Opinion Flash
January 27, 2003
Volume 9 — Number 014
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.
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 |
| 01 |
New Document(s) or Proposed Rule(s) from the Tennessee Supreme Court |
| 04 |
New Opinion(s) from the Tennessee Court of Appeals |
| 03 |
New Opinion(s) from the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals |
| 04 |
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 |
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Howard H. Vogel
Knoxville, Tennessee
Editor-in-Chief, TBALink
DEBBIE G. SCOTT v. FEDERAL EXPRESS CORPORATION, et al.
Court:TSC - Workers Comp Panel
Attorneys:
Selma Cash Paty, Chattanooga, Tennessee, attorney for the appellant,
Debbie G. Scott.
Kent E. Krause, Nashville, Tennessee, attorney for the appellees,
Federal Express Corporation and Sentry Insurance.
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 Tenn. Code Ann.S 50-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting to the
Supreme Court of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The
plaintiff filed a petition seeking compensation for an ankle injury
which occurred July 16, 1997 and for a back injury which occurred on
May 11, 2000. The trial judge bifurcated the two claims and heard the
back injury case. On April 15, 2002 the trial court entered a
judgment which dismissed the portion of the complaint seeking
compensation for the back injury. The plaintiff says the evidence
preponderates against this finding. We affirm the judgment of the
trial court.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TSC_WCP/scottd.wpd
DOUGLAS EDWARD SMITLEY v. SUBURBAN MANUFACTURING CO. and JAMES FARMER,
DIRECTOR OF TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT,
WORKERS' COMPENSATION DIVISION, SECOND INJURY FUND
Court:TSC - Workers Comp Panel
Attorneys:
E. Blaine Sprouse, of Nashville, Tennessee, for Appellant, Second
Injury Fund.
Michael Augustine Wagner, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, for Appellee,
Douglas Edward Smitley.
Robert J. Uhorchuk, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, for Appellee, Suburban
Manufacturing Company.
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 Tenn. Code Ann.S 50-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting to the
Supreme Court of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The
defendant Second Injury Fund appeals the trial court's decision that
the Fund is liable for seventy percent of the awarded permanent total
disability to the body as a whole. We affirm the decision of the
trial court.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TSC_WCP/smitleyd.wpd
SUPREME COURT OF TENNESSEE SUPREME COURT DISCRETIONARY APPEALS
Court:TSC - Rules
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TSC_Rules/certlist_0127.wpd
GLENDA COOPER v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court:TCA
Attorneys:
John C. Cavett, Jr., Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the appellant, Glenda
Cooper, individually and as the Administratrix of the Estate of
William Burl Cooper, II.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Michael E. Moore,
Solicitor General; and Mark A. Hudson, Senior Counsel, for the
appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: SUSANO
First Paragraph:
This is a wrongful death action filed against the State of Tennessee
with the Tennessee Claims Commission. The State filed a motion for
judgment on the pleadings, asserting that it was not liable for the
actions of the Bradley County Sheriff, whose negligence is alleged to
be the proximate cause of the death of the plaintiff's intestate. The
Claims Commission, relying upon the case of Spurlock v. Sumner County,
42 S.W.3d 75 (Tenn. 2001), held that the sheriff was not a state
employee but rather a county officer. It dismissed the claim against
the State. We affirm.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/cooperg.wpd
PHILLIP JESSEE, et al. v. AMERICAN GENERAL LIFE AND ACCIDENT INSURANCE
COMPANY
Court:TCA
Attorneys:
James H. Beeler, Kingsport, Tennessee, for the Appellants, Phillip
Jessee and James O. Morse
Robert L. Arrington, Kingsport, Tennessee, and Mary Kampa, Nashville,
Tennessee, for the Appellee, American General Life and Accident
Insurance Company
Judge: GODDARD
First Paragraph:
In this case of alleged age discrimination case from the Chancery
Court for Sullivan County the Plaintiffs/Appellants, Phillip Jessee
and James O. Morse, argue that the Trial Court erred in refusing to
grant their request for a continuance, in its admission and exclusion
of certain evidence and in its dismissal of their cause of action
against the Defendant/Appellee, American General Life and Accident
Insurance Company. We affirm the judgment of the Trial Court.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/jesseep.wpd
THE ROGERS GROUP, INC., v. ANDERSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE, and JOHN RICE
IRWIN, CLIFTON STEPHENS, RICHARD DYER, M.D., RONNELL WEAVER, JAMES
PYATT, RALPH SAWYER, and BETHEL BAPTIST CHURCH
Court:TCA
Attorneys:
Bruce D. Fox, Clinton, Tennessee, and H. Wayne Phears, Norcross,
Georgia, for Appellant.
David L. Hill, Knoxville, Tennessee, and David S. Clark, Oak Ridge,
Tennessee, for Appellee, Anderson County, Tennessee.
Dail R. Cantrell, Clinton, Tennessee, for Appellees, John Rice Irwin,
et al.
Judge: FRANKS
First Paragraph:
After case was tried, the Trial Judge recused and another Judge was
designated who granted a new trial on all issues. On appeal, we
affirm.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/rogersgp.wpd
ROSE F. WARNICK v. CARTER COUNTY, TENNESSEE
Court:TCA
Attorneys:
Thomas E. Cowan, Jr., Elizabethton, Tennessee, for the appellant, Rose
F. Warnick.
Tausha M. Carmack and Patrick Ledford, Kingsport, Tennessee, for the
appellee, Carter County, Tennessee.
Judge: SUSANO
First Paragraph:
This is a negligence action filed by Rose F. Warnick against Carter
County ("the County") seeking damages for personal injuries arising
out of an automobile accident involving the plaintiff and Keith G.
Range ("Deputy Range"), a Carter County deputy sheriff, who, according
to the complaint, was "acting within the course and scope of his
authority as an agent, servant and employee of" the County at the time
of the accident. The County filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to
Tenn. R. Civ. P. 12.02(6). The trial court dismissed the plaintiff's
complaint, holding that it was not filed within one year of the
accident as required by the Governmental Tort Liability Act ("the
GTLA"). We affirm.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/warnickrf.wpd
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. DEVON LEE RAMSEY
Court:TCCA
Attorneys:
Merrilyn Feirman, Nashville, Tennessee (on appeal); Donna Leigh
Hargrove, District Public Defender; Andrew Jackson Dearing, III,
Assistant District Public Defender, Shelbyville, Tennessee (at trial
and of counsel on appeal) for the appellant, Devon Lee Ramsey.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Helena Walton
Yarbrough, Assistant Attorney General; William Michael McCown,
District Attorney General; and Michael David Randles, Assistant
District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WOODALL
First Paragraph:
Defendant, Devon Lee Ramsey, pled guilty to one count of Class D
felony theft and three counts of Class E felony forgery. Following a
sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced Defendant to serve three
and one-half years for the theft conviction, and one and one-half
years for each of the forgery convictions. The trial court further
ordered the sentences for the forgery convictions to be served
concurrently with each other, but consecutively to the sentence for
theft, for an effective sentence of five years on these convictions.
These sentences were further ordered to be served consecutively to an
effective sentence of two years for ten forgery convictions in Coffee
County. Defendant has appealed arguing that the trial court erred by
imposing excessive sentences and by ordering consecutive sentencing.
After a review of the entire record, we affirm the judgments of the
trial court.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/ramseydevonLee.wpd
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. RONNIE JEROME RUSSELL
Court:TCCA
Attorneys:
David Allen Doyle, District Public Defender, Gallatin, Tennessee, for
the appellant, Ronnie Jerome Russell.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Helena Walton
Yarbrough, Assistant Attorney General; Lawrence Ray Whitley, District
Attorney General; and Dee Gay, Assistant District Attorney General,
for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WOODALL
First Paragraph:
Following an evidentiary hearing, the Criminal Court of Sumner County
entered an order finding the Defendant, Ronnie Jerome Russell, to be
in violation of the conditions of his supervised probation and ordered
him to serve his sentence in the Department of Correction. The
Defendant appealed arguing that the trial court failed to exercise a
"conscientious and intelligent judgment" in finding that he had
violated the terms and conditions of probation and in revoking his
probation. After a review of the record, we affirm the judgment of
the trial court.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/russellronniejerome.wpd
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. DENNIS CEDRIC WOODARD, JR.
Court:TCCA
Attorneys:
Jack Dearing, III and Mike Collins, Assistant Public Defenders,
Shelbyville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Dennis Cedric Woodard, Jr.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Renee W. Turner,
Assistant Attorney General; Mike McCown, District Attorney General;
and Michael Randles, Assistant District Attorney General, for the
appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WELLES
First Paragraph:
The Defendant, Dennis Cedric Woodard, Jr., was convicted by a jury of
first degree premeditated murder and sentenced to life imprisonment
with the possibility of parole. In this appeal as of right, the
Defendant argues that the evidence presented at trial is not
sufficient to sustain his conviction. We affirm the judgment of the
trial court.
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/woodarddc.wpd
Ordinance prohibiting sale of lottery tickets
Date: January 17, 2003
Opinion Number: 03-004
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/AG/2003/OP4.pdf
Voting Membership of Four Lake Regional Industrial Development
Authority
Date: January 17, 2003
Opinion Number: 03-005
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/AG/2003/OP5.pdf
County's Authority to Impose Litigation Tax to Fund Public Building
Project
Date: January 22, 2003
Opinion Number: 03-006
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/AG/2003/OP6.pdf
Charitable Lotteries
Date: January 22, 2003
Opinion Number: 03-007
http://www.tba.org/tba_files/AG/2003/OP7.pdf
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