, Mark L. Ward, was convicted by a Knox County jury of aggravated
kidnapping, attempted aggravated burglary, and two counts of aggravated rape, for which
he received an effective sentence of sixty-eight years in confinement. The sole issue
presented for our review is whether the evidence is sufficient to support the Appellant’s
convictions. Upon our review, we affirm.

Micah Joshua Ford, Alias Joseph Tolbert, III v. State of Tennessee
E2022-01240-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Jill Bartee Ayers
Trial Court Judge: Judge Kyle A. Hixson

Petitioner, Micah Joshua Ford, alias Joseph Tolbert, III, appeals the denial of his postconviction
petition, arguing that the post-conviction court erred in finding that he received
the effective assistance of counsel at trial and on direct appeal. He also argues that he is
entitled to a new trial under the doctrine of cumulative error. Following our review of the
entire record and the briefs of the parties, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction
court.

State of Tennessee v. $133,429 In U.S. Currency Seized From Joni Assefa Kilenton, ET AL
W2022-01075-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Carma Dennis McGee
Trial Court Judge: Judge J. Weber McCraw

This appeal arises from a forfeiture action regarding funds seized during a traffic stop. In
a prior appeal, this Court vacated and remanded for entry of an order that complied with
Rule 58 and Rule 52.01 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure. The trial court entered
an additional order on remand, and the appellant has again appealed. Due to deficiencies
in the appellant’s brief on appeal, we conclude that he waived consideration of his issue on
appeal and hereby dismiss the appeal.

State of Tennessee v. Bradley Dwight Bowen
M2022-01289-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Kyle A. Hixson
Trial Court Judge: Judge William R. Goodman, III

The Defendant, Bradley Dwight Bowen, appeals from his jury convictions for possession of one-half gram or more of methamphetamine with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver; simple possession of cocaine; possession of drug paraphernalia; and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; for which he received an effective ten-year sentence. On appeal, he challenges the trial court’s denial of (1) his motion to suppress the evidence seized as a result of his detention and (2) his motion to continue requesting additional time to prepare his pro se defense. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Jeffrey Swinghold, et al. v. The Farm at Clovercroft Homeowners Association, Inc., et al.
M2022-01633-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge John W. McClarty
Trial Court Judge: Chancellor Deanna B. Johnson

The plaintiffs filed this breach of contract action against their homeowners association for failure to rectify alleged violations of the neighborhood restrictions. The plaintiffs sought a declaratory judgment establishing that the issues complained of were actual violations of the restrictions. The trial court dismissed the action in favor of the homeowners association and the plaintiffs’ neighbors who joined as interested parties. We affirm.

State of Tennessee v. Gregory L. Nelson
M2023-00311-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Kyle A. Hixson
Trial Court Judge: Judge David D. Wolfe

The Defendant, Gregory L. Nelson, appeals the trial court’s revocation of his eight-year sentence for unlawful possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. On appeal, he argues that the trial court erred by fully revoking his probation and ordering him to serve the remainder of his sentence in confinement. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.