Opinion FlashAugust 12, 2003Volume 9 — Number 145 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):
TBA members can get the full-text versions of these opinions three ways detailed below. All methods require a TBA username and password. If you have forgotten your password, you can look it up on-line at http://www.tba.org/getpassword.mgi . If you are a TBA member, but do not have a username and password, you can receive one online at http://www.tba.org/signup.mgi. Here's how you can obtain full-text version. Click the URL at end of each Opinion paragraph below. This option will allow you to download the original document. Howard H. Vogel SUPREME COURT OF TENNESSEE SUPREME COURT DISCRETIONARY APPEALS Court:TSC - Rules http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TSC_Rules/certlist_0811.wpd PRODIGY SERVICES CORPORATION, INC. v. RUTH E. JOHNSON, COMMISSIONER OF REVENUE, STATE OF TENNESSEE, ET AL. Court:TCA Attorneys: Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Michael E. Moore, Solicitor General; Margaret M. Huff, Assistant Attorney General, for the appellant, Ruth E. Johnson, Commissioner of Revenue, State of Tennessee, and the Attorney General. Charles A. Trost and Michael G. Stewart, Nashville, Tennessee; Peter J. Brann, Lewiston, Maine, for the appellee, Prodigy Services Corporation, Inc. Joseph W. Gibbs and Patricia Head Moskal, Nashville, Tennessee; Richard P. Bress and John W. Westmoreland, Washington, DC, for the amici curiae, Information Technology Association of America and U.S. Internet Service Providers Association. Judge: CANTRELL First Paragraph: The Tennessee Commissioner of Revenue assessed Prodigy Services Corporation, Inc. for sales and use taxes on "telecommunication services" as defined in Tenn. Code Ann. S 67-6-102(29)(now codified at Tenn. Code Ann. S 67-6-102(31)(Supp. 2002)). Prodigy challenged the assessment in the Chancery Court of Davidson County. The court granted Prodigy summary judgment, concluding that Prodigy's online computer information services did not meet the description of the taxable event in the statute. We affirm. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/prodigyservices.wpd KEN STEPHENS v. ROANE STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE Court:TCA Attorneys: Samuel W. Brown, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Ken Stephens. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter, and William J. Marett, Jr., Assistant Attorney General, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Roane State Community College. Judge: KIRBY First Paragraph: This is a sexual harassment case. The plaintiff was a tenured professor at the defendant college. In 1996, one of the professor's students filed a complaint of sexual harassment with the college, alleging that the professor engaged in unwelcome sexual conduct and created a hostile educational environment. After a hearing, an administrative law judge determined that the professor had committed the acts charged. Consequently, the professor was suspended without pay for six months. The professor appealed the administrative decision to the trial court. The trial court upheld the decision, using a deferential standard of review, and the professor filed the first appeal in this case. On appeal, this Court reversed and remanded for a review de novo on the record. On remand, the trial court reviewed the case de novo on the record and again upheld the ALJ's decision. The professor now appeals. We affirm, finding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to allow the professor to testify in person at the rehearing on remand, and that the trial court did not err in finding that the ALJ's decision was supported by clear and convincing evidence. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/stephensk.wpd JUDITH ANN WALKER v. CITY OF COOKEVILLE, TENNESSEE, D/B/A COOKEVILLE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER Court:TCA Attorneys: H. Rowan Leathers III, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, City of Cookeville, Tennessee d/b/a Cookeville Regional Medical Center. Phillip P. Welty, Nashville, Tennessee, and Ronald Thurman, Cookeville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Judith Ann Walker. Judge: KOCH First Paragraph: This appeal involves an employment dispute between the Cookeville Regional Medical Center and a senior management employee. After the hospital's chief executive officer removed the employee from her position as Interim Assistant Administrator and Director of Quality Management, the employee resigned and filed suit in the Circuit Court for Putnam County alleging that the hospital breached her employment contract by declining to pay her the severance benefits required by her employment contract. Following a bench trial, the court found that the hospital had breached the employment contract and awarded the employee severance benefits, prejudgment interest, and discretionary costs. The hospital argues on this appeal that the employee was not entitled to severance pay because (1) she had voluntarily resigned, (2) the parties understood that the employee's appointment as assistant administrator was not permanent, and (3) the employee's demotion did not materially alter her duties or status. We affirm the judgment because the hospital breached the employee's contract when it demoted her and declined to pay her the severance benefits required by her employment contract. http://www.tba.org/tba_files/TCA/walkerja.wpd PLEASE FORWARD THIS E-MAIL! GET A FULL-TEXT COPY OF AN OPINION! JOIN THE TENNESSEE BAR ASSOCIATION! SUBSCRIBE TO OPINION FLASH! UNSUBSCRIBE TO OPINION FLASH? ... SURELY NOT! But if you must, visit the TBALink web site at: http://www.tba.org/op-flash.mgi Home • Contact Us • PageFinder • What's New • Help |
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