Monica Villarreal v. Robert Justice
Mother and Father filed separate petitions to modify custody, both alleging a different material change of circumstances. The trial court entered a new parenting plan with custody provisions identical to those in a former parenting plan, but it failed to issue findings of fact and conclusions of law. Because the trial court failed to meet the requirements of Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 52.01, we vacate the judgment and remand for further proceedings. |
Rutherford | Court of Appeals | |
Lamar Tennessee, LLC d/b/a Lamar Advertising of Tennessee and TLC Properties, Inc. v. Murfreesboro Board of Zoning Appeals and City of Murfreesboro, Tennessee
This appeal concerns a billboard permit. The petitioner billboard owner applied to the respondent city for a permit to tear down and replace a grandfathered billboard. The city granted a permit for an indirectly illuminated billboard. The owner then built a billboard with a digital display face. The city revoked the owner’s permit because, inter alia, the sign actually constructed varied from the permit. The owner appealed to the city’s board of zoning appeals, which upheld the city’s revocation of the billboard permit. The billboard owner filed a petition for a writ of certiorari, seeking judicial review of the revocation. The trial court dismissed the billboard owner’s petition, finding that the city’s revocation of the permit was valid because the billboard erected by the owner was not covered by the permit. The billboard owner now appeals. We affirm. |
Rutherford | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Clois Dean Asbury
A Campbell County Criminal Court jury convicted the appellant, Clois Dean Asbury, of driving under the influence of an intoxicant (DUI), sixth offense, and violating the Tennessee implied consent law. On appeal, the appellant contends that (1) there was insufficient evidence to convict him on either count because he was not specifically identified in court, and (2) the trial court's admission of the appellant's medical records, which revealed the appellant had a blood alcohol content level of 0.26 percent, violated his right to confront witnesses against him. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Campbell | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Stephen S. Patterson, II vs. Suntrust Bank
Stephen S. Patterson, II, filed a complaint against SunTrust Bank arising out of unauthorized charges made against his checking account with a debit card alleged to have been stolen. When SunTrust failed to timely respond to the complaint, Patterson moved for a default judgment. Following a hearing and the filing of briefs, the trial court granted the motion. The court later denied SunTrust's motion for relief from the court's order, which order recited that "[t]he plaintiff is granted a judgment by default." In the "judgment by default" order, the court had not addressed the plaintiff's request for damages. On a subsequent date, the case proceeded to a hearing on the issue of damages. At the conclusion of the hearing, the court awarded Patterson damages of $32,937.44. On appeal, SunTrust contends that the trial court erred in entering a default judgment and in failing to set aside that judgment. We vacate the trial court's final judgment. Case remanded for further proceedings. |
Blount | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee, Ex Rel., Misty D. Murphy v. Nicholas A . Franks
Appellant/Father appeals from the trial court’s finding that he was in contempt for failure to pay child support. After reviewing the record, we find that the evidence preponderates against the trial court’s findings of fact. The trial court’s finding of contempt is reversed. |
Lauderdale | Court of Appeals | |
Lula McGregor, et al. v. Christian Care Center of Springfield, L.L.C.
Shortly after a sixty-one year old woman signed a nursing home admission agreement, she fell and broke her ankle. She sued for negligence, and the defendant nursing home moved the court to compel her to bring her claim to arbitration in accordance with a separate agreement she had signed as a part of the admissions process. The trial court found that the arbitration agreement was a contract of adhesion and that it would be unconscionable to enforce it. The nursing home filed a direct appeal to this court pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann._ 29-5-319. Because the terms of the agreement favor the nursing home by giving it a judicial forum, we find the arbitration agreement unconscionable. Therefore, we affirm the trial court. |
Robertson | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Shannon Gene Taylor
The Defendant, Shannon Gene Taylor, appeals the revocation of his probation by the Circuit Court of Coffee County. The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the judgment of the trial court pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. After our review, we grant the State's motion and affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Coffee | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Larquietta Taylor-Fisher
The defendant, Larquietta Taylor-Fisher, pled guilty in the Shelby County Criminal Court to DUI, first offense, a Class A misdemeanor; leaving the scene of an accident, a Class B misdemeanor; and three counts of reckless aggravated assault, a Class D felony, and was sentenced by the trial court to an effective sentence of two years, with thirty days to serve and the remainder of the time on supervised probation. In a timely appeal to this court, she argues that the trial court abused its discretion in denying her request for judicial diversion. Following our review, we affirm the sentencing determinations of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Matthew Melton Jackson v. State of Tennessee
On August 10, 2001, Petitioner, Matthew Melton Jackson, pled guilty in Sumner County Circuit Court to four counts of aggravated robbery. The trial court sentenced Appellant to four, ten-year sentences to be served concurrently with each other, but consecutively to a previous sentence. On August 7, 2009, Petitioner filed a Petition for Post-conviction Relief arguing that a decision of this Court rendered after the entry of his guilty plea created a constitutional right that should be given retroactive application. Alternatively, he also argues that his incarceration in another state required a tolling of the statute of limitations. The postconviction court summarily dismissed his petition. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the dismissal of his petition. |
Sumner | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Quantraveous Williams v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Quantraveous Williams, appeals the post-conviction court's dismissal of his postconviction petition in which Petitioner alleged that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel in connection with the entry of his pleas of guilty and that his pleas of guilty were not entered into voluntarily or knowingly. After a through review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Linnell Richmond v. Tennessee Department of Correction
This appeal involves subject matter jurisdiction over a petition for a writ of certiorari. The petitioner inmate was convicted of a disciplinary offense by the Department of Correction disciplinary board. The inmate timely filed a petition in the trial court, challenging the legality of the board's decision. The petition was not sworn. The respondent Department of Correction filed a motion to dismiss for failure to comply with the statutory verification requirement for such a petition. Subsequently, after the limitations period had lapsed, the petitioner inmate filed a motion to amend the petition to satisfy the verification requirement. The trial court found that it did not have subject matter jurisdiction to adjudicate the motion to amend and dismissed the petition. The petitioner now appeals. We affirm. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
William Cameron Cone v. Georgia Elise Dunn Cone
In this post-divorce custody dispute, mother challenges the trial court's decision to change the primary residential parent to father. The trial court found mother's allegations of sexual abuse to be unfounded, and the evidence does not preponderate against the trial court's determination. We find no error in the trial court's modification of the primary residential parent or in its denial of mother's requests for post-judgment relief. We therefore affirm. |
Robertson | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Darrell Franklin
We granted this appeal to determine whether the admission into evidence of an automobile license tag number observed and written down by a bystander near the crime scene who did not appear at trial violated the defendant’s right to confrontation under the federal and state constitutions. A few seconds after being robbed at her place of employment, the victim ran out of the business, told a bystander that she had been robbed, and asked the bystander to observe the tag number of the vehicle operated by the man who had just left the business. The bystander did so and then came inside the store to write the number down for the victim. The victim added other descriptive information about the robber to the same piece of paper and then turned it over to the police. The tag number was traced to a vehicle owned by the defendant, whom a jury ultimately convicted of one count of robbery. The Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the conviction, holding that the written tag number was “testimonial hearsay” within the meaning of Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004), and Davis v Washington, 547 U.S. 813 (2006), and concluding that the statement’s admission was plain error. Based on our objective review of the circumstances surrounding the statement, we conclude that the written tag number was “nontestimonial hearsay” that did not implicate the defendant’s right of confrontation and was admissible as an excited utterance. We reverse the judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals and reinstate defendant’s conviction. |
Shelby | Supreme Court | |
Jamie Bailey v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Jamie Bailey, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his three first degree murder convictions, arguing that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel and that his guilty pleas were therefore unknowing and involuntary. Following our review, we affirm the denial of the petition. |
Dyer | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jeremy White v. Commissioner Gayle Ray, et al.
This appeal arises out of the disciplinary conviction of a prisoner for drug possession. The prisoner filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the chancery court seeking to review the actions of the prison disciplinary board. The chancery court issued the writ and determined that the prisoner was not entitled to relief. We affirm. |
Lake | Court of Appeals | |
Rodney K. Matthews v. Sophia D. Matthews
The trial court granted the wife a divorce after a marriage of almost twenty years, divided the marital property, and awarded the wife temporary alimony. The husband argues on appeal that the court erred in the property division by impermissibly taking his fault into consideration and by dividing his military retirement between the parties without considering the effect of their long separation on the equities of that division. The husband also argues that the court impermissibly awarded the wife alimony in solido out of his future earnings rather than out of his separate property. After thoroughly examining the record, we have found no evidence that the trial court based its property division on the husband’s fault, and we do not find that it abused its discretion in dividing the military retirement as it did. We also find no indication that the trial court intended its monthly alimony award to be considered alimony in solido. We accordingly affirm the trial court, but modify its decree to specify that the award of monthly alimony is in the form of transitional alimony and conversely that the award of attorney fees is alimony in solido . |
Montgomery | Court of Appeals | |
Great American Insurance Company of New York et al. v. Federal Insurance Company et al.
This is a dispute between two insurance companies, each of which provided liability insurance for a Captain D’s restaurant in Mississippi. The defendant, Federal Insurance Company, provided the primary coverage for Captain D’s with policy limits of $1,000,000. The plaintiff, Great American Insurance Company of New York, provided excess coverage for the benefit of Captain D’s. When an action was filed against the insured in Mississippi for serious and permanent injuries sustained by a 15 year-old minor at a Captain D’s, Federal provided the defense for Captain D’s. The jury returned a verdict of $20.8 million against Captain D’s. The next day, Federal sent a letter to its insured, Captain D’s, and to the excess carrier, Great American, offering to pay its policy limits of $1,000,000 toward the judgment; however, Federal’s “offer to pay” was not communicated to Foradori, the plaintiff in the Mississippi action. Federal appealed the $20.8 million Mississippi judgment on behalf of Captain D’s, but the judgment was affirmed. Post-judgment interest of $2,269,169 accrued during the appeal. When the judgment became final, Federal paid its policy limits of $1,000,000, but no interest. Great American paid the balance of the judgment plus all of the post-judgment interest. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Joseph S. Rittenberry
The Defendant-Appellant, Joseph S. Rittenberry, pled nolo contendere in Sumner County to three counts of attempted aggravated sexual battery, a Class C felony. The trial court sentenced Rittenberry to six years in the Tennessee Department of Correction for each conviction, to be served concurrently. On appeal, Rittenberry claims the trial court erred in denying alternative sentencing. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Sumner | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
In the Matter of: Haven A. B.
The juvenile court granted emergency custody of a four-year-old girl to her paternal aunt and uncle and subsequently determined that the child was dependent and neglected. More than two years after obtaining custody, the aunt and uncle petitioned the trial court to terminate the parental rights of the child's mother and father. The court conducted a four-day hearing before terminating their parental rights on the grounds of abandonment and persistence of conditions. Only the mother appealed. We affirm the termination of her rights on the ground of persistence of conditions. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
Water Authority of Dickson County v. Gene C. Hooper, Vera S. Hooper, and Dickson County, Tennessee
This is a condemnation case in which the Water Authority of Dickson County acquired an easement by eminent domain for the purpose of installing a subsurface water transmission line. The Water Authority's ability to take the land is not in question; this appeal only involves the amount of compensation to which the landowners are entitled. Following a trial without a jury, the court awarded $6,300.00 for the taking of the permanent easement and incidental damages. The Water Authority appeals. Finding error, we vacate the judgment of the court and remand for further proceedings. |
Dickson | Court of Appeals | |
Water Authority of Dickson County v. Charles B. Hooper, Gene C. Hooper, and Dickson County, Tennessee
This is a condemnation case in which the Water Authority of Dickson County acquired an easement by eminent domain for the purpose of installing a subsurface water transmission line. The Water Authority's ability to take the land is not in question; this appeal only involves the amount of compensation to which the landowners are entitled. Following a trial without a jury, the court awarded $12,526.56 for the taking of the permanent easement and incidental damages. The Water Authority appeals. Finding error, we vacate the judgment of the court and remand for further proceedings. |
Dickson | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Troy Allen Pruitt
A Montgomery County jury convicted the Defendant, Troy Allen Pruitt, of two counts of aggravated robbery and two counts of fraudulent use of a credit card, and the trial court sentenced him to an effective sentence of fifteen years in the Tennessee Department of Correction ("TDOC"). On appeal, the Defendant contends: (1) the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions; and (2) the trial court erred when it found the Defendant waived review of the issue of whether recent case law on expert witness testimony entitled him to a new trial. After a thorough review of the record and applicable authorities, we affirm the trial court's judgments. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Stephen George Beem v. Joan Nan Gallina Beem
This appeal involves a motion to set aside a marital dissolution agreement. After a long marriage, the parties filed cross-petitions for divorce. After mediation, they entered into a marital dissolution agreement settling division of the considerable martial estate. The parties presented the MDA to the trial court, and it was approved and incorporated into the final decree of divorce. Several weeks later, the husband filed this pro se petition to have the MDA set aside, claiming that, at the time it was signed, he was not mentally competent to enter in to such an agreement. The husband's motion was denied, and the wife was awarded attorney fees pursuant to the terms of the MDA. The husband now appeals. We affirm. We hold that the evidence supports the factual finding below that the husband was mentally capable of understanding the consequences of the MDA, and we find no abuse of its discretion in the trial court's denial of the husband's motion to set it aside. We also affirm the award of attorney fees to the wife, and award attorney fees for this appeal. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
Rodney K. Matthews v Sophia D. Matthews
The trial court granted the wife a divorce after a marriage of almost twenty years, divided the marital property, and awarded the wife temporary alimony. The husband argues on appeal that the court erred in the property division by impermissibly taking his fault into consideration and by dividing his military retirement between the parties without considering the effect of their long separation on the equities of that division. The husband also argues that the court impermissibly awarded the wife alimony in solido out of his future earnings rather than out of his separate property. After thoroughly examining the record, we have found no evidence that the trial court based its property division on the husband's fault, and we do not find that it abused its discretion in dividing the military retirement as it did. We also find no indication that the trial court intended its monthly alimony award to be considered alimony in solido. We accordingly affirm the trial court, but modify its decree to specify that the award of monthly alimony is in the form of transitional alimony and conversely that the award of attorney fees is alimony in solido. |
Montgomery | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Edward Garcia Summers
The defendant, Edward Garcia Summers, was indicted for possession with the intent to sell .5 grams or more of a substance containing cocaine, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia, all charges based upon evidence seized during a search of his residence. The defendant filed a motion to suppress the evidence, alleging that there was no probable cause to support the issuance of the search warrant. The trial court granted the defendant's motion, and the State now appeals. Upon review, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand for further proceedings. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals |