APPELLATE COURT OPINIONS

This matter appears appropriate for consideration pursuant to Rule 10(b) of the Rules of the
Court of Appeals of Tennessee. The plaintiffs/appellants in this cause, Nancy Buchanan, et al., (“Buchanan”) appeal the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to defendants/appellees, Hardeman County, Tennessee, et al., (“Hardeman County”). After a serious automobile accident on Minnie Hill Road in Hardeman County, Buchanan filed suit against Hardeman County for wrongful death, alleging that the road was not properly maintained by the County. Buchanan alleged that the accident would not have occurred had a lower speed limit been posted, a warning sign been erected, the curve properly delineated by road markings, and guardrails been installed. Buchanan argues that the doctrine of sovereign immunity does not apply to Hardeman County in this case and that the road was unsafe, dangerous, and defective under Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-20-203(a).

This appeal is from the dismissal of the separate, but consolidated, suits of a mother and daughter for their personal injuries sustained while guest-passengers in a vehicle owned by Gayle (Amy) Schall and operated by Kimberly J. Quam Davis (hereafter "Ms. Davis"). Allstate Insurance Company (hereafter "Allstate") was served with process as an uninsured motorist insurer.

I concur with the court’s conclusion that the increase during the marriage of the equity in Ms. Selby’s six Glaze Court duplexes is marital property. However, I have prepared this separate opinion to address an issue concerning the valuation of this marital property that is not addressed in the main opinion. Since the trial court undervalued this interest, I would remand the case for further proceedings.

An inmate in a Tennessee prison operated by Corrections Corporation of America filed a complaint which alleged that prison guards employed by the corrections company had converted his personal property. The chancery court dismissed his complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. We reverse and reinstate the complaint.

This is an appeal by defendant/appellant, Landon Selby, from a decision of the chancery court which granted appellant and plaintiff/appellee, Dixie Millburn Selby, a divorce and distributed the parties' marital and separate assets. The facts out of which this case arose are as follows.

The captioned plaintiffs have appealed from a summary judgment dismissing their suit against the captioned defendants.

I concur with the court’s conclusion that the increase during the marriage of the equity in Ms. Selby’s six Glaze Court duplexes is marital property. However, I have prepared this separate opinion to address an issue concerning the valuation of this marital property that is not addressed in the main opinion. Since the trial court undervalued this interest, I would remand the case for further proceedings.

In this case, Defendant Billy Azbell (Azbell) appeals the trial court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of Plaintiff Knott’s Wholesale Foods, Inc. (Knott’s), finding that Azbell breached his fiduciary duty of loyalty as an employee. The trial court issued injunctive relief against Azbell and subsequently found that Azbell and defendant J & R Foods (J & R) engaged in a civil conspiracy to circumvent the injunction. Injunctive relief was issued against Azbell and J & R, and both defendants were held liable for compensatory damages, punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees. Azbell and J & R appeal. We affirm in part and reverse in part.

This is an appeal by plaintiff/appellant, Colemill Enterprises, Inc. ("Colemill"), from a decision of the chancery court which affirmed the determination of defendant/appellee, Joe Huddleston, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Revenue ("Commissioner"), that Colemill owed certain state and local sales and use taxes. The facts out of which this matter arose are as follows.

This appeal involves over $45,000 seized during the search of a house in Memphis for illegal drugs. After the Commissioner of Safety ordered the forfeiture of the money, the person claiming the funds filed a petition for review in the Chancery Court for Davidson County asserting that the forfeiture statutes deprived him of his constitutional right to a jury trial and violated the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the United States and Tennessee Constitutions. The trial court upheld the forfeiture statutes and the forfeiture, and this appeal followed. We have determined that Tennessee’s forfeiture statutes are constitutional and that the record contains substantial and material evidence supporting the commissioner’s forfeiture order. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment.

This appeal involves a provision in a marital dissolution agreement requiring the father to prepay his child support. Upon discovering that one of his children had decided not to complete high school, the father stopped paying the agreed amount of child support and filed a petition to terminate his child support obligation on the ground that the prepayment agreement was premised on the children’s continued enrollment in high school. The Chancery Court for Williamson County denied the petition, and the father perfected this appeal. We have determined that the trial court correctly enforced the amended marital dissolution agreement and accordingly affirm the judgment as modified herein.