Opinion FlashJune 20, 2002Volume 8 — Number 106 Following this index are summaries of each case, including its name, first paragraph, author's name, and the names of attorneys for the parties of each opinion.
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Howard H. Vogel CAROLYN JONES v. BUREAU OF TENNCARE Court:TCA Attorneys: Gordon Bonnyman and Lisa J. D'Souza, Nashville, Tennessee, for the Appellant, Carolyn Jones. Paul G. Summers and Sue A. Sheldon, Nashville, Tennessee, for the Appellee, Bureau of TennCare. Judge: SWINEY First Paragraph: Beginning in 1994, the Bureau of TennCare ("TennCare") provided insurance coverage for home health services for one its enrollees, Carolyn Jones ("Jones"), who is bed-ridden due to rheumatoid arthritis. In 1997, TennCare denied Jones coverage for home health services, and Jones appealed this determination. The Administrative Law Judge held TennCare was not required to provide coverage for home health services to Jones because the services are not medically necessary for her. Under the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, Jones appealed the administrative agency's determination to the Chancery Court of Davidson County ("Trial Court") which affirmed the determination. Jones now appeals to this Court. We affirm. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/jonescarolyn.wpd JACK PARKS ex rel. MICHAEL PARKS v. TIMOTHY HOPKINS Court:TCA Attorneys: Jack Parks, Johnson City, Tennessee, Pro Se. John S. Taylor, Johnson City, Tennessee, for the appellee, Timothy Hopkins. Judge: SUSANO First Paragraph: Jack Parks, in his capacity as Conservator for his son, Michael Parks, sued Timothy Hopkins seeking compensatory and punitive damages based upon allegations essentially reciting that the defendant wrongfully converted funds belonging to the plaintiff's ward, who is apparently incompetent to handle his own affairs. At the conclusion of the plaintiff's proof at a bench trial, the defendant moved to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Tenn. R. Civ. P. 41.02. The trial court found that the complaint was filed outside the applicable statutes of limitations and that the plaintiff had not sustained his burden of proof "under any theory." A judgment was entered dismissing the complaint in its entirety. We affirm. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/parksj.wpd TAMMY LYN PIERCE v. MICHAEL DAVID PIERCE Court:TCA Attorneys: Rebecca T. Garland, Brentwood, Tennessee and David A. Collins, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Michael David Pierce. Richard Hedgepath, Jr., Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Tammy Lyn Pierce. Judge: CANTRELL First Paragraph: In 1994, a father, who had failed to comply with a child support order, was sentenced to jail for six months or until he paid the arrearage of $23,800. A month later the trial court suspended the sentence upon the defendant's promise to pay $10,000 immediately and to pay the balance by October 15, 1995 in quarterly installments. The order provided that if the defendant failed to meet the conditions in the suspension order the suspended sentence would be revoked if the mother filed an appropriate motion. In 2001, the trial court found the defendant guilty of criminal contempt and ordered him to serve the balance of the six month sentence for failing to comply with the 1994 suspension order. We reverse the order finding the defendant in criminal contempt. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/piercetl.wpd CAROLYN STOVALL, et al. v. LOIS E. CLARKE, M.D., et al. Court:TCA Attorneys: Joseph P. Bednarz, Sr. and Joseph P. Bednarz, Jr., Nashville, Tennessee, attorneys for the appellant, Carolyn Stovall, individually and as wife and personal representative of Gerald Stovall, deceased. Rose P. Cantrell, Nashville, Tennessee, attorney for appellee, Lois E. Clarke, M.D. Phillip L. North, Michael F. Jameson and Thomas W. Shumate IV, Nashville, Tennessee, attorneys for appellee, Robert W. McCain, M.D. Judge: INMAN First Paragraph: This is a medical malpractice case against two physicians which was dismissed on motions for summary judgment upon a finding there were no disputed issues of fact and the defendants were entitled to judgment as a matter of law because the plaintiff's experts were disqualified under the locality rule. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/stovall_opn.wpd CAROLYN STOVALL, et al. v. LOIS E. CLARKE, M.D., et al. Court:TCA KOCH CONCURRING http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/stovall_con.wpd JERRY WALKER, et al. v. RICKY E. WHITE, et al. Court:TCA Attorneys: Philip C. Kelly and Gwynn K. Smith, Gallatin, Tennessee, for the appellant, Citizens Bank of Lafayette. Alan Mark Turk, Brentwood, Tennessee, for the appellees, Jerry Walker, Opal Walker, and Walker & Assoc. Realty, Inc. f/k/a Century 21 Walker & Assoc., Inc. Judge: FARMER First Paragraph: This is an interlocutory appeal by permission which raises issues of first impression concerning the federal Right to Financial Privacy Act and the Tennessee Financial Records Privacy Act. We first must determine whether state courts retain concurrent jurisdiction to resolve claims brought against a bank by its customer arising under the federal Act. We hold that federal court jurisdiction under the Act is permissive. State courts therefore retain concurrent jurisdiction over such claims. We further hold that the Tennessee Financial Records Privacy Act is not applicable to federal agencies which issue subpoenas for bank records. The furnishing of information pursuant to a subpoena issued by a federal agency is governed in Tennessee by the federal Right to Financial Privacy Act. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court's order denying summary judgment on these issues to the Defendant. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/walkerjerry.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. BRIAN KEITH GILMER Court:TCCA Attorneys: Edward C. Miller, District Public Defender, Dandridge, Tennessee, for the appellant, Brian Keith Gilmer. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Mark A. Fulks, Assistant Attorney General; Al C. Schmutzer, Jr., District Attorney General; and Charles L. Murphy, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: WOODALL First Paragraph: Defendant, Brian Keith Gilmer, pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, pled guilty to four counts of rape, Class B felonies, and five counts of rape of a child, Class A felonies, in Case No. 6975 in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County. On the same date, he pled guilty to five counts of rape, Class B felonies, in Case No. 8161 in the Circuit Court of Sevier County. The victim in all counts, in both counties, was Defendant's stepdaughter. Sentencing was to be determined by the trial court (which was the same for both counties), but the negotiated plea agreement was structured such that the total effective sentence would not be less than 15 years or more than 50 years. Defendant also pled guilty to other criminal offenses as part of the plea agreement, but these are not relevant to this appeal. Although Defendant filed a notice of appeal indicating that he was appealing the sentences imposed in both the Jefferson and Sevier County cases, in effect, this appeal challenges only the length of sentences of the Class A felonies in the Jefferson County case, and the fact that one Class A felony was ordered to be served consecutively to the other sentences. We affirm the judgments of the trial court. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/gilmerbriank.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. SEAN A. TURNER, ALIAS; SEAN ANDRE TURNER Court:TCCA Attorneys: Mark E. Stephens, District Public Defender; and Aubrey L. Davis, Assistant Public Defender, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Sean Andre Turner. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Braden H. Boucek, Assistant Attorney General; Randall Eugene Nichols, District Attorney General; and Leon Franks, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: WOODALL First Paragraph: Defendant, Shaun A. Turner, alias Shaun Andre Turner, appeals from the trial court's order revoking his probation and ordering him to serve two consecutive sentences in the Department of Correction. After reviewing the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/turnerseana.wpd STATE OF TENNESSEE v. ANTONIO RICO WALLS, aka RICO Court:TCCA Attorneys: Roger Eric Nell, District Public Defender, and Collier W. Goodlett, Assistant Public Defender, for the appellant, Antonio Rico Walls. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Thomas E. Williams, Assistant Attorney General; John Wesley Carney, Jr., District Attorney General; and Lance A. Baker, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: GLENN First Paragraph: The defendant, Antonio Rico Walls, was convicted of the sale of over .5 grams of cocaine within 1000 feet of a school, in violation of the Drug-Free School Zone Act, and appealed the conviction. Subsequently, he pled guilty to three additional counts of the indictment alleging the same offense, and was sentenced to concurrent fifteen-year sentences for each offense. The pleas of guilty purported to reserve, as a certified question, the claim that the Drug-Free School Zone Act is unconstitutional. We conclude that it is not, and, further, that the evidence at the defendant's trial was sufficient to support his conviction. Accordingly, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/wallsa.wpd PLEASE FORWARD THIS E-MAIL! 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