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TBALink Opinion-Flash
August 17, 1998 -- Volume #4 -- Number #120
What follows is the case style or name, first paragraph, author's name, and the names of the attorneys for the parties of each opinion released today from Tennessee's three appellate courts.
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Editor-in-Chief, TBALink
WILLIAMSON COUNTY BROADCASTING COMPANY, INC., and WILLIAM B. ORMES vs. INTERMEDIA PARTNERS, a California limited partnership; INTERMEDIA CAPITAL MANAGEMENT; a general partner of InterMedia Partners; LEO J. HINDERY, JR. Managing General Partner and Chief Executive Officer of InterMedia Capital Management; ROBIN CABLE SYSTEMS; ROBIN MEDIA GROUP, INC.; FIRST CABLEVISION, INC.; ROBIN CABLE SYSTEMS LIMITED PARTNERSHIP; TENNESSEE VALLEY CABLEVISION Court:TCA Attorneys: ALFRED H. KNIGHT ALAN D. JOHNSON 215 Second Avenue, North Nashville, Tennessee 37201 Attorneys for Plaintiffs/Appellants STEPHEN K. RUSH 1209 16th Avenue South Nashville, Tennessee 37212 Kathryn A. Stephenson 414 Union Street Nashville, Tennessee 37219 Attorneys for Defendants/Appellees Judge:CANTRELL First Paragraph: In this second appeal involving a written agreement, we are asked to review the chancellor's findings concerning the scope of the agreement, the proof of damages, and whether the agreement should be specifically performed. We reverse the order of specific performance but affirm in all other respects. URL:http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/intermed_opn.WP6
PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF
MIDDLE TENNESSEE, et al.
VS.
DON SUNDQUIST, GOVERNOR
OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE,
et al.,
Court:TCA
Attorneys:
For Plaintiffs/Appellants: For Defendants/Appellees:
Barry Friedman John Knox Walkup
Vanderbilt University Attorney General and Reporter
Nashville, Tennessee
Andy D. Bennett
Irwin Venick Associate Chief Deputy
Dobbins & Venick
Nashville, Tennessee Michael W. Catalano
Associate Solicitor General
Elizabeth B. Thompson
Howrey & Simon
Washington, DC For Dr. Anthony Trabue and
Dr. Betty Neff:
Barbara E. Otten
Dara Klassel J. Russell Heldman
Roger K. Evans Franklin, Tennessee
Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc.
New York, NY
Louise Melling
Catherine Weiss
American Civil Liberties Foundation
New York, NY
For American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists:
Ann E. Allen
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Washington, DC
Abby R. Rubenfeld
Rubenfeld & Associates
Nashville, Tennessee
Judge:KOCH
First Paragraph:
This appeal presents a multifaceted challenge to the constitutionality
of Tennessee's abortion statutes. After a physician and a clinic in
Knoxville were charged with violating these statutes, two other
clinics in Memphis and Nashville, joined by three physicians, filed
suit in the Circuit Court for Davidson County seeking declaratory and
injunctive relief under the Constitution of Tennessee. The trial
court struck down the residency requirement, the waiting period, and
the requirement that physicians inform their patients that an abortion
is a major surgical procedure. After making its own substantive
revisions in the statutory text, the trial court upheld the mandatory
hospitalization requirement, the remaining informed consent
requirements, and the newly enacted parental consent requirement. We
have determined that the trial court erred by revising the text of
several provisions. We have also determined that the emergency
medical exception enacted by the General Assembly is
unconstitutionally narrow, that the combined effect of the waiting
period and the physician-only counseling requirement places an undue
burden on women's procreational choice, and that the remaining
challenged provisions as construed herein pass constitutional muster.
URL:http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/planned_opn.WP6
FREDDY TIPTON
VS.
ROBERT BURR, Individually anD
BLUE RIDGE DRILLING AND
OPERATING COMPANY, INC.
Court:TCA
Attorneys:
MICHAEL A. WALKER
P. O. Box 1780
Jamestown, Tennessee 38556
Attorney for Plaintiff/Appellee
RANDALL A. YORK
P. O. Box 3549
Crossville, Tennessee 38557-3549
Attorney for Defendants/Appellants
Judge:CANTRELL
First Paragraph:
The Chancery Court of Fentress County found that the defendant Robert
Burr, individually and/or as president of Blue Ridge Drilling and
Operating Company, agreed to purchase Freddy Tipton's interest in a
drilling rig for $50,000. The court gave the defendant credit for a
partial payment of $5,000 and rendered judgment for $45,000 plus
prejudgment interest from October 14, 1992. On appeal, Mr. Burr
contends that the parties never had a meeting of the minds, that Mr.
Tipton did not have an interest in the drilling rig, that the claim is
barred by the statute of frauds, that the claim cannot be asserted
against him individually, and that the court erred in awarding
prejudgment interest. We modify the dates on which prejudgment
interest began to accrue. In all other respects we affirm.
URL:http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/tiptonf_opn.WP6
DAVID K. WACHTEL, JR.
VS.
THE WESTERN SIZZLIN
CORPORATION f/k/a FRANCHISEE
ACQUISITION CORPORATION
VS.
DAVID K. WACHTEL, JR., AND
RESTAURANT MANAGEMENT
SERVICES, INC.
Court:TCA
Judge:CANTRELL
First Paragraph:
The appellee has filed a respectful Petition to Rehear. After
reviewing the grounds for the petition, we are of the opinion that it
should be overruled. It is, therefore, ordered that the petition be
overruled.
URL:http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/wachtedk_reh.WP6
JAMES L. WEST, ET AL.
VS.
FRANK LUNA
Court:TCA
Attorneys:
For Plaintiffs/Appellees: For Defendant/Appellant:
R. Whitney Stevens, Jr. Brad W. Hornsby
Stevens, Bagley & Stevens Bullock, Fly & McFarlin
Fayetteville, Tennessee Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Judge:KOCH
First Paragraph:
This appeal arises out of a long-running dispute over a dirt race
track in Lincoln County. Six years after the track was permanently
enjoined from operating at a noise level that amounted to a nuisance,
a number of the track's residential neighbors filed suit in the
Chancery Court for Lincoln County to enjoin the track's new owner from
conducting stock car races because they feared that the noise would
create a nuisance. Despite the new owner's assurances that he planned
to muffle the noise with sound-reducing technology and landscape
modifications, the trial court, sitting without a jury, permanently
enjoined the new owner from holding automobile races of any sort at
the track. On this appeal, the track's owner challenges the breadth
of the injunction and the fact that it was issued before he reopened
the track. We have determined that the injunction must be vacated
because it is too broad.
URL:http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/westjl_opn.WP6
STATE OF TENNESSEE
vs.
RODNEY E. SMART
Court:TCCA
Attorneys:
For the Appellant: For the Appellee:
Ardena J. Garth John Knox Walkup
District Public Defender Attorney General and Reporter
Donna Robinson Miller Clinton J. Morgan
Asst. Public Defender Assistant Attorney General
710 Cherry Street Criminal Justice Division
Chattanooga, TN 37402 450 James Robertson Parkway
Nashville, TN 37243-0493
William H. Cox III
District Attorney General
David Denny
Asst. District Attorney General
Suite 300, Courts Building
Chattanooga, TN 37402
Judge:Hayes
First Paragraph:
The appellant, Rodney E. Smart, appeals the revocation of his
Community Corrections sentence by the Hamilton County Criminal Court.
Following revocation, the trial court reinstated the appellant's
effective sentence of eight years in the Department of Correction. In
this appeal as of right, the appellant argues that the trial court
abused its discretion by relying on unreliable hearsay evidence to
support the revocation. After review of the record, we affirm the
judgment of the trial court.
URL:http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/smartre_opn.WP6
EARL E. COLLIER
VS.
CHARLES JONES, Warden,
and, STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court:TCCA
Attorneys:
FOR THE APPELLANT: FOR THE APPELLEE:
EARL E. COLLIER, Pro Se JOHN KNOX WALKUP
P.O. Box 2000 Attorney General and Reporter
Wartburg, TN 37887-2000
TIMOTHY F. BEHAN
Assistant Attorney General
425 5th Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37243-0493
CHARLES E. HAWK
District Attorney General
FRANK A. HARVEY
Assistant District Attorney General
P.O. Box 703
Kingston, TN 37763
Judge:WELLES
First Paragraph:
The Defendant, Earl E. Collier, appeals as of right the trial court's
dismissal of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. Defendant
argues the following four issues in this pro se appeal: (1) his
convictions violate due process and double jeopardy interests relevant
to the multiplicitous and facially invalid indictments brought against
him; (2) his convictions were due to a violation of his right to the
effective assistance of counsel; (3) his convictions violate his right
against self- incrimination; and (4) the facts do not support his
conviction for aggravated kidnapping. We affirm the judgment of the
trial court.
URL:http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/colliere_opn.WP6
STATE OF TENNESSEE
vs.
MICHAEL TODD DRINNON
Court:TCCA
Attorneys:
FOR THE APPELLANT: FOR THE APPELLEE:
GREG W. EICHELMAN JOHN KNOX WALKUP
District Public Defender Attorney General & Reporter
D. CLIFTON BARNES CLINTON J. MORGAN
Asst. District Public Defender Asst. Attorney General
419 High St. 425 Fifth Ave. N., 2d Floor
Maryville, TN 37804 Nashville, TN 37243-0493
C. BERKELEY BELL
District Attorney General
JOHN DUGGER
Asst. District Attorney General
510 Allison St.
Morristown, TN 37814
Judge:WITT
First Paragraph:
The defendant, Michael Todd Drinnon, appeals from his convictions of
two counts of evading arrest and two counts of third offense driving
on a revoked license. Drinnon received his convictions at the
conclusion of his trial before a jury of his peers in the Hamblen
County Criminal Court. He received sentences of two years each for
the evading arrest convictions and eleven months, 29 days for the
driving on revoked license convictions. The evading arrest
convictions were imposed consecutively to each other and concurrently
to the driving on revoked license convictions, for an effective
sentence of four years. In this direct appeal, Drinnon challenges the
sufficiency of the convicting evidence, the court's ruling that a
defense witness must not invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege if he
took the stand, and the sentence he received. Following a review of
the record and the briefs of the parties, we affirm the judgment of
the trial court.
URL:http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/drinnonm_opn.WP6
HILTON G. JEFFERIES
vs.
JAMES A. BOWLEN, WARDEN
AND STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court:TCCA
Attorneys:
FOR THE APPELLANT: FOR THE APPELLEE:
PRO SE JOHN KNOX WALKUP
Attorney General & Reporter
MICHAEL J. FAHEY, II
Assistant Attorney General
Cordell Hull Bldg., Second Floor
425 Fifth Avenue, North
Nashville, TN 37243-0490
JAMES MICHAEL TAYLOR
District Attorney General
JAMES W. POPE, III
Assistant District Attorney
265 Third Avenue, Suite 300
Dayton, TN 37321
Judge:ACREE
First Paragraph:
The appellant, Hilton Glen Jefferies, appeals as of right the trial
court's dismissal of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. We
affirm the trial court.
URL:http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/jeff_op.WP6
STATE OF TENNESSEE
VS.
SHAWN T. O'MALLEY
Court:TCCA
Attorneys:
For the Appellant: For the Appellee:
Mack Garner John Knox Walkup
District Public Defender Attorney General and Reporter
419 High Street
Maryville, TN 37804 Marvin E. Clements, Jr.
Assistant Attorney General
425 Fifth Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37243-0493
Michael L. Flynn
District Attorney General
Philip H. Morton
Assistant District Attorney
363 Court Street
Maryville, TN 37804
Judge:Barker
First Paragraph:
The appellant, Shawn T. O'Malley, appeals as of right the sentence he
received in the Blount County Circuit Court as a result of his guilty
plea to the offense of vehicular homicide. Appellant was sentenced to
serve eight (8) years in the Department of Correction as a Range I
offender. On appeal, he contests only the trial court's denial of
alternative sentencing. We affirm.
URL:http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/omalleys_opn.WP6
STATE OF TENNESSEE
VS.
ALBERT CHRISTIAN PADGETT
Court:TCCA
Attorneys:
For the Appellant: For the Appellee:
Alan R. Beard John Knox Walkup
737 Market Street, Suite 601 Attorney General and Reporter
Chattanooga, TN 37402
Timothy F. Behan
Assistant Attorney General
425 Fifth Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37243-0493
William H. Cox, III
District Attorney General
C. Leland Davis
Assistant District Attorney
600 Market Street, Suite 310
Chattanooga, TN 37402
Judge:Barker
First Paragraph:
The appellant, Albert Christian Padgett, appeals as of right his
convictions in the Hamilton County Criminal Court of especially
aggravated kidnapping, two counts of aggravated rape, two counts of
aggravated robbery, and theft over $1,000. He received an effective
sentence of 103 years. Appellant argues on appeal: (1) that the trial
court erred in allowing separate convictions for aggravated rape and
especially aggravated kidnapping based upon the same criminal episode;
(2) that the trial court erred in allowing two convictions for
aggravated rape when both rapes occurred at the same time and involved
the same victim; and (3) that the trial court erred in failing to
instruct the jury on the defense of necessity. After a thorough
review of the record, we find no reversible error. Accordingly, we
affirm the judgment of the trial court.
URL:http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/padgett_opn.WP6
STATE OF TENNESSEE
VS.
ALGERNON WILLIE RICE
Court:TCCA
Attorneys:
For the Appellant: For the Appellee:
Ardena J. Garth John Knox Walkup
District Public Defender Attorney General of Tennessee
and and
Richard K. Mabee Clinton J. Morgan
Assistant Public Defender Asst. Attorney General of Tennessee
701 Cherry Street, Suite 300 425 Fifth Avenue North
Chattanooga, TN 37402 Nashville, TN 37243-0493
(AT TRIAL)
William H. Cox, III
Ardena J. Garth District Attorney General
District Public Defender and
and Bates W. Bryan, Jr.
Donna Robinson Miller Assistant District Attorney General
Assistant Public Defender 600 Market Street, Suite 310
701 Cherry Street, Suite 300 Chattanooga, TN 37402
Chattanooga, TN 37402
(ON APPEAL)
Judge:Tipton
First Paragraph:
The defendant, Algernon Willie Rice, appeals as of right from his
conviction upon a guilty plea in the Hamilton County Criminal Court
for second degree murder, a Class A felony. The trial court sentenced
the defendant as a Range I, standard offender to twenty years in the
Department of Correction. The defendant contends that the trial court
erred by applying enhancement factors and by failing to consider
mitigating factors. We affirm the judgment of conviction.
URL:http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/riceaw_opn.WP6
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