September 6, 2001 Volume 7 — Number 163 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 04 New Opinion(s) from the Tennessee Supreme Court Workers' Compensation Panel 00 New Document(s) or Proposed Rule(s) from the Tennessee Supreme Court 04 New Opinion(s) from the Tennessee Court of Appeals 00 New Opinion(s) from the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals 10 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 MAGGIE JEAN HICKS v. KROGER FOOD STORES, INC., et al. Court:TSC - Workers Comp Panel Attorneys: Stephen E. Yeager, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Kroger Food Stores, Inc. et al. Roger L. Ridenour, Clinton, Tennessee, for the appellee, Maggie Jean Hicks. Judge: BYERS First Paragraph: This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tennessee Code Annotated S 50-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting to the Supreme Court of findings of fact and conclusions of law. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TSC_WCP/hicks.wpd GEORGE R. LEE v. T.I.G. INSURANCE, et al. Court:TSC - Workers Comp Panel Attorneys: Timothy W. Conner, Knoxville, Tennessee for the Appellant. J. Randolph Humble, Knoxville, Tennessee for the Appellee. Judge: BYERS First Paragraph: This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tennessee Code Annotated S 50-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting to the Supreme Court of findings of fact and conclusions of law. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TSC_WCP/lee.wpd DAVIS REECE, JR. v. LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE CO., et al. Court:TSC - Workers Comp Panel Attorneys: James T. Shea, IV, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellants, Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., et. al. David H. Dunaway, LaFollette, Tennessee, for the appellee, Davis Reece, Jr. Judge: BYERS First Paragraph: This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tennessee Code Annotated S 50-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting to the Supreme Court of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The trial court found the plaintiff sustained a 40 percent vocational disability to the body as a whole as a result of exposure to formaldehyde which caused permanent respiratory injury. The trial judge found the plaintiff failed to show by a preponderance of the evidence that he sustained any psychiatric injury as a result of the accident. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TSC_WCP/reeced.wpd GLEN WILLIAMSON v. SENTRY INSURANCE COMPANY, et al. Court:TSC - Workers Comp Panel Attorneys: James T. Shea IV, Knoxville, Tennessee, for appellant, Sentry Insurance Company. David H. Dunaway, LaFollette, Tennessee, for the appellee, Glen Williamson. Judge: BYERS First Paragraph: This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tennessee Code Annotated S 50-6- 225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting to the Supreme Court of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The trial judge found the plaintiff sustained a 44 percent permanent disability to the body as a whole. Further, the trial court awarded the plaintiff temporary disability benefits from February 16, 1994, until January 5, 1996. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TSC_WCP/williamson.wpd JULIE AMANDA DURBIN, et vir. v. SUMNER COUNTY REGIONAL HEALTH SYSTEMS, INC., et al. Court:TCA Attorneys: Gary K. Smith and Sherry S. Fernandez, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellants, Julie Amanda Durbin and James M. Durbin. Robert L. Trentham and G. Brian Jackson, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Sumner County Regional Health Systems, Inc. Phillip North, Michael F. Jameson, and Tom Shumate, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, William R. Caldwell, M.D. Judge: CANTRELL First Paragraph: The appellants sued the appellees for claims connected with the death of the appellants' twin fetuses. The jury found in favor of the appellees, and, in addition, after the jury verdict, the trial court granted appellee Dr. Caldwell's motion to dismiss on the ground that the statute of limitations had run before he was sued. The appellants argue that this court should reverse the trial court's order dismissing Dr. Caldwell and overturn the jury's verdict. We reverse the trial court's order dismissing Dr. Caldwell, but affirm the jury verdict in his favor and in favor of the other appellee. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/durbinja.wpd IN RE: L.S.W., et al. Court:TCA Attorneys: Joe R. Johnson, II, Springfield, Tennessee, for the appellant, K.L.S. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter, Douglas Earl Dimond, Assistant Attorney General, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Department of Children's Services. Judge: COTTRELL First Paragraph: This case involves the termination of parental rights of the mother of four children who were removed from the mother's home by the Department of Children's Services in 1998 and placed in foster care. DCS devised a Plan of Care for the mother, which, among other things, required her to address her drug and alcohol addictions. During the two and one-half years between the removal of the children from the home and the hearing on the petition to terminate parental rights, the mother made token efforts to improve her situation, but her substance abuse continued. The trial court terminated the mother's parental rights on multiple grounds, including the ground that the conditions that led to the children's removal continued to persist with little likelihood of remedy. Because DCS has established grounds for termination and has established that termination is in the best interest of the children, we affirm. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/inrelsw.wpd JIMMY JOE SAVAGE, et al. v. DON HILDENBRANDT Court:TCA Attorneys: David H. King, Franklin, Tennessee (on appeal), for the appellant, Don Hildenbrandt and third-party plaintiff appellant, Lossie Ledbetter. Michael E. Spitzer, Hohenwald, Tennessee, for the appellees, Jimmy Joe Savage and Frances Joy Savage. Judge: KOCH First Paragraph: This appeal involves a dispute among neighbors arising out of a couple's decision to place a double- wide mobile home on their property. After one of their neighbors blocked the access road to their property to prevent them from setting up their mobile home, the couple who owned the mobile home filed suit in the Chancery Court for Perry County seeking injunctive relief and damages. In response, two of the neighboring property owners requested the trial court to establish the boundary lines, to enjoin the couple from encroaching on their property, and to award actual and punitive damages for the damage that the couple's encroachment had caused to their property. Following a bench trial that continued past midnight and a series of post-trial motions requesting various corrections in the judgment, the trial court eventually established the disputed boundary line and awarded the couple a $6,110.50 judgment against one of their neighbors to compensate them for the damages stemming from the delay in setting up their mobile home. The two neighboring property owners have appealed. They take issue with (1) the trial court's decision to hold court past midnight, (2) the manner in which the trial court considered and disposed of their post-judgment motions, (3) the trial court's decision regarding the location of the southern boundary line of the couple's property, and (4) the trial court's failure to reduce the $6,110.50 judgment by the amount of the damages the couple's encroachment had caused. We have concluded that the trial court did not commit reversible error during either the trial or the post-trial proceedings and that the trial court's decision to award the couple $6,110.50 is supported by the evidence. However, we have also concluded that the evidence preponderates against the trial court's decision regarding a portion of the couple's southern boundary line. Accordingly, we remand the case for the sole purpose of correcting the error regarding a portion of this boundary line. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/savagejj.wpd TANYA TUCKER, et al. v. CAPITOL RECORDS, INC. Court:TCA Attorneys: Jay S. Bowen and Amy J. Everhart, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellants, Tanya Tucker and Tanya Tucker, Inc. Aubrey B. Harwell, Jr. and Gerald D. Neenan, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Capitol Records, Inc. Judge: CAIN First Paragraph: In this two party action, the trial court certified three partial summary judgment orders to be final judgments pursuant to Rule 54.02 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure. Plaintiff appeals, and Defendant supports the appeal. Both parties assert that the trial court's finality designations involve multiple claims under Rule 54.02. After review, we find that the dispute between these two parties involves a single claim and that none of the partial summary judgment orders entered in the trial court are final judgments within the meaning of the "multiple claims" provisions of Rule 54.02. This Court is, therefore, without jurisdiction of this appeal. The judgments of the trial court are vacated, and the case is remanded for trial on the merits. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/tuckert.wpd COTTRELL CONCURRING http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/tuckert_con.wpd Corporate Agent for Housing Authority Date: August 31, 2001 Opinion Number: 01-135 http://www.tba.org/tba_files/AG/OP135.pdf Potential Liability Issues Resulting from Adoption of New Design Criteria for Rock Fallout Areas Date: September 4, 2001 Opinion Number: 01-136 http://www.tba.org/tba_files/AG/OP136.pdf Validity of Metropolitan Government's Ordinance Requiring Graffiti Removal Date: September 4, 2001 Opinion Number: 01-137 http://www.tba.org/tba_files/AG/OP137.pdf Constitutionality of Grand Jury Subpoena of Blood Alcohol Tests Date: September 4, 2001 Opinion Number: 01-138 http://www.tba.org/tba_files/AG/OP138.pdf Authority of Local Law Enforcement Agencies to Charge a Fee to a State Agency for Criminal Background Checks Date: September 4, 2001 Opinion Number: 01-139 http://www.tba.org/tba_files/AG/OP139.pdf Application of Tenn. Code Ann. S 4-21-406(b) Date: September 4, 2001 Opinion Number: 01-140 http://www.tba.org/tba_files/AG/OP140.pdf Increase in Manchester Hotel/Motel Tax Date: September 4, 2001 Opinion Number: 01-141 http://www.tba.org/tba_files/AG/OP141.pdf Constitutionality of H.B.2030, relative to a proposed optional bail bond procedure for individuals required to appear in the Overton County General Sessions Court. Date: September 4, 2001 Opinion Number: 01-142 http://www.tba.org/tba_files/AG/OP142.pdf Tolls /Fees on County or State Highways Date: September 4, 2001 Opinion Number: 01-143 http://www.tba.org/tba_files/AG/OP143.pdf State Employee as School Board Member Date: September 4, 2001 Opinion Number: 01-144 http://www.tba.org/tba_files/AG/OP144.pdf 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! 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