State of Tennessee v. Willie E. Spencer
Defendant, Willie E. Spencer, appeals as of right from his guilty-pleaded convictions for three counts of sale of 0.5 grams or more of methamphetamine, for which the trial court imposed an effective sentence of twenty years. On appeal, Defendant contends that the trial court abused its discretion by imposing a maximum in-range sentence. Following our review, we affirm. |
Hardin | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jeffery Lynn Sanders
The Defendant, Jeffery Lynn Sanders, appeals from the trial court’s revocation of his probation. On appeal, he alleges that (1) various procedural errors attended his revocation hearing, (2) no substantial evidence existed to support the finding of a violation of probation, and (3) the trial court abused its discretion by revoking his probation and ordering him to serve the remainder of his sentence in confinement.1 After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
DeKalb | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Billy Norman Forte
The Defendant, Billy Norman Forte, appeals from his jury conviction for second degree murder and his resulting twenty-one-year sentence. On appeal, the Defendant challenges (1) the trial court’s Ferguson remedy due to the State’s destruction of the recording of the Defendant’s 911 call; (2) the trial court’s ruling allowing the State to introduce evidence of the Defendant’s 1996 conviction for domestic assault against his ex-wife because the Defendant had opened the door to such evidence during his direct examination testimony; and (3) the trial court’s ruling prohibiting the Defendant from introducing certain evidence of the victim’s criminal history. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Dustin Keith Gamble v. Madison Darlene Gamble
This is an appeal from a divorce proceeding. The mother appeals, arguing, among other things, that the trial court failed to properly apply the statutory best interest factors when making its parenting plan determination. Because of the lack of findings in the final decree, we vacate and remand for further proceedings. |
Dyer | Court of Appeals | |
Daniel H. Rader IV ex rel. Estate of Christine Joy Koczwara v. John Beasley
This is an action for abuse or neglect, exploitation, or theft of money or property of Christine Joy Koczwara during her life, as provided by Tennessee Code Annotated § 71- 6-120(b) of the Tennessee Adult Protection Act. The complaint seeks to recover assets as well as compensatory and punitive damages. After the defendant failed to file a timely responsive pleading to the complaint, the trial court entered a default judgment on the issue of liability. Prior to the trial on damages, the defendant moved to set aside the default judgment on the ground of excusable neglect. The claimed excuse was based on the contention that the defendant was the named executor and sole beneficiary under a purported 2020 will. The trial court rejected that argument because there was no pending will contest and the defendant had not filed a petition to admit the purported will to probate. The trial court also denied the motion to set aside upon the finding that the defendant’s failure to file a responsive pleading was willful. After a trial on damages, the court invalidated a quitclaim deed, ordered the return of personal property, and awarded $48,500 in compensatory damages and $97,000 in punitive damages against the defendant. The court also ordered the sale of the decedent’s real property. This appeal followed. We affirm in part and vacate in part. |
Putnam | Court of Appeals | |
EMILY ELIZABETH BUCKNER v. COMPLETE WELLNESS CHIROPRACTIC CENTER ET AL.
I write separately to concur with and in support of the majority opinion of the Court. |
Bradley | Court of Appeals | |
EMILY ELIZABETH BUCKNER v. COMPLETE WELLNESS CHIROPRACTIC CENTER ET AL.
I respectfully dissent from the majority's reversal of the trial court's judgment dismissing Ms. Buckner's health care liability claims. Ms. Buckner failed to substantially comply with the requirements of Tennessee Code Annotated § 29-26-121(a)(2)(E) because she filed noncompliant medical authorizations and failed to meet her burden of demonstrating that the defendants were not prejudiced thereby. |
Bradley | Court of Appeals | |
EMILY ELIZABETH BUCKNER v. COMPLETE WELLNESS CHIROPRACTIC CENTER ET AL.
This healthcare liability case comes before the court on appeal from the trial court’s granting of a Rule 12.02(6) motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. The defendants asserted that the plaintiff failed to comply with Tennessee Code Annotated section 29-26-121, part of Tennessee’s Health Care Liability Act. The trial court found that the plaintiff failed to establish that unsigned medical authorizations attached to the complaint were sufficient to satisfy the mandatory requirements of section 29-26-121 and dismissed the case. The plaintiff appealed. Upon our review, we reverse the judgment of the trial court. |
Bradley | Court of Appeals | |
Cassandra (Averitt) McGuire v. Brian Lewis
In this appeal from the trial court’s 2024 final order disposing of her untimely motion, Appellant fails to properly cite to the record or legal authority and offers no argument that does not stem from alleged errors in the trial court’s 2008 child custody modification or 2012 child support order. Because these procedural and substantive deficiencies prevent effective appellate review, this appeal is dismissed. |
Dickson | Court of Appeals | |
Demarcus Keyon Cole v. State of Tennessee
In 2013, a Madison County jury convicted the Petitioner, Demarcus Keyon Cole, of first degree felony murder and especially aggravated robbery, and the trial court imposed a life sentence. The Petitioner challenged the sufficiency of the evidence, and this court affirmed his convictions. State v. Cole, No. W2013-02850-CCA-R3-CD, 2016 WL 2859196 (Tenn. Crim. App. Dec. 22, 2014), perm. app. denied (Tenn. 2015). The Petitioner subsequently filed a petition for post-conviction relief, and multiple petitions for writ of error coram nobis, which alleged the discovery of various forms of new evidence. Cole v. State, No. W2024-00697-CCA-R3-ECN, 2025 WL 884073 (Tenn. Crim. App., March 21, 2025). The Petitioner filed two more petitions for error coram nobis, both of which were denied by the coram nobis court and which have been consolidated for the purposes of this appeal. The Petitioner also filed a motion to recuse, which was not heard by the coram nobis court. The Petitioner appeals, arguing that the coram nobis court erred by denying relief and by failing to rule on the motion to recuse. We affirm the judgment of the coram nobis court in case number C-24-132. In case number C-24-151, the coram nobis court did not rule on the Petitioner’s motion to recuse, and accordingly, we remand the case to the coram nobis court for a ruling on the Petitioner’s motion. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Alicia Franklin v. City of Memphis, Tennessee
A crime victim filed a tort action against a city under the Governmental Tort Liability Act, alleging police misconduct. Arguing that it was immune from liability for the alleged misconduct, the city moved to dismiss the complaint. The trial court dismissed the complaint with prejudice. We conclude that the city is immune from liability for the asserted negligence under the public duty doctrine and that the allegations in the complaint do not support application of the special duty exception. So we affirm the dismissal. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
In Re Willow B.
A father appeals the termination of his parental rights for abandonment by an incarcerated parent, persistence of conditions, and failure to manifest an ability and willingness to assume custody of his child. Discerning no error, we affirm. |
Warren | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Love T. Anderson
Defendant, Love T. Anderson, was convicted by a Lauderdale County jury of one count of aggravated child abuse, one count of aggravated child neglect, and two counts of aggravated child endangerment. The trial court imposed an effective fifteen-year sentence. On appeal, Defendant asserts that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions. Upon review of the entire record, the briefs of the parties, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Lauderdale | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Kevin R. Newman
Defendant, Kevin R. Newman, appeals his Knox County Criminal Court jury convictions |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Leslie K. Jones v. Tennessee State University
Leslie K. Jones (“Mr. Jones”), an at-will support staff employee of Tennessee State University (“TSU”), appeals the termination of his employment. His at-will employment agreement provided for fourteen days-notice prior to termination of his employment. When he received a termination notice on March 1, 2012, Mr. Jones filed a grievance. TSU responded advising Mr. Jones that he could not grieve his termination because he was terminated under the terms of his at-will employment agreement “without cause.” Following extensive delays and a declaratory judgment action in a related proceeding, TSU was ordered to afford Mr. Jones a grievance hearing pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-8- 117(a)(1). Following an evidentiary hearing, the Hearing Officer found that “[TSU] was not obligated to provide a reason for termination under the terms of the employment contract;” nevertheless, he found that good cause for his termination had been established. Therefore, the Hearing Officer ruled that his termination should be upheld. After TSU’s President upheld the Hearing Officer’s decision, Mr. Jones filed a petition seeking judicial review pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated § 4-5-322. The chancellor affirmed and dismissed the petition with prejudice. Mr. Jones appeals. On appeal, TSU insists that its compliance with the notice provision of the employment agreement is the substantial and material evidence needed to uphold the Hearing Officer’s ruling. We disagree. As this court explained in Lawrence v. Rawlins, No. M1997-00223-COA-R3-CV, 2001 WL 76266, at *3 (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan. 30, 2001), “[w]hen the General Assembly enacted Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-8-117 in 1993, it modified the employment-will-relationship between the educational institutions in the . . . State University and Community College System [which includes TSU] and their ‘support staff.’” The statute requires these educational institutions to establish a grievance procedure for their support staff, which “must cover employee complaints relating to adverse employment actions[.]” Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-8- 117(b)(2)(A). Finding that Mr. Jones’s employment could only be terminated “for cause” or as part of “a bona fide reduction in force,” neither of which was the basis of Mr. Jones’s termination, we reverse the judgment of the chancery court and the Hearing Officer and remand with instructions for the Hearing Officer to, inter alia, ascertain the relief and benefits Mr. Jones is entitled to receive. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
Mawule Tepe v. Connor McCarthy Blair Et Al.
Petitioner seeks accelerated review of the denial of his motion to recuse the trial judge in two separate cases. After a de novo review, we affirm. |
Bradley | Court of Appeals | |
Araceli Cordova et al. v. Nashville Ready Mix, Inc. et al.
This case concerns a dispute regarding attorney’s fees. Appellee is the next of kin of the attorney who represented Appellants for a period of time in the underlying wrongful death action. After Appellants terminated his representation, the attorney filed a notice of attorney’s lien. A few years later, while represented by their new counsel, Appellants settled their claims against the underlying defendants. While pursuing the attorney’s lien, the attorney died. Thereafter, the attorney’s estate was substituted as a party. In a previous appeal, we reviewed the trial court’s $133,333.33 attorney’s fee award to the attorney’s estate. We affirmed the trial court’s conclusion that Appellants owe the attorney’s estate fees and that the result the attorney obtained for Appellants was a $400,000.00 settlement offer. In the first appeal, we vacated the $133,333.33 attorney’s fee award and remanded the case with instructions for the trial court to make findings consistent with Rule 1.5(a) of the Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct. Following remand, the attorney’s estate was closed, and Appellee sought to be substituted, individually, as a party to this action. The trial court allowed the substitution, over Appellants’ objections. Concerning the amount of attorney’s fees, the trial court referred the parties to a special master, who disregarded this Court’s prior opinion, wherein we affirmed that the “results obtained” by the deceased attorney was a $400,000.00 settlement offer. Rather, the special master concluded that the “results obtained” was a $450,000.00 settlement offer and awarded attorney’s fees of $150,000.00 based on that amount. The trial court adopted the special master’s findings. Although we affirm the trial court’s substitution of Appellee as a party, we vacate the award of $150,000.00 in attorney’s fees as this amount is in conflict with the law of the case, i.e., this Court’s previous conclusion that the results the attorney obtained was a $400,000.00 settlement offer. |
Cheatham | Court of Appeals | |
Elijah Garrison v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Elijah Garrison, appeals from the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. He contends that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to (1) argue to the jury that an eyewitness’s testimony was unreliable because the eyewitness’s initial statements to police were “essentially coerced” and (2) failing to present and argue to the jury additional evidence that, in his view, contradicted the State’s proof. After review, we affirm. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Markhayle Jackson
The Petitioner, Markhayle Jackson, appeals the trial court’s summary denial of his second motion to correct an illegal sentence pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36.1, arguing that his agreed-upon sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole is an illegal, indeterminate sentence for his conviction of first degree murder. He also contends that he should be permitted the opportunity to withdraw his guilty plea, that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel, and that the trial court violated Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(b) by failing to ensure his guilty plea was both voluntary and intelligent. Discerning no error, we affirm. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
David Fletcher v. State of Tennessee
David Fletcher, Petitioner, was convicted of aggravated burglary, first degree murder, and felony murder for his role in a gang-related shooting. He was sentenced to life plus ten years. His convictions were affirmed on direct appeal. State v. Fletcher, No M2018-01293-CCA-R3-CD, 2020 WL 995795, at *26 (Tenn. Crim. App. Mar. 2, 2020), no perm. app. filed. Petitioner filed an untimely pro se petition for post-conviction relief. The post-conviction court dismissed the petition as untimely. On appeal, Petitioner complains that the post-conviction court erred in dismissing the petition as untimely and that the post-conviction court erred in denying Petitioner a continuance. After a review, we affirm the dismissal of the post-conviction petition. |
Bedford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Forrest Durham
Pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, the Defendant, Forrest Durham, pleaded guilty to six counts of aggravated statutory rape. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed an agreed-upon six-year sentence, suspended to supervised probation. The Defendant appeals, arguing that the trial court erred by denying his request for judicial diversion and by requiring him to register as a sex offender. Discerning no error, we affirm. |
Henderson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
DAVID HEARING v. DAN E. ARMSTRONG ET AL.
Appellant, who pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and is currently serving two life sentences, filed a complaint in the Hamblen County Chancery Court, alleging that he was not given proper credit for time served. Appellant specifically sought credit for the time he was confined in Texas while fighting his extradition to Tennessee. In his complaint, Appellant requested that the trial court compel the Defendants to enforce the judgments to give him credit for time served and further requested that the Defendants be found in contempt for failure to do so. The trial court dismissed Appellant’s complaint based on collateral estoppel, finding that the criminal court that entered the judgments previously denied Appellant’s request for pretrial jail credits. Appellant appeals the dismissal of his complaint. We conclude that the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction; thus, we dismiss the appeal. |
Hamblen | Court of Appeals | |
NIKKI SIXX v. VANESSA MARIE HENSLEY (CLARK)
This appeal arises from the trial court’s judgment finding the respondent guilty of forty-one counts of criminal contempt of court for violating an order of protection issued on February 23, 2024. The respondent timely appealed from the trial court’s order finding her in contempt. However, due to significant deficiencies in the respondent’s appellate brief, we conclude that she has waived consideration of all issues on appeal. Accordingly, we dismiss this appeal. |
Knox | Court of Appeals | |
Payton Castillo v. David Lloyd Rex, M.D. et al.
In this appeal, we examine the privilege provided under Tennessee Code Annotated section 68-11-272, commonly referred to as the quality improvement committee or “QIC” privilege, and its application. Plaintiff filed this healthcare liability action asserting that CHI Memorial Hospital and other entities and physicians were negligent in providing care for her husband, who passed away shortly after being discharged from the hospital’s emergency room. Defendants sought a protective order based on the QIC privilege to prohibit inquiry into a meeting held by the hospital and the decedent’s family. The trial court denied Defendants’ motion. On interlocutory review, the Court of Appeals affirmed, finding that statements made in the meeting were not protected by the QIC privilege. Defendants appealed, arguing that the information sought related to QIC activities and therefore was privileged from direct or indirect discovery. We hold the QIC privilege applied to statements made during the meeting that were based on information obtained during the QIC process, but Memorial waived the privilege when hospital management voluntarily disclosed that privileged information. |
Hamilton | Supreme Court | |
Quaddariontae Burnom v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Quaddariontae Burnom, appeals the denial of his petition seeking post-conviction relief from his 2022 guilty-pleaded conviction for second degree murder, for which he is serving an agreed twenty-five-year sentence. On appeal, Petitioner contends that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel because counsel failed to adequately explain to him the significance of our supreme court’s decision in State v. Booker, 656 S.W.3d 49 (Tenn. 2022), before he entered his plea. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Dyer | Court of Criminal Appeals |