Opinion Flash

May 9, 2003
Volume 9 — Number 085

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
00	New Opinion(s) from the Tennessee Supreme Court Workers' Compensation Panel
00	New Document(s) or Proposed Rule(s) from the Tennessee Supreme Court
01	New Opinion(s) from the Tennessee Court of Appeals
02	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

MARK PIRTLE CHEVROLET, INC., et al. v. CELEBRATION NISSAN, INC., et
al.

Court:TCA

Attorneys:

Daryl M. South, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, for the appellants,
Celebration Nissan, Inc., Randy Roberts, Rebecca Roberts and William
P. Bradbury.

David W. Kious, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, for the appellees, Mark
Pirtle Chevrolet, Inc. and Mark A. Pirtle.

Judge: CANTRELL

First Paragraph:

This case involved claims and counter-claims for breach of contract on
the sale of an automobile dealership.  After a hearing, the trial
court awarded the plaintiffs damages for most of their claims. Since
the defendants did not file a timely notice of appeal, we cannot
consider arguments about the court's Final Order.  However, the
plaintiff filed a Rule 60 motion to clarify one paragraph of the Final
Order.  The trial court granted the motion, and modified the order to
specify that the defendant was to pay the plaintiff $49,000 for
certain cars that had been the subjects of a dispute. The defendant
appealed the trial court's action.  We affirm.

http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/pirtlechevrolet.wpd
								
								
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. MARK A. BALES

Court:TCCA

Attorneys:   

Bob McD. Green, Johnson City, Tennessee, for appellant, Mark A. Bales.

Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter; Peter M. Coughlan,
Assistant Attorney General;  Greeley Wells, District Attorney General;
and Todd Martin, Assistant District Attorney General, for appellee,
State of Tennessee.

Judge: SMITH

First Paragraph:

The defendant, Mark Anthony Bales, pled guilty to attempted second
degree murder.  After accepting his plea, the trial court sentenced
the defendant to serve eleven years as a Range I standard offender. 
The defendant now appeals his sentence arguing that the trial court
erred (1) by finding that when the defendant committed the instant
crime, he treated the victim with exceptional cruelty; (2) by giving
insufficient weight to two applicable mitigating factors, the
defendant's excellent social history and his lack of a criminal
record; and (3) by sentencing the defendant to a term of years that
made him ineligible for consideration for an alternative sentence. 
After a thorough review of the record, we find that none of the
defendant's allegations merit relief and accordingly affirm his
sentence.

http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/balesmark.wpd
								
								
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. KENNETH MICHAEL BYRD, ALIAS

Court:TCCA

Attorneys:

Mark E. Stephens, District Public Defender, and Robert C. Edwards and
John R. Halstead, Assistant Public Defenders, for the appellant,
Kenneth Michael Byrd, Alias.

Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; John H. Bledsoe,
Assistant Attorney General; Randall E. Nichols, District Attorney
General; and Zane M. Scarlett, Assistant District Attorney General,
for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: WILLIAMS

First Paragraph:

Issue:  Whether the issuance of a capias tolls the expiration of a
probationary sentence.  Upon this record, we conclude it does not.  We
reverse the revocation of the defendant's probation, concluding his
probationary sentence had expired.

http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCCA/byrdkmalias.wpd
								
								
Permissible Games under Lottery Amendment

Date: May 5, 2003

Opinion Number: 03-058                         

http://www.tba.org/tba_files/AG/2003/OP58.pdf
								
								
Juvenile Court Discretion to Permit Minors to Buy Tobacco in Sting
Operations

Date: May 6, 2003

Opinion Number: 03-059                         

http://www.tba.org/tba_files/AG/2003/OP59.pdf
								
								
County Buildings Located Outside City Limits of County Seat Town

Date: May 6, 2003

Opinion Number: 03-060                         

http://www.tba.org/tba_files/AG/2003/OP60.pdf
								
								
Enforcement of Municipal Ordinance in State Court

Date: May 7, 2003

Opinion Number: 03-061                         

http://www.tba.org/tba_files/AG/2003/OP61.pdf

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