Opinion FlashMarch 7, 2002Volume 8 — Number 042 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.
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Howard H. Vogel ARMINTA CARTER WOODS V. CITY OF MCMINNVILLE Court:TSC - Workers Comp Panel Attorneys: Daniel H. Rader, III, Moore, Rader, Clift and Fitzpatrick, Cookeville, Tennessee, for the Appellant, The City of McMinnville, Tennessee. A. Vester Parsley, Jr., Smithville, Tennessee, for the Appellee, Arminta Carter Woods Judge: PEOPLES First Paragraph: This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel in accordance with Tenn. Code Ann. S 50-6-225(e) for hearing and reporting of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The employer appeals an award of workers' compensation benefits to an employee who, while attending a work-related seminar distant from her place of employment, was injured on a personal mission. We vacate the judgment as void and remand for a trial by a duly elected judge. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TSC_WCP/woodsarmintacarter.wpd MARY J. BAIN v. TERRANCE A. SIMPSON Court:TCA Attorneys: J. Mark Rogers, Murfreesboro, TN; Donald Capparella, Nashville, TN, for Appellant Daniel J. Ripper, Chattanooga, TN; Michael Johnson, Nashville, TN, for Appellee Judge: HIGHERS First Paragraph: This appeal involves a trial court's granting of a motion for remittitur following a jury's verdict of $19,790.00 in favor of the plaintiff. The suit arose from an automobile accident caused by defendant in which plaintiff's back was injured. The evidence at trial indicated that the injury was an aggravation of a preexisting condition that caused the plaintiff additional pain and suffering for a period of approximately six months. Based on our review of the evidence, we reverse the trial court's reduction of damages and reinstate the jury's verdict. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/bainmaryj.wpd OLIVER RANDOLPH, ET AL V. COFFEE COUNTY BEER BOARD, ET AL. Court:TCA Attorneys: Robert Fulton Hazard, Tullahoma, Tennessee, for the Appellants, Coffee County Beer Board, et al. William C. Reider, Tullahoma, Tennessee, for the Appellees, Oliver Randolph and Susan Nichols. Judge: DANIEL First Paragraph: This is an appeal by the Coffee County Beer Board from a decision of the Coffee County Circuit Court ordering the Beer Board to issue permits to Oliver Randolph and Susan Nichols. The trial court concluded that the Coffee County Beer Board regulation prohibiting the issuance of a beer permit to an applicant within two thousand feet of a school or church was void because of discriminatory application of this regulation. The County has appealed this decision insisting that it had uniformly enforced its distance rule including a grandfather provision which authorized the reissuance of permits to nonconforming locations who had enjoyed such a privilege prior to the readoption of the county resolution in 1980. For the reasons stated in this opinion, we affirm the trial court's decision and remand the case. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/randolph.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. NELSON KEITH FOSTER Court:TCCA Attorneys: Mark H. Toohey, Kingsport, Tennessee, for the appellant, Nelson Keith Foster. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter; Renee W. Turner, Assistant Attorney General; and Joseph E. Perrin, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: WADE First Paragraph: The defendant, Nelson Keith Foster, entered a plea of guilt to violation of a motor vehicle habitual offender order. See Tenn. Code Ann. S 55-10-601 (Motor Vehicle Habitual Offenders Act). The trial court imposed a Range II sentence of three years. After an evidentiary hearing, the trial court denied a defense motion to withdraw the guilty plea and ordered a three-year period of probation. Because he had filed his motion to withdraw the guilty plea prior to the entry of judgment, the defendant contends that the trial court erred by denying relief. The judgment is affirmed. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/fosternk.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JOHN GEORGE Court:TCCA Attorneys: William B. "Jake" Lockert, III and Chris L. Young, Ashland City, Tennessee, for the appellant, John George. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Gill Robert Geldreich, Assistant Attorney General; Dan Alsobrooks, District Attorney General; and Suzanne Lockert, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: WELLES First Paragraph: This case arises out of a series of armed robberies of gas stations in several counties along Interstate 40. The Defendant, John George, and two codefendants were arrested in Humphreys County, Tennessee. The Defendant gave a statement to police after his arrest confessing his role in robberies in both Humphreys and Dickson counties. Subsequently, the Defendant pled guilty to a charge of aggravated robbery in Humphreys County and was sentenced to nine years in the Department of Correction. In the case before us, the Defendant also entered a guilty plea to aggravated robbery and felony theft arising out of a robbery in Dickson County. After a sentencing hearing, the Defendant was sentenced to nine years for the aggravated robbery and four years for the felony theft to be served concurrently. However, the trial court ordered the sentence to be served consecutively to the Defendant's sentence for aggravated robbery in Humphreys County. The Defendant now appeals the sentence imposed by the trial court. The Defendant contends that the trial court (1) improperly imposed a sentence above the minimum and (2) improperly ordered that the sentence for aggravated robbery to be served consecutively to the Humphreys County sentence. We affirm the judgment of the trial court setting the length of the sentences for aggravated robbery and theft. We remand for further proceedings on the consecutive sentence issue. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/georgej.wpd RONNIE W. MALONE v. STATE OF TENNESSEE Court:TCCA Attorneys: Larry D. Brandon, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, for the Appellant, Ronnie W. Malone. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Patricia C. Kussmann, Assistant Attorney General; William C. Whitesell, Jr., District Attorney General; and Paul A. Holcombe, III, Assistant District Attorney General, for the Appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: WEDEMEYER First Paragraph: The Petitioner pleaded guilty to felony possession of less than .5 grams of cocaine for the purpose of sale and delivery, a Class C felony, and to violating the Motor Vehicle Habitual Offender's Act, a Class E felony. For the felony possession conviction, the trial court sentenced the Petitioner as a Range III, persistent offender to ten years incarceration to be served at forty-five percent. For the motor vehicle habitual offender conviction, the trial court sentenced the Petitioner as a Range II, multiple offender to three years incarceration to be served at thirty-five percent. The trial court ordered that the two sentences be served concurrently, but consecutive to sentences for four prior convictions. The Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief, claiming that his plea was constitutionally defective because he was inadequately represented and that his plea was not voluntarily, knowingly and intelligently entered. The trial court denied relief. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/malonerw.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. DRINI D. XHAFERI Court:TCCA Attorneys: Gregory D. Smith, Clarksville, Tennessee (at trial); Wade Bobo, Clarksville, Tennessee, and Lionel Barrett, Nashville, Tennessee (on appeal), for the Appellant, Drini D. Xhaferi. Paul G. Summer, Attorney General & Reporter; Gill Robert Geldreich, Assistant Attorney General; John Wesley Carney, Jr., District Attorney General; and Arthur F. Bieber, Assistant District Attorney General, for the Appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: WITT First Paragraph: Convicted in the Montgomery County Circuit Court of the second-degree murder of his wife, Imja Xhaferi, the defendant, Drini D. Xhaferi, appeals and claims the trial court erred in not instructing the jury as to voluntary manslaughter, in not suppressing evidence seized by military authorities, and in admitting evidence of the defendant's prior assaults of the victim. Finding no reversible error, we affirm. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/xhaferidrinid.wpd PLEASE FORWARD THIS E-MAIL! GET A FULL-TEXT COPY OF AN OPINION! JOIN TBALink! SUBSCRIBE TO OPINION FLASH! For the HTML Text Version: UNSUBSCRIBE TO OPINION FLASH? ... SURELY NOT! To STOP receiving TBALink Opinion-Flash: Home • Contact Us • PageFinder • What's New • Help |
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