APPELLATE COURT OPINIONS

This is a divorce case. The parties were married for twenty-five years and had no children. The wife was employed full-time and had a pension, and the husband was unemployed and disabled. The trial court granted a divorce to the wife on the grounds of inappropriate marital conduct by the husband, classified and divided the marital property without determining the value of the wife's pension, and made no provision for spousal support for the husband. The husband appeals. We affirm the grant of the divorce to the wife and affirm the decision not to award alimony to the husband. We reverse in part and remand for the trial court to classify the wife's pension plan as marital property, determine its value, and equitably divide it between the parties.

Appellee, a privately owned, government subsidized apartment complex filed an unlawful detainer action seeking to evict appellant, Ashley Clinard, after a small amount of marijuana was found in her apartment. A guest admitted to having the marijuana despite Ms. Clinard's expressed prohibition against drugs in her apartment. The circuit court entered a judgment for possession of the premises against the defendant, interpreting provisions of the lease, one required by federal law and the other allowed by Tennessee law, to permit eviction of a tenant for drug related actions of a guest, even without the knowledge of the tenant. Based upon the Tennessee Supreme Court's decision in Memphis Housing Authority v. Thompson, 38 S.W.3d 504 (Tenn. 2001), holding that a tenant may not be evicted for drug related criminal activities of a guest, under federally-required lease provisions, unless the tenant knew or should have known of the activity and failed to take reasonable steps to prevent it, and because the evidence shows that Ms. Clinard had no reason to know that her guest had marijuana in her apartment, we conclude the eviction based on that provision must be reversed. Additionally, because we find that temporary mere presence of a small amount of marijuana does not constitute "a violent act" or "a real and present danger to the health, safety or welfare of the life or property of other tenants or persons," we conclude that state law does not authorize the summary eviction. Accordingly, we reverse the trial court.

The trial court granted the husband a divorce, divided his military pension between the parties, and awarded the wife rehabilitative alimony. The wife argued on appeal that she should have been given a greater share of the husband's pension, and that the alimony award was inadequate. We affirm the property division and the amount of the alimony award, but remand this case to the trial court for a determination of whether a change of circumstances would entitle the wife to an extension in the duration of the award.

This consolidated appeal concerns a multiple vehicle automobile collision which occurred during interstate rush hour traffic in Nashville. Lamesia A. Simmons' vehicle came into contact with the rear portion of Paula C. Bencriscutto's vehicle during an attempted lane change. This impact then caused the Bencriscutto vehicle to come into contact with Brooke A. Lucas' vehicle. Lawsuits were instituted in the Circuit Court of Davidson County by both Lucas and Bencriscutto against Simmons to recover damages associated with the collision. These suits were consolidated for trial and this subsequent appeal. At the close of the Plaintiffs' proof the court directed a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs and against Simmons. The issue of damages was then submitted to the jury with a verdict of $9,947.69 being returned in favor of Bencriscutto and in the amount of $5,482.50 for Lucus. Ms. Simmons appeals insisting that the trial court erred in granting the directed verdict. We affirm the action of the trial court in directing the verdict and the damage award.

This appeal arises from the deed and devise of property to Courtney Warner Hodges, a minor, by her great grandmother, now deceased. The Appellee brought a petition for appointment of a guardian for Courtney in the Probate Court of Shelby County. The petition stated that Courtney needed a guardian to represent her interests and collect and invest her income from the property. The petition also stated that the income interest to Courtney was not encumbered by trust. Following a hearing, the trial court entered an order for management of minor's estate. The trial court found that the evidence was insufficient to impose oral trusts upon the property.

This case presents the issue of whether the administrator of an estate breached his fiduciary duty, under the circumstances herein presented, when he failed to see that an asset of the estate worth in excess of $10,000 was properly insured. We find that Defendant breached his duty when, after he was informed by Plaintiff that she had paid off the bank note on the mobile home after attempting to sell it, he failed to make any inquiries into who would pay the insurance, how the insurance would be paid, when the insurance was due, or whether any insurance was in effect. This breach of duty caused loss to the estate when the mobile home was destroyed by a tornado while uninsured. As a result, we find Defendant liable to the estate in the amount of $11,415, as this is the amount the proof showed would have been paid by insurance.

The only question involved in this appeal is whether it was in the best interests of a minor child to terminate the parental rights of the child's mother. The Juvenile Court of Putnam County found that fact against the mother. We affirm.

This appeal stems from a divorced couple's decision to modify the terms of an agreed order regarding the payment of their marital debt. Almost six years after the parties were divorced in the Chancery Court for Maury County, the husband agreed to release the wife from her obligation to pay a portion of the marital debt in return for her agreement to use her credit to help him purchase a new truck. After the wife repossessed the husband's new truck, the husband requested the trial court to enforce the original agreed order. The trial court determined that the original agreed order remained valid and awarded the husband $18,944 representing the payments the wife should have made under the agreed order. The wife asserts on this appeal that the parties' agreement to modify the agreed order was valid and that she had performed her obligations under the agreement. We agree and, accordingly, reverse the judgment for the husband and direct the trial court to enter an order releasing the wife from her obligation under the agreed order.

This is an appeal of a jury verdict based on personal injuries plaintiff received as a result of the wrong acetic acid solution being applied during a colposcopy. Metro Medical Supply, Inc., the supplier of the acid, appeals the trial court's decisions on post trial motions and the amount of the remittitur. Among other grounds, Metro Medical asserts that it is not liable because any acts or omissions on its part were too remote and that there were intervening superceding causes that were the legal and proximate cause of plaintiff's injuries. We agree, and for the reasons below, we find that Metro Medical was not legally liable to plaintiffs and any negligence on its part was superceded by unforeseeable intervening causes. Accordingly, the judgment against Metro Medical Supply, Inc. is reversed.