August 23, 2000 Volume 6 -- Number 133 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 03 New Opinion(s) from the Tennessee Court of Appeals 01 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 WALTER J. BIDDLE, SR. v. NORFOLK SOUTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY Court:TCA Attorneys: Clarence E. Walker, Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Patrick S. O'Brien, St. Louis, Missouri, for the Appellant, Walter J. Biddle, Jr. Everett B. Gibson and Scott B. Peatross, Memphis, Tennessee, for the Appellee, Norfolk Southern Railway Company. Judge: SWINEY First Paragraph: Plaintiff injured his feet and ankles by walking on large rock ballast in his employer's train yard and brought suit against this Defendant for those injuries in 1991. That suit was resolved. The current suit was brought by Plaintiff in 1997, alleging injury to his back from the same cause. In this case, Plaintiff testified that he had several incidents at work which caused strain to his back but that those resolved, and that walking on the rock caused his permanent back impairment. Co-workers testified for Plaintiff that the rock was too large and therefore unsafe. Supervisors testified that the rock was not dangerous. Two physicians gave ambiguous testimony as to causation. The jury found that the rock in the train yard was too large, and, therefore, Defendant was negligent. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/BiddleWalter.wpd G. M. C., ET AL. v. A. V. I. Court:TCA Attorneys: Clifton Corker, Johnson City, Tennessee, for the appellant, AVI. Stephen L. Gilley, Kingsport, Tennessee, for the appellees, GMC and TDC. Judge: SWINEY First Paragraph: The natural mother and stepfather of a three-year-old child petitioned the Chancery Court of Washington County for an order terminating the parental rights of the child's natural father, and allowing the adoption of the child by the stepfather. The Chancery Court granted the petition pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. S 36-1-113, finding that the father exhibited a wanton disregard for the child such that it constituted abandonment as defined by Tenn. Code Ann. S 36-1-102(1)(A)(iv). On appeal, the father raises two issues: (1) whether the Chancery Court erred in finding by clear and convincing evidence that the father engaged in conduct that constituted a wanton disregard for the welfare of the subject child where there was contradictory testimony regarding the father's conduct; and (2) even assuming that the allegations regarding the father's conduct are true, whether his conduct amounts to a wanton disregard for the welfare of the child. We affirm. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/gmc.wpd SARAH ANITA JAMES v. SUSAN KAY SWINDELL Court:TCA Attorneys: Steven W. Kreitzer of Rossville, GA for the defendant-appellant, Susan Kay Swindell William H. Horton of Chattanooga, TN for the plaintiff-appellee, Sarah Anita James Judge: GODDARD First Paragraph: This appeal arises out of an automobile accident. The Defendant lost control of her vehicle, crossed three lanes of traffic, and hit Plaintiff's vehicle. Plaintiff suffered injuries and sued Defendant for damages. A jury trial ensued. The jury found Defendant to be 100% at fault and awarded $15,000 in damages to Plaintiff. The Plaintiff filed a motion for a new trial alleging juror misconduct and presented a juror's affidavit in support of her position. The Defendant untimely presented counter affidavits by jurors. The trial court judge granted a new trial based on juror misconduct. At the second trial the jury found the Defendant 100% at fault and awarded Plaintiff $27,608.60 in damages. On appeal, the Defendant claims that the trial court erred in failing to grant Defendant's motion for a directed verdict and in granting a new trial. We affirm the trial court's denial of a directed verdict for the Defendant and reverse the trial court's granting of a new trial based on juror misconduct. We remand the case to the trial court for the reinstatement of the jury verdict at the first trial. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/jamessar.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JEREMY JONES Court:TCCA Attorneys: Douglas L. Payne, Greeneville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Jeremy Jones. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter; Mark A. Fulks, Assistant Attorney General; C. Berkeley Bell, Jr., District Attorney General; and Eric D. Christiansen, Assistant District Attorney, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: WILLIAMS First Paragraph: The defendant appeals his conviction and sentence for theft of property, asserting that insufficient evidence supported the verdict and that the trial court erroneously sentenced him to three years of incarceration. We affirm the conviction and modify the sentence to two years of incarceration. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/JonesJ.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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