August 22, 2000 Volume 6 -- Number 132 What follows is the case style or name, first paragraph, author's name, and the names of attorneys for the parties of each opinion released eletronically today to TBALink. This Issue (IN THIS ORDER):   00 New Opinion(s) from the Tennessee Supreme Court 00 New Opinion(s) from the Tennessee Supreme Court Workers' Compensation Panel 00 New Document(s) or Proposed Rule(s) from the Tennessee Supreme Court 07 New Opinion(s) from the Tennessee Court of Appeals 03 New Opinion(s) from the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals 00 New Opinion(s) from the Tennessee Attorney General (PDF format) 00 New Judicial Ethics Opinion(s) 00 New Formal Ethics Opinion(s) from the Board of Professional Responsibility   There are three ways for TBALink members to get the full-text versions of these opinions from the Web: Do a key word search in the Search Link area of TBALink. This option will allow you to view and save a plain-text version of the opinion. Browse the Opinion List area of TBALink. This option will allow you to download the original version of the opinion. Click the URL at end of each Opinion paragraph below. This option will allow you to download the original document. Lucian T. Pera Editor-in-Chief, TBALink DOLLY N. CHURCH v. MARIA PERALES, M.D., et al. Court:TCA Attorneys: Barbara G. Medley, Lewisburg, Tennessee, for the appellant, Dolly N. Church. Noel F. Stahl, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Maria Perales. Dixie W. Cooper and Shirley A. Irwin, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Laura Dunbar. Ed R. Davies and E. Reynolds Davies, Jr., Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Stephen J. Ross. Judge: KOCH First Paragraph: This appeal involves a dispute between an elderly patient and her physicians regarding their treatment of a severe post-operative infection caused by a bowel perforation that occurred during gynecological surgery. The patient filed suit in the Circuit Court for Davidson County against five physicians and a hospital alleging medical battery and malpractice. The trial court granted a summary judgment to the physicians and the hospital and dismissed the patient's case. On this appeal, the patient takes issue with the summary judgment granted to her gynecologist, a consulting general surgeon, and the gynecologist attending her following surgery in her gynecologist's absence. We have determined that the trial court properly dismissed the patient's medical battery and informed consent claims against her gynecologist. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/Churchdn.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE ex rel. THOMAS MATTHEW CIHLAR, et al. v. RONALD SHANE CRAWFORD, et al. Court:TCA Attorneys: Ronald Shane Crawford, Joelton, Tennessee, Pro Se. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter, and Stuart Wilson-Patton, Assistant Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Wayne Detring, Hendersonville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Thomas Matthew Cihlar. Nannette Clark, Nashville, Tennessee, Guardian Ad Litem for Sean Michael Crawford. Judge: KOCH First Paragraph: This appeal involves Thomas Matthew Cihlar's second attempt to obtain a judicial declaration that he is the father of a child whose mother was married to another man when the child was born. His first effort ended when the Tennessee Supreme Court held that he did not have standing to legitimate the child under Tennessee's now-repealed legitimation statutes. See Evans v. Steelman, 970 S.W.2d 431 (Tenn. 1998). Thereafter, the State of Tennessee, joined later by both Mr. Cihlar and his child, filed a petition in the Davidson County Juvenile Court seeking to establish Mr. Cihlar's parentage under statutes enacted after Mr. Cihlar filed his first legitimation petition. Following a bench trial, a juvenile court referee determined that Mr. Cihlar was the child's biological father, ordered Mr. Cihlar to begin making child support payments, and prescribed Mr. Cihlar's visitation privileges. The juvenile court judge later affirmed the referee's order. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/Cihlartm.wpd GOGGIN TRUCK LINE COMPANY, INC. v. BRAKE PRO, INC. Court:TCA Attorneys: Brett A. Oeser, Nashville, for Appellant Ginger Bobo Shofner, Shelbyville, for Appellee Judge: HIGHERS First Paragraph: This appeal arises from a breach of contract case initiated by Goggin Truck Line Company, Inc. ("Goggin") against Brake Pro, Inc. ("Brake Pro"). Goggin sought payment for unpaid freight shipping services provided to Brake Pro. In addition, as provided for under a company tariff, Goggin sought recovery of an additional amount because of the necessity to initiate legal action. The court below found in favor of Goggin. Brake Pro appeals. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/goggintruck.wpd MARK STEVEN ISRAEL, et al. v. LARRY MICHAEL WILLIAMS, et al. Court:TCA Attorneys: Phillip L. Davidson, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellants, Mark Steven Israel and Dawn Archer Israel. Marshall L. Hix and Keith C. Dennen, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellees, Larry Michael Williams and Nancy Sloan Williams. Judge: CAIN First Paragraph: This appeal presents the issue of whether the trial court was correct to grant summary judgment against Plaintiffs regarding their suit for damages resulting from alleged negligent misrepresentation by Defendants. Plaintiffs claim that Defendants made negligent misrepresentations regarding the condition of their house prior to the sale of the house to Plaintiffs. Summary judgment was granted by the trial court. Upon review of this record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/IsraelMark.wpd EDWARD JOHNSON v. CHARLES TRAUGHBER, et al. Court:TCA Attorneys: Edward Johnson, Mountain City, Tennessee, Pro Se. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Michael E. Moore, Solicitor General, and Stephanie R. Reevers, Assistant Attorney General, for the appellees, Charles Traughber, et al. Judge: CAIN First Paragraph: Appellant, Edward Johnson, is an inmate in the Tennessee Department of Corrections, and in this case, he has filed a Petition for Common Law Certiorari to review a denial of parole by the Board of Paroles. The Chancery Court of Davidson County sustained a motion to dismiss his petition, and we affirm the judgment of the Chancellor. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/JohnsonEdward.wpd BRENDA FAYE LAWSON v. DONNIE CLIFTON LAWSON, JR. Court:TCA Attorneys: Steven W. Kreltzer, Rossville, Georgia, for the appellant, Donnie Clifton Lawson, Jr. William D. Mitchell, Sparta, Tennessee, for the appellee, Brenda Faye Lawson. Judge: CANTRELL First Paragraph: The General Sessions Court of Van Buren County awarded the wife a divorce, divided the marital property, and awarded the wife rehabilitative alimony. On appeal the husband attacks the property division and the amount of the alimony. Because the record does not provide a basis for properly assessing the issues raised by the appellant, we affirm with a memorandum opinion. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/lawsonbf.wpd NATHANIEL SHELBOURNE v. JULIA SHELBOURNE Court:TCA Attorneys: Clark Lee Shaw, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Nathaniel Shelbourne. David O. Huff, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Julia Shelbourne. Judge: CANTRELL First Paragraph: The trial court granted the wife a divorce, awarded her custody of the parties' minor child, divided the marital property, and ordered the husband to pay rehabilitative alimony for two years. We affirm. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/shelbournen.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. RICHARD LYNN NORTON Court:TCCA Attorneys: Gerald L. Gulley, Jr., Knoxville, Tennessee (on appeal), and Gerald T. Eidson, Rogersville, Tennessee (at trial), for the appellant, Richard Lynn Norton. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter, Mark A. Fulks, Assistant Attorney General, and Eric D. Christiansen, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: WADE First Paragraph: The defendant, Richard Lynn Norton, was convicted on three counts of the sale or delivery of crack cocaine in an amount exceeding 0.5 grams, Class B felonies. See Tenn. Code Ann. S 39-17- 417(a)(2)-(3), (c)(1). The trial court imposed consecutive sentences of 12 years in the Department of Correction on each count, for an effective sentence of 36 years. Fines totaled $6,000. On appeal, the defendant argues that the convicting evidence was insufficient and that the sentence was excessive. Because the evidence is sufficient, the judgment is affirmed. The effective sentence is modified from 36 years to 24 years. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/Norton.wpd DWIGHT SEATON v. STATE OF TENNESSEE Court:TCCA Attorneys: Dwight Seaton, Estill, South Carolina, Pro Se. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Mark E. Davidson, Assistant Attorney General; Al C. Schmutzer, Jr., District Attorney General; and Steven R. Hawkins, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge:GLENN First Paragraph: This appeal arises from the trial court's denial of the petitioner's pro se application for habeas corpus relief, based on his claim that his 1988 guilty plea to a state aggravated assault charge was invalid. The petitioner was subsequently convicted in federal court of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and the federal sentence was enhanced using the state conviction based on the allegedly invalid guilty plea. The trial court analyzed the petition as a post-conviction petition, a petition for writ of habeas corpus, and as a petition for writ of error coram nobis, based on the various arguments of the petitioner, and denied relief under any of these vehicles. After a careful review of the record, we affirm the trial court's denial of the petitioner's request for relief. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/seatond.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. CLARENCE WEAVER Court:TCCA Attorneys: J. Liddell Kirk, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Clarence Weaver. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Elizabeth B. Marney, Assistant Attorney General; Randall E. Nichols, District Attorney General; and Marsha Selecman, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: GLENN First Paragraph: This appeal arises from the sentence that the defendant received after pleading guilty to aggravated burglary. He challenges the trial court's application of one of the four enhancement factors found, refusal to apply three mitigating factors, and refusal to place him in the Community Alternatives to Prison Program (CAPP). Based upon our review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/weaverc.wpd PLEASE FORWARD THIS E-MAIL! Feel free to forward this Opinion Flash on to anyone you know of with an e-mail address. GET A FULL-TEXT COPY OF AN OPINION! See the intrsuctions at the beginning of this edition of Opinion Flash. JOIN TBALink! While Opinion Flash is a free service of the Tennessee Bar Association, you must be a subscriber to TBALink, the premier Web site for Tennessee attorneys, in order to access the full-text of the opinions or enjoy many other features of TBALink. TBA members may join TBALink for just $50 per year. To join, go to: http://www.tba.org/join.html/ SUBSCRIBE TO OPINION FLASH! 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