WPC{ 0# U: % 0(b #w@/4o 0J 0T 0^8 0h 0r 0|p 0 0r 1uU,w 0dU, U*3 B)] DC AM  0@ D3V B D+ v~ vO AO"q 0D7HP LaserJet 4 Plus/4M PlusHPPCL5E,,,,0 ,rAZ"Arial RegularX($- - +P,-P.E/0E12Ӏ=>dO 3|x>2 0Indent123  2" 0Indent20 23  2, 0Indent30 0 23  26 0Indent40 0 0 23  2@ 0Indent50 0 0 0 23  2J 0Indent60 0 0 0 0 23  2T 0Indent70 0 0 0 0 0 23  2^ 0Indent80 0 0 0 0 0 0 23   ?AGMSYaioIndent0I.A.1.a.(1)(a)i)a)<  9p`(ModernP 8Mac DefaultMac Default ` X<  9p`(Monaco<  9p`(Arial% Line 7 d!!!!7Border 1dd-%"C << G !  #d#     YYY   FILED X May3,1996CecilCrowson,Jr.AppellateCourtClerk ("$    '''''dxd d'dxdPtPtHH(FG(HH(d'@Styl{WP}01  HH  2$HH  Geneva  <Px443!#4$*$$*$ KK  Geneva  Geneva .,6 Monaco   BA Op Monaco  BA Op Monaco -%/(C` << CLevel 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 5($$   1  ! . &Xd&#Xd#       \RA'\ћ7a;XXdd7    @ INTHESUPREMECOURTOFTENNESSEE@ SPECIALWORKERSCOMPENSATIONAPPEALSPANEL@ ATNASHVILLE RAYDONALDHAWKINS,  )      ) DAVIDSONCIRCUIT Plaintiff/Appellant,   ) No.93C674Below      )       ) ̜VS.      ) Hon.HamiltonV.Gayden,Jr.,      ) Judge      ) METROPOLITANGOVERNMENTOF ) No.01S019508CV00126NASHVILLE&DAVIDSONCOUNTY )-ٜL#$";+'h|?`  `LߛTENNESSEEactingbyandthrough )theNASHVILLEELECTRICPOWER )BOARD;andactingbyandthrough )      THEELECTRICEMPLOYEES  )CIVILSERVICE&PENSIONBOARD, )      ) Defendants/Appellees.  )ForAppellants:     ForAppellees:ThomasE.Stewart     DouglasFisherStewart&Black     Howell&FisherMadison,Tennessee@  Nashville,Tennessee@  MEMORANDUMOPINION   @ MembersofPanel:@ AdolphoA.Birch,Jr.,AssociateJustice@ BenH.Cantrell,SpecialJudge@ JerryL.Smith,SpecialJudgeAFFIRMED       Cantrell,SpecialJudge    ThisworkerscompensationappealhasbeenreferredtotheSpecialWorkersCompensationAppealsPaneloftheSupremeCourtinaccordancewithTenn.CodeAnn.506225(e)(3)forhearingandreportingtotheSupremeCourtoffindingsoffactandconclusionsoflaw.  Theappellantsuedhisemployerforworkerscompensationbenefitscoveringmentalandemotionaldisabilitywhichresultedfrombeinginformedthathewasabouttobefired.Thetrialjudgedismissedtheactionbecauseitdidnotstateaclaimonwhichreliefcouldbegranted.Weconcludethatthejudgmentshouldbeaffirmed.@ I.   ThecomplaintallegedthattheappellanthadworkedfortheNashvilleElectricServiceforthirtyoneyears,servingfinallyasExecutiveAssistantGeneralManager.OnMarch11,1992,onehourbeforeascheduledmeetingofthePowerBoard,aBoardmemberinformedtheappellantthatatthemeetingtheBoardwouldvotetodismisshim.Althoughtherumorturnedouttobefalse,theappellantallegedthattheshockandfrightproducedbytheunwelcomenewscausedsuchmentalandemotionalstressthathebecamepermanentlydisabled.  Thedefendantfiledamotiontodismissforfailuretostateaclaim.Thetrialjudgeinitiallyoverruledthemotionbutdecidedtograntit,afterfurtherproceedingsinthecase.@ II.   Mentalinjuriesarecompensableundertheworkerscompensationlawswhencausallyconnectedtoaworkrelatedaccident.Wadev.AetnaCasualtyandSuretyCo.,735S.W.2d215(Tenn.1987);Josev.Equifax,556S.W.2d82(Tenn.1977).Aninjurybyaccidentisonewhichcannotbereasonablyanticipated,isunexpectedandisprecipitatedbyunusualcombinationsoffortuitouscircumstances.A.C.LawrenceLeatherCo.v.ϜLoveday,224Tenn.317,455S.W.2d141(Tenn.1970).The accidentdoesnothavetoinvolvephysicalinjuries.Sextonv.ScottCounty,785S.W.2d814(Tenn.Ϝ1990).Aspecificincidentofstresssuchasanargumentwithacoworker,oranangryconfrontationwithasuperioramountstoanaccidentatwork,Cabev.ϜUnionCarbideCorp.,644S.W.2d397(Tenn.1983);Blockv.State,721S.W.2d801(Tenn.1986);butthestatutorydefinitionofaccident doesnotembraceeverystressorstrainofdailylivingoreveryundesirableexperienceencounteredincarryingoutthedutiesofacontractofemployment.Josev.Equifax,556S.W.2d82at84(Tenn.1977).  OneofthelatestcasesinvolvingmentalinjuriesresultingfromanallegedaccidentatworkisTolbertv.BaptistHospital,No.01S019309CH00141(filedinNashvilleJune24,1994),inwhichtheemployeewentintoaseveredepressivestateafterbeingcriticizedbyhersupervisorforpoorjobperformance.Aworkerscompensationappealspanelheldthattheinjurydidnotresultfromanaccidentasdefinedintheworkerscompensationlaw.TheSupremeCourtadoptedthepanelsconclusionanddeniedtheemployeesmotionforreview.  Onamotiontodismisswetakethefactsallegedastrueandinthelightmostfavorabletotheplaintiff.ThefactsallegedinthiscasearesimilartothefactsintheTolbertcase,andweconcludethattheresultshouldbethesame.Thispanelisoftheopinionthatwhenanemployeesuffersdepressionasaresultofbeinginformedthatheisabouttobeterminated,theinjurydoesnotariseoutofanaccidentasdefinedintheworkerscompensationlaw.@ III.   Theappellantalsoarguesthatthetrialjudgeerredingrantingthemotiontodismissafterfirstoverrulingit.HecombinedthatargumentwiththeassertionthatthetrialjudgeviolatedTenn.R.Civ.Proc.59.05bynottransferringthecasetoanotherjudgebeforegrantingthemotion.Inourjudgmentneitherargumenthasanyvalidity.  Anorderbythetrialjudgethatdoesnotdisposeofalltheclaimsandtherightsandliabilitiesofallthepartiesissubjecttorevisionatanytimebeforetheentryofa finaljudgment.Rule54.02,Tenn.R.Civ.Proc.;Rule3(a),Tenn.R.App.Proc.Thetrialcourtsorderoverrulingthemotiontodismisswasnotafinalorderandthetrialjudgeactedproperlyinlatergrantingthemotion.  Astotheobligationtotransferthecasetoanotherjudge,thatobligationarisesonlywhenthetrialjudgehasgrantedanewtrialinajurycasebecausetheverdictiscontrarytotheweightoftheevidenceandthenonlywhereapartyhasrequestedthetransfer.Tenn.R.Civ.Proc.59.06.Despitetheappellantsassertionstothecontrary,thetrialjudgesdecisionwasrenderedasamatteroflawanddidnotinvolveadeterminationofthefacts.Ourrulesdonotprohibitatrialjudgefromgrantingamotiontodismissafterfirstoverrulingit.  Thejudgmentofthetrialcourtisaffirmed.Taxthecostsonappealtotheappellant.      _______________________________      BENH.CANTRELL,SPECIALJUDGECONCUR:_______________________________̜ADOLPHOA.BIRCH,JR.,ASSOCIATEJUSTICE_______________________________JERRYL.SMITH,SPECIALJUDGE