Opinion Flash

August 7, 2003
Volume 9 — Number 142

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
05	New Opinion(s) from the Tennessee Court of Appeals
00	New Opinion(s) from the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals
00	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

	STEVEN GRIFFIN v. WILLIAM C. ROBERTS, JR.

Court:TCA

Attorneys:                          

Steven Griffin, Whiteville, Tennessee, Pro Se.

Judge: CANTRELL

First Paragraph:

An inmate in the custody of the Department of Correction filed a legal
malpractice suit against the court-appointed attorney who represented
him in his post-conviction appeal.  Despite many attempts, the inmate
failed to obtain service on the attorney.  More than three years after
suit was filed, the court dismissed the case for lack of prosecution. 
We affirm the trial court.

http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/griffins.wpd

STEVEN ANTHONY PERRY v. KELLY LEANNE PERRY v. THELMA PERRY

Court:TCA

Attorneys:                          

Jon S. Jablonski, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Kelly
Leanne Perry.

Debra L. Dishmon and Susan M. Merry, Lebanon, Tennessee, for the
appellee, Thelma Perry.

Judge: CANTRELL

First Paragraph:

The Circuit Court of Wilson County awarded custody of a minor child to
the paternal grandmother.  The child's mother, to whom custody had
been awarded in the divorce, asserts that the facts do not support
such a drastic remedy.  We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/perrysa.wpd

JENNIFER D. RIAL (HOLLOWAY) v. TERRY RIAL

Court:TCA

Attorneys:                          

Timothy V. Potter, Dickson, Tennessee, for the appellant, Jennifer
Holloway Rial.

Douglas Thompson Bates, III, Centerville, Tennessee, for the appellee,
Terry Rial.

Judge: FARMER

First Paragraph:

Mother petitioned the court for change of child custody.  The trial
court found no material change of circumstances justifying such change
and dismissed the petition.  We affirm.

http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/rialjenniferh.wpd

MICHAEL D. STREET v. LEVY (WILDHORSE) LIMITED PARTNERSHIP

Court:TCA

Attorneys:                          

T. Turner Snodgrass, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Michael
D. Street.

Michele M. Brubaker, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Levy
(Wildhorse) Limited Partnership.

Judge: KOCH

First Paragraph:

This appeal involves a patron at a Nashville night spot who was
seriously injured by a broken glass tray left unattended on a table. 
In addition to the laceration on his leg, the patron fell and hit his
face against the floor.  The patron later filed suit against the night
spot in the Circuit Court for Davidson County seeking damages not only
for the laceration of his leg but also for internal derangement of his
temporomandibular joint caused by his fall.  The night spot conceded
its negligence, and, after conducting a bench trial on the question of
damages, the trial court awarded the patron $8,937.00 for his medical
expenses, pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life.  On this
appeal, the patron takes issue with the trial court's refusal to award
him $1,133.00 in medical expenses and with the amount of the award for
pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.  We have determined
that the trial court lacked any basis for declining to award the
patron all his medical expenses and that the evidence does not
preponderate against the award for pain and suffering and loss of
enjoyment of life.

http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/streetmd.wpd

ERIC YOUNG v. TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION, ET AL.

Court:TCA

Attorneys:                          

Eric Young, Nashville, Tennessee, Pro Se.

Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter, and Shay B.
Winebarger, Assistant Attorney General, for the appellee, State of
Tennessee.

Tom Anderson, Jackson, Tennessee, for the appellees, Kevin Myers,
Daniel Devers, Jeffrey Spice and Charles Griffin.

Judge: CANTRELL

First Paragraph:

A prison inmate was convicted of a disciplinary offense, and sentenced
to punitive segregation.  He filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari,
claiming there were serious procedural defects in the disciplinary
proceeding.  The trial court dismissed his Petition as time-barred. 
We affirm the trial court.

http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/younge.wpd

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