Opinions
Ashley Joell Lindsley v. Philip J. Lindsley
This is an appeal from a divorce proceeding involving a short-term marriage with minor children. In conjunction with its divorce judgment, the trial court designated the mother as the primary residential parent, allowed her to relocate to Mississippi, and awarded her both transitional alimony and alimony in solido. Father now raises several issues for our review on appeal. While we affirm the trial court’s judgment pertaining to the parties’ parenting plan and its determination about the children’s best interests, we vacate a component of the in solido award given to the mother in a purported attempt to equalize the division of the marital estate. We further vacate the award of transitional alimony and remand the case for that issue to be reconsidered by the trial court. The balance of the judgment is affirmed. The mother’s request for an award of attorney’s fees on appeal is granted. |
Williamson | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Juvonta Carpenter
A Shelby County jury convicted the defendant, Juvonta Carpenter, of two counts of first- degree murder, two counts of first-degree felony murder, and one count of aggravated robbery. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed an effective sentence of life imprisonment plus nine years. On appeal, the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support his convictions. The defendant also contends the trial court erred in admitting partially redacted police statements and in imposing a partial consecutive sentence. After reviewing the record and considering the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Kevin Grammer
A Madison County jury convicted the defendant, Kevin Grammer, of aggravated robbery, theft of property over $1000, felony evading arrest, speeding, reckless driving, felony reckless endangerment, failure to exercise due care, disobeying a stop sign, and driving on a suspended license. The trial court imposed partial consecutive sentences for an effective sentence of fourteen years’ confinement. On appeal, the defendant contends the trial court erred in imposing consecutive terms. Upon our review of the record and the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
CHRISTOPHER HERNANDEZ v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
The petitioner, Christopher N. Hernandez, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, which petition challenged his convictions of rape of a child, aggravated sexual battery, and solicitation of a minor, alleging that he was deprived of the effective assistance of counsel. Discerning no error, we affirm the denial of post-conviction relief. |
Rutherford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Joseph Christopher Hendry, II
Defendant, Joseph Christopher Hendry II, was indicted for one count of felony first degree murder, one count of premeditated first degree murder, one count of criminal attempt to commit first degree murder, and four counts of aggravated assault. Pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, Defendant pleaded guilty to second degree murder and received a sentence of 25 years to be served at 100 percent. Defendant filed a motion seeking to reduce his sentence pursuant to Rule 35 of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure. Following a hearing, the trial court denied Defendant’s motion. Defendant appeals. Following our review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Wilson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee Ex Rel. Kimberly C. v. Gordon S.
A legal parent appeals a child support award. He claims his voluntary acknowledgment of paternity for the child should be rescinded due to a material mistake of fact. He also claims that requiring him to pay child support would violate public policy because he is not the biological father of the child. Upon our review, we conclude that the legal parent failed to prove the existence of a material mistake of fact that would warrant rescission of the voluntary acknowledgement of paternity. We also conclude that ordering a legal parent to pay child support is consistent with public policy. So we affirm. |
Sumner | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Tarvis Weatherly
A Shelby County jury convicted the defendant, Tarvis Weatherly, of aggravated sexual battery for which he received a thirty-year sentence. On appeal, the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction which we affirm after a thorough review of the record. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Delarris Jones a/k/a Cedric Jones v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Delarris Jones A/K/A Cedric Jones, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, asserting that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel. After review, we affirm the denial of the petition. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Manchester Hotel Hospitality, LLC Et Al. v. City of Manchester, Tennessee, Et Al
A city board of zoning appeals granted a variance request on September 17, 2018, and the city codes director checked a box on the variance application indicating that the request was approved. At its next meeting, on October 15, 2018, the board approved the minutes from its September 17, 2018 meeting. Two companies that opposed the variance filed a sworn petition for writ of certiorari on December 5, 2018, and the defendants filed a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. |
Coffee | Court of Appeals | |
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. MARK ALAN KIRBY
Pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, Defendant, Mark Alan Kirby, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, a Class C felony. The agreement provided that Defendant’s sentence was three years as a Range I standard offender. The manner of service of the sentence was reserved for determination by the trial court following a sentencing hearing. The trial court ordered the entire sentence to be served in confinement. Defendant has appealed, asserting the trial court should have granted full probation. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Putnam | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
BRANDON LEE CLYMER v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
The petitioner, Brandon Lee Clymer, appeals the denial of his post-conviction petition arguing the post-conviction court erred in finding he received the effective assistance of counsel at trial. Following our review, we affirm the post-conviction court’s denial of the petition. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Mr. Appliance, LLC v. Appliance Services Of Tennessee, LLC, Et Al.
A franchisor sued a franchisee in Texas and obtained a default judgment, which it sought to enroll in Tennessee. The franchisor moved for summary judgment, and the franchisee asserted there was a genuine issue of material fact with regard to whether it had been served properly in the Texas action. The trial court granted the franchisor’s motion, concluding that the Texas judgment was entitled to full faith and credit in Tennessee, and awarded the franchisor its attorneys’ fees. On appeal, we affirm the trial court’s award of summary judgment but reverse the award of attorneys’ fees. |
Williamson | Court of Appeals | |
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. HUNTER ALLEN HELMICK
The Appellee, Hunter Allen Helmick, was charged with possession of LSD with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver, a Class B felony. He filed a motion to suppress statements he made to police officers about LSD being in his car, arguing that the statements were the result of custodial questioning without his receiving Miranda warnings. He also argued that the trial court should suppress the LSD found during a search of his car because the police found the LSD as a result of his statements. The trial court granted the motion, suppressing both the Appellee’s statements and the drug evidence, and the State appeals the trial court’s ruling. Based upon our review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we agree with the State that the trial court erred by suppressing the drug evidence. Therefore, the portion of the trial court’s order suppressing the drug evidence is reversed, and the case is remanded to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. The portion of the trial court’s order suppressing the Appellee’s statements is affirmed. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Tennessee Department of Health, Et Al. v. Christina K. Collins, RN, APRN
This appeal involves a licensure disciplinary action. The Tennessee Board of Nursing charged an advanced practice registered nurse with overprescribing controlled substances. After a contested case hearing, the Board found the nurse practitioner guilty of violations of Tennessee’s nursing rules. However, during the deliberations of the Board, one member conducted her own research. She observed that her findings had “changed her mind” and shared the information with the other panel members. The Board subsequently imposed a much-reduced sanction than what was sought by the State. After the administrative law judge twice denied the State’s motions for mistrial, the parties filed appeals with the chancery court. Upon review, the trial court determined that the procedural errors in the record, including the introduction of extrinsic prejudicial information, constituted an abuse of discretion that affected the merits of the Board’s decision. The court reversed and remanded the matter for a new contested case hearing to be heard before and deliberated by a different Board panel. We affirm. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
Sypriss Smith v. All Nations Church of God, et al.
Former employee sued her former employer for retaliatory discharge under the Tennessee Public Protection Act, disability discrimination, and religious discrimination. Former employee voluntarily dismissed the religious discrimination claim prior to trial; the jury returned a verdict in favor of the former employee on only the retaliatory discharge claim, awarding total damages of $15,500.00, inclusive of punitive damages. Former employee then sought an award of over $100,000.00 in attorney’s fees under the applicable statutes, which the trial court reduced to $12,500.00, the same amount of punitive damages awarded by the jury. Former employee appeals only the attorney’s fee award. We vacate the judgment of the trial court and remand for further proceedings. |
Madison | Court of Appeals | |
Jacob Daniel Drucker v. Colleen Erin Daley
Mother challenges the trial court’s granting of father’s petition to modify the residential parenting schedule to give him equal residential parenting time. She argues that the father failed to establish a material change in circumstances affecting the child’s well-being in a meaningful way. We have determined that the evidence does not preponderate against the trial court’s findings that there was a material change of circumstances under Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-101(a)(2)(C) and that modification of the parenting schedule was in the best interest of the child. |
Rutherford | Court of Appeals | |
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. NAPOLEON EMMANUALE PERSON
Napoleon Emmanuale Person, Defendant, appeals from the trial court’s judgment revoking his probation and placing his original sentences into effect. Discerning no error, we affirm. |
Coffee | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
ZAKKAWANDA ZAWUMBA MOSS v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
The Petitioner, Zakkawanda Zawumba Moss, appeals the Lincoln County Circuit Court’s denial of his post-conviction petition, seeking relief from his six convictions of first degree premediated murder and six consecutive life sentences. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that we should remand the case to the post-conviction court in order to provide the Petitioner an opportunity to present additional proof in support of his petition. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we disagree with the Petitioner and affirm the post-conviction court’s denial of the petition. |
Lincoln | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jason Hale v. Turney Center Disciplinary Board, Et Al.
Appellant prison inmate appeals the dismissal of his petition for a writ of certiorari. On appeal, Appellant asserts that the board failed to comply with the Uniform Disciplinary Procedure in imposing discipline in this case. Because the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the appellant relief, we affirm. |
Hickman | Court of Appeals | |
Susan Jo Walls v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Susan Jo Walls, appeals the Bedford County Circuit Court’s denial of her post-conviction petition, seeking relief from her convictions of first degree premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit first degree murder and resulting effective life sentence. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that she received the ineffective assistance of trial counsel. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Bedford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
A & P Excavating And Materials, LLC v. David Geiger
In this contract action, the trial court entered a judgment dismissing the plaintiff logging company’s complaint for breach of contract, determining that the defendant landowner had been within his rights to terminate the parties’ agreement because (1) the contract, which had been drafted by the owner of the logging company, was not sufficiently specific to be enforceable and (2) the logging company had violated what was an unambiguous section of the contract requiring that the logging company follow directions concerning the logging operation given by the landowner’s property manager. The logging company has appealed. Having determined that the parties’ contract is enforceable, we reverse the trial court’s first basis for dismissal of the logging company’s breach of contract claim. However, we affirm the remainder of the trial court’s judgment in its entirety. |
Hawkins | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Yolanda Tucker
The Defendant-Appellant, Yolanda Tucker, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault,1 a Class C felony, in violation of Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-13-102, in Shelby County Criminal Court. Following the Defendant’s testimony at her guilty plea hearing, the trial court denied her request for judicial diversion and imposed a sentence of three years to be served on supervised probation. On appeal, the Defendant contends that (1) the trial court committed plain error in denying her statutory right to allocution and requiring her to testify under oath in order to request judicial diversion, and that (2) the trial court erred in failing to adequately explain its reasoning for denying the Defendant’s application for judicial diversion. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Derek T. Grooms, Steven Hamm, Jeremiah Lesslie, Christian Cole Smith, Allen Hatley, and Bennie Swafford
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Benton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Mini Systems, Inc. v. Marvin Alexander, et al.
This case arises from a breach of contract dispute involving the construction of two storage buildings. Among other issues is whether Appellee’s actions were “unfair or deceptive” pursuant to the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act. The trial court ultimately found that there was a breach of contract, but that Appellee’s actions were not deceptive and dismissed the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act claim. Appellant now appeals the trial court’s dismissal of his claim under the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act. For the reasons stated herein, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Weakley | Court of Appeals | |
In Re Allie-Mae K., Et Al. - Concurring In Part
While I concur with the end result reached by the majority in this case, I write separately to note my disagreement with the the majority’s suggestion that the split of authority surrounding In re Amynn K., No. E2017-01866-COA-R3-PT, 2018 WL 3058280 (Tenn. Ct. App. June 20, 2018) and In re Ayden S., No. M2017-01185-COA-R3-PT, 2018 WL 2447044 (Tenn. Ct. App. May 31, 2018), has been fully resolved in favor of In re Amynn K. See, e.g., In re Allyson P., No. E2019-01606-COA-R3-PT, 2020 WL 3317318, at *9 (Tenn. Ct. App. June 17, 2020) (following In re Ayden S. and reversing the trial court’s decision to terminate a mother’s parental rights based upon this ground when the proof showed that mother was unable to assume custody of her child but was not unwilling). As I perceive it, this split remains clear and irreconcilable. |
Hickman | Court of Appeals |