AMANDA CONSTRUCTION, INC. v. CHARLES L. WHITE, ET AL.

Court:TCA

Attorneys:                          

Felix H. Bean, III, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellants, Charles L.
White and Claudette E. White.

Randall N. Songstad, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellee, Amanda
Construction, Inc.

Judge: FARMER

First Paragraph:

This appeal involves a homeowner's attempt to pierce the corporate
veil to reach the shareholders of a construction company.  During the
course of the litigation, the construction company was
administratively dissolved, and the homeowner filed a motion to join
as defendants the shareholders, officers, and directors.  The trial
court granted judgment in favor of the homeowner against the
construction company for breach of contract, but denied the
homeowner's motion to join the shareholders, officers, and directors. 
We affirm.

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

STATE OF TENNESSEE, DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN'S SERVICES v. B.F., ET AL.

Court:TCA

Attorneys:                          

James R. Hickman, Jr., Sevierville, Tennessee, for the Appellant, B.F.

Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter, and Elizabeth C.
Driver, Assistant Attorney General, Nashville, Tennessee, for the
Appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: LEE

First Paragraph:

This parental termination case  presents the Court with two issues:
(1) whether a case manager can testify regarding facts about which she
has no personal knowledge but which are documented in a case file not
made an exhibit, and (2) whether the guardian ad litem of a minor
child can testify as a witness. At the trial of this case, the State
of Tennessee, Department of Children's Services presented only two
witnesses: the case manager who had only been working on the file for
six months and the child's guardian ad litem.  The case manager had no
firsthand knowledge of the facts except what she had read in the case
file which was not present at the trial and not introduced into
evidence. The defendant objected on the basis of hearsay and the trial
court allowed the case manager to testify under the business records
exception to the hearsay rule. The guardian ad litem testified
concerning her investigation into the matter over the Defendant's
objection. We hold that the case manager's testimony was hearsay and
was not admissible under the business records exception to the hearsay
rule. We hold that the guardian ad litem's testimony was not
admissible pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 40 which forbids
such testimony. Because of the exclusion of the testimony of these
witnesses, the trial court should have granted Defendant's motion for
a directed verdict. Accordingly, we vacate the judgment of the trial
court and remand to the Juvenile Court for Sevier County for a new
trial.

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

PHILLIP RUSSELL LEWIS, ET AL. v. JAMES HOWARD BOWEN, ET AL.

Court:TCA

Attorneys:                          

Ewing Sellers, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, for the appellants, James
Howard Bowen, et al.

D. Russell Thomas, Herbert M. Schaltegger, Murfreesboro, Tennessee,
for the appellees, Phillip Russell Lewis, et al.

Judge: COTTRELL

First Paragraph:

The plaintiffs filed a complaint for repayment of borrowed money.  The
defendant, who was living in Ohio at the time, did not to respond to
the complaint.  The plaintiffs then filed a motion for default
judgment, to which the defendant again failed to respond.  After a
hearing, the trial court granted the default judgment.  The judgment
was domesticated in Ohio, and substantial monthly garnishments were
ordered from the defendant's trust funds to satisfy the judgment. 
More than two years after the garnishments began, and almost three
years after the default judgment was rendered, the defendant took his
first step to contest the plaintiffs' claim, by filing a motion for
relief from judgment.  The trial court denied the motion.  We affirm
the trial court.

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

IN RE: S.B.D.W., a minor child born, January 14, 1999

Court:TCA

Attorneys:                          

Jason L. Hudson, Dyersburg, Tennessee, for the appellant. 

W. Lewis Jenkins, Jr., Dyersburg, Tennessee, for the appellees

Judge: FARMER

First Paragraph:

The trial court terminated parents' rights based on abandonment. 
Father appeals.  We affirm.

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

STS/BAC JOINT VENTURE v. THE CITY OF MT. JULIET, TENNESSEE ET AL.

Court:TCA

Attorneys:                          

George A. Dean, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, STS/BAC Joint
Venture.

John E. Quinn, Douglas B. Janney III, Nashville, Tennessee, for the
appellees, The City of Mt. Juliet, Tennessee and the Mt. Juliet
Planning Commission.

Judge: COTTRELL

First Paragraph:

The developer of a planned Wilson County subdivision sought damages
for a temporary taking, claiming that the City of Mt. Juliet
interfered with the completion of the project by arbitrarily refusing
to grant necessary permits.  The trial court granted summary judgment
to Mt. Juliet, in part on the ground that the statute of limitations
had passed on the developer's claim for relief.  We affirm.

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