August 21, 2001 Volume 7 — Number 153 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 02 New Opinion(s) from the Tennessee Supreme Court Workers' Compensation Panel 00 New Document(s) or Proposed Rule(s) from the Tennessee Supreme Court 09 New Opinion(s) from the Tennessee Court of Appeals 00 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. Howard H. Vogel Knoxville, Tennessee Editor-in-Chief, TBALink RONNIE WAYNE INMAN v. EMERSON ELECTRIC CO. Court:TSC - Workers Comp Panel Attorneys: P. Allen Phillips and Jennifer K. Craig, Jackson, Tennessee, for the appellant, Emerson Electric Co. John C. Nowell, Jr., Trenton, Tennessee, for the appellee, Ronnie Wayne Inman. Judge: ASH First Paragraph: This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tenn. Code Ann. S 50-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The trial court found the plaintiff sustained a twenty-five percent permanent partial disability to the body as a whole. The defendant disputes the finding. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TSC_WCP/inmanronnie.wpd SONNIE GAIL PHILLIPS WOOD v. PORTER CABLE CORPORATION, et al. Court:TSC - Workers Comp Panel Attorneys: Jeffrey P. Boyd, Jackson, Tennessee, for Defendant/Appellant, Van De Kamp's; and Michael V. Tichenor, Memphis, Tennessee, for Defendant/Appellee, Porter Cable Corporation. Art D. Wells, Jackson, Tennessee, for the Plaintiff/Appellee, Sonnie Gail Phillips Wood. Judge: LAFFERTY First Paragraph: This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tenn. Code Ann. S 50-6-225(e)(3)(2000) for hearing and reporting to the Supreme Court of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The Defendant/Appellant Van De Kamp's, Inc., and Defendant/Appellee Porter Cable Corporation, appeal the judgment of the Chancery Court of Madison County awarding Plaintiff/Appellee, Sonnie Gail (Phillips) Wood, thirty percent (30%) permanent partial disability to the right arm and twenty percent (20%) to the left arm. Van De Kamp's, Inc. raises three additional appellate issues: (1) Whether the trial court erred in finding that the "Last Injurious Exposure Rule" applied to the facts in this case; (2) Whether the trial court erred in granting Porter Cable Corporation a directed verdict at the close of Plaintiff's proof; and (3) Whether Porter Cable Corporation's inaction when given notice of Plaintiff's injury estops them from denying liability. Defendant Porter Cable raises three additional appellate questions: (1) Whether the trial court erred in applying the "Last Injurious Exposure Rule"; (2) Whether it was harmless error for the trial court to grant Porter Cable Corporation a directed verdict; and (3) Whether equity was achieved when Plaintiff's injury worsened at Van De Kamp's. From our review of the record, we affirm the trial court's judgment as modified. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TSC_WCP/woodsonniegail.wpd MOHAMED F. ALI, M.D., v. FREDIA MOORE (DUGGER) and DANNY (PAT) STORY Court:TCA Attorneys: Mohamed F. Ali, Mountain City, Tennessee, pro se. Clifton Corker, Johnson City, Tennessee, for Appellee, Fredia Moore (Dugger). Judge: FRANKS First Paragraph: The Trial Court held the statute of limitations had run on plaintiff's Complaint. On appeal, we dismiss the appeal as not being timely filed. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/alim.wpd KIMBERLY LYNN FOLEY CAUDILL v. WILLIAM HOWARD FOLEY Court:TCA Attorneys: John D. Kitch, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Kimberly Lynn Foley Caudill. Edward P. Silva, Franklin, Tennessee, for the appellee, William Howard Foley. Judge: FARMER First Paragraph: This appeal arises from an action seeking attorney's fees from a previous child custody action. After divorce, Mother was awarded custody of Child. Upon remarrying, Mother sought to move to Florida with Child. Father protested and sought primary custody of Child. Judge, finding the child relocation statutes unconstitutional, awarded Father custody. Mother hired Lawyer for an appeal of this ruling. While this appeal was pending, Father brought suit for child support. Lawyer sought recusal of Judge due to previous contact between them when Judge was an attorney. Judge refused to recuse himself and disqualified Lawyer. This action was appealed. While this appeal was pending, the child custody appeal was decided by this court and Child was returned to Mother's custody. Mother brought action in the trial court seeking fees from this first trial and appeal which Judge denied. Mother appealed this denial, with the result that the failure of Judge to recuse, the disqualification of Lawyer and the attorney's fees appeals were consolidated before this court. We affirm in part and reverse in part. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/caudillkimberlylynnfoley.wpd RONALD L. DAVIS v. THE TENNESSEAN, et al. Court:TCA Attorneys: Ronald L. Davis, Only, Tennessee, Pro se. Alfred H. Knight, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellees, The Tennessean, et al. Judge: COTTRELL First Paragraph: The plaintiff filed a libel action against a newspaper, The Tennessean, its publisher and its editor, alleging his reputation had been harmed by a sentence in an article which stated that he had shot a man, when, in fact, his co-defendant had killed the victim. The trial court granted the defendants' motion to dismiss, finding the plaintiff to be "libel proof" in this matter because he had been convicted of aiding and abetting in the murder and incarcerated for the remainder of his life for the crime, "render[ing] any reputation he may have had virtually valueless." We affirm. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/davisronaldl.wpd RICHARD FAWCETT, Natural Father and Custodial Parent of DANIELLE LYNN FAWCETT, Deceased v. JARROD C. ADREON, et al. Court:TCA Attorneys: Culwell E. Ward, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Richard Fawcett. J. Russell Farrar, William N. Bates, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, City of Franklin, Tennessee. Judge: LILLARD First Paragraph: This is a wrongful death case involving a police chase. A teenage passenger in a car was killed in an accident after a police officer chased the vehicle into a construction zone. The teenager's father sued the driver of the car and the city, alleging negligence. The city moved for summary judgment. The trial court granted the motion, finding that there was no dispute that the teenager was not an "innocent third party," and that this fact precluded the city from any liability for the result of the police chase. On appeal, we affirm the trial court's decision, holding that, under the circumstances in this case, under Tennessee Code Annotated S 55-8-108(e), a passenger in a vehicle that is fleeing from a law enforcement officer would be deemed a "suspected violator of the law" rather than a "third party" to whom the law enforcement officer owed a duty of care. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/fawcettr.wpd PROJECT CREATION, INC., et al. v. KENNETH NEAL, et al. Court:TCA Attorneys: Jerry Gonzalez, Lebanon, Tennessee, for the appellants Project Creation, Inc. and Sean Meek. William E. Farmer, Lebanon, Tennessee, for the appellees, Kenneth Neal, Judy Pratt, Pamela Sandoval, Brenda Williams, W.G. Neal, Jack Pratt, Jr., Hugo Sandoval, and Albert Williams, Jr. Judge: COTTRELL First Paragraph: The trial court dismissed Plaintiffs' libel action and then granted Defendants' motion for sanctions pursuant to Tenn. R. Civ. P. 11.02(1) and 11.02(3), finding that the libel action was filed for an improper purpose and without factual support. The court awarded Defendants $9,262.90 in expenses and attorney fees. We affirm in part and vacate in part. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/projectcreation.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE, DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN'S SERVICES, v. JACQUELINE DIANA RUCKER, IN RE: SDR, D.O.B. 10/1/97 Court:TCA Attorneys: Jennifer E. Raby, Rockwood, Tennessee, for Appellant, Jacqueline Diana Rucker. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter and Elizabeth C. Driver, Assistant Attorney General, Nashville, Tennessee, for Appellee, Tennessee Department of Children's Services. Judge: FRANKS First Paragraph: At the behest of the State's Department of Children's Services, the Juvenile Court, after a trial, terminated the mother's parental rights to SDR. On appeal, we affirm. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/rucker.wpd DeWITT SHELTON v. WADE TIDWELL and MARTHA TIDWELL Court:TCA Attorneys: Stanley F. LaDuke, Knoxville, Tennessee, for Appellants. W. Tyler Chastain, Knoxville, Tennessee, for Appellee. Judge: FRANKS First Paragraph: Defendants sold plaintiff equipment which had been stolen. The Trial Court entered a Judgment for plaintiff for the purchase money. On appeal, we affirm. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/sheltond.wpd VOLUNTEER INVESTMENTS, INC. v. FELLER BROWN REALTY & AUCTION COMPANY, et al. Court:TCA Attorneys: Todd E. Panther, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Volunteer Investments, Inc. J. Russell Farrar and P. Brocklin Parks, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Feller Brown Realty & Auction Company. D. Scott Parsley and Joshua G. Strickland, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, James Bryan Lewis. Judge: CANTRELL First Paragraph: A developer who purchased three real estate tracts at auction filed suit to rescind the purchase on the grounds of misrepresentation or mutual mistake. The trial court dismissed his complaint. We affirm. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/volunteerinvestmentsinc.wpd FRANKIE L. WHITE, et al. v. RONNIE L. GAULT, et al. Court:TCA Attorneys: Frankie L. White, Wartburg, Tennessee, Pro Se. Robert F. Hazard, Tullahoma, Tennessee, for the Appellees, Ronnie L. Gault Pamela Freeman. Judge: COTTRELL First Paragraph: The plaintiff filed a Tenn. R. Civ. P. 60.02 motion, seeking to reinstate his claim after the Supreme Court reversed a decision cited by this court when dismissing his appeal. The trial court denied the motion. We affirm. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/whitefrankiel.wpd PLEASE FORWARD THIS E-MAIL! 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