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Ameriquest to pay $325 million to resolve investigation of predatory lending
Attorney General Paul G. Summers and Department of Financial Institutions Acting Commissioner Greg Gonzales announced today that Ameriquest Mortgage Company, the nation's largest sub-prime lender, has agreed to pay $295 million to consumers and make sweeping reforms of practices that states alleged amounted to predatory lending. This agreement is subject to the court's approval. Read more about it here.
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TODAY'S OPINIONS
Click on the category of your choice to view summaries of today’s opinions from that court, or other body. A link at the end of each case summary will let you download the full opinion in PDF format. To search all opinions in the TBALink database, go to our OpinionSearch page. If you have forgotten your password or need to obtain a password, you can look it up on TBALink at http://www.tba.org/getpassword.mgi.
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Howard H. Vogel
Knoxville, Tennessee
Editor-in-Chief, TBALink
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SUPREME COURT OF TENNESSEE
Court: TSC-Rules
No grants or denials this week.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC_Rules/2006/certlist012306.pdf
BARNES & ROBINSON COMPANY, INC. d/b/a ONE SOURCE OF TENNESSEE, INC. v. ONESOURCE FACILITY SERVICES, INC., ET AL.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Jack L. McLean, Jr. and Jason P. Wright, Atlanta, Georgia; and William W. Gibson and Andrew J. Pulliam, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Barnes & Robinson Company, Inc., d/b/a One Source of Tennessee, Inc.
Grant C. Glassford and James E. Gaylord, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellees, OneSource Facility Services, Inc. and OneSource Franchise Systems, Inc.
Judge: FRANK G. CLEMENT, JR.
Barnes & Robinson Company, Inc. filed this action against two related companies claiming breach of contract, failure to negotiate in good faith, and promissory estoppel. The claims arise from negotiations pursuant to two letters of intent and subsequent representations upon which Barnes & Robinson contends it relied to its detriment. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss contending Barnes & Robinson failed to state any claims upon which relief could be granted, which the trial court granted. Barnes & Robinson appeals. Finding no error, we affirm.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/barnes012306.pdf
ANGELA McDANIEL v. CAROLINA NATIONAL TRANSPORT, ET AL.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Dallas T. Reynolds, III, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the Appellants, Carolina National Transport and Robert K. Corprew.
W. Zane Daniel, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the Appellee, Angela McDaniel.
Judge: SHARON G. LEE
In this action arising from a vehicular accident, the issues presented are whether the trial court erred in allowing into evidence deposition testimony of a Defendant pursuant to Tenn. R. Civ. P. 32.01, and whether the amount of the jury verdict was supported by material evidence. We hold the trial court did not err in its discretionary decision to admit the deposition testimony, and that there is material evidence supporting the duly approved jury verdict. Consequently, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/mcdaniela012306.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. SCOTTY HENRY PACE, JR.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Paula Ogle Blair, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Scotty Henry Pace, Jr.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Pamela A. Hayden-Wood, Senior Counsel, and Douglas Earl Dimond, Assistant Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: FRANK G. CLEMENT, JR.
The defendant was found guilty of criminal contempt and sentenced to ten days in jail for violating an Order of Protection. He appeals, contending the evidence was insufficient. We agree.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/paces012306.pdf
PFIZER, INC. v. RUTH E. JOHNSON, COMMISSIONER OF REVENUE FOR THE STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Michael D. Sontag and Christopher L. Haley, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Pfizer, Inc.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Michael E. Moore, Solicitor General; and Gary R. Hotvedt, Assistant Attorney General, for the appellee, Ruth E. Johnson, Commissioner of Revenue, State of Tennessee.
Judge: FRANK G. CLEMENT, JR.
Pfizer, Inc. challenges the assessment of the additional rate of business tax under Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-4-709(b)(2)(B). It contends the sales in question, which were from one wholesaler to another wholesaler, were not within the definition of “wholesale sales” as the term is defined in Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-4-702(a)(19), and thus not subject to the additional business tax. The State of Tennessee contends sales, whether a “sale at retail” or a “sale at wholesale,” are taxable pursuant to the percentages set forth in Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-4-709(b)(2)(B). The facts are not disputed. Based upon a statutory interpretation, we find sales from one wholesaler to another wholesaler are not subject to the additional business tax under Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-4-709(b)(2)(B).
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/pfizer012306.pdf
POLYGRAM RECORDS, INC., ET AL. v. LEGACY ENTERTAINMENT GROUP, LLC.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Jay S. Bowen, Katharine R. Cloud and Chris L. Vlahos, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Polygram Records, Inc.
J. Graham Matherne and Christian A. Horsnell, Nashville, Tennessee, Vincent H. Chieffo, Santa Monica, California, and Keith Adkinson, Hartsville, Tennessee, for the appellees, Randall Hank Williams, Jr. and Jett Williams.
Kenneth R. Jones, Jr., and William B. Hawkins, III, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Legacy Entertainment Group, LLC.
Judge: FRANK G. CLEMENT, JR.
Three competing parties claim rights to commercially exploit performances of legendary performer Hank Williams that were recorded and broadcast by WSM Radio in the 1950s. Polygram Records, Inc., claims exclusive phonograph exploitation rights, relying on a contract Williams entered into with its predecessor in interest, MGM Records. Legacy Entertainment Group, LLC., claims rights of exploitation to the recordings under a chain of title. Williams’ heirs, Hank Williams, Jr. and Jett Williams, contend neither Legacy nor Polygram have contractual rights to exploit Williams’ performances embodied in the WSM recordings, and further contend the rights passed to his heirs. The trial court summarily dismissed the claims of Polygram and Legacy, finding neither own rights to exploit the recorded performances, and the rights belong to Williams’ heirs. Legacy and Polygram appeal. We affirm the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/polygram012306.pdf
JOHN L. SMITH v. DEBORAH SMITH
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
John M. Cannon, Goodlettsville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Deborah Smith.
James Robin McKinney, Jr., Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, John L. Smith.
Judge: WILLIAM C. KOCH, JR.
This appeal arises from a custody dispute involving an eleven-year-old boy. After the parties agreed to end their marriage, the father filed a complaint for divorce in November 2001 in the Chancery Court for Cheatham County. In addition to the complaint, the father filed a marital dissolution agreement and a parenting plan designating the mother as the primary residential parent. The child remained in the mother’s custody until October 2002 when the trial court awarded the father temporary custody of the child. Following a hearing in July 2003, the trial court entered an order in September 2003 declaring the parties divorced and designating the father as the primary residential parent. The mother has appealed. Despite the father’s conduct following the parties’ separation, we have concluded that the trial court’s decision to designate him as the child’s primary residential parent does not fall outside the spectrum of rulings that might reasonably result from a correct application of the governing law to the facts established by the evidence in this case. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s judgment.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/smithj012306.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. TEVIAS BLEDSOE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Bill Anderson, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, Tevias Bledsoe.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; David H. Findley, Assistant Attorney General; and William L. Gibbons, District Attorney General; Steve Jones and Amy Weirich, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: JERRY L. SMITH
The appellant, Tevias Bledsoe, was indicted on one count of premeditated murder, one count of felony murder, one count of especially aggravated robbery, and three counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. After a jury trial, the appellant was acquitted of all charges except for the firearm possession charges. The trial court nolle prossed two of the firearm charges and sentenced the appellant to four years as a Range II multiple offender for the remaining conviction. After the denial of a motion for new trial, the appellant filed a timely notice of appeal. On appeal, the appellant contends that the trial court committed plain error by failing to instruct the jury on the defense of duress. We agree and reverse and remand the judgment of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2006/bledsoet012306.pdf
MARVIN RAINER v. DAVID G. MILLS, WARDEN
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Marvin Rainer, Henning, Tennessee, pro se.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Jennifer L. Bledsoe, Assistant Attorney General; and Elizabeth T. Rice, District Attorney General, for the appellee, the State of Tennessee.
Judge: THOMAS T. WOODALL
Petitioner, Marvin Rainer, appeals from the trial court’s dismissal of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. In March 2001, Petitioner was convicted in Shelby County Criminal Court of one count of misdemeanor assault, two felony counts of forgery over five hundred dollars, one count of theft over a thousand dollars, and one count of forgery over a thousand dollars. Petitioner was sentenced to eleven months and twenty-nine days for the misdemeanor assault conviction, six years for each felony conviction of forgery over five hundred dollars, ten years for the felony conviction of theft over a thousand dollars, and ten years for the felony conviction of forgery over a thousand dollars. According to the judgment forms, the trial court ordered the felony sentences to be served concurrently for a ten year sentence, with the misdemeanor sentence to be served consecutively, for an effective sentence of ten years, eleven (11) months, and twenty-nine (29) days, with all sentences to be served in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On October 15, 2004, Petitioner filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in Lauderdale County Circuit Court. Petitioner alleged that his convictions were void because, inter alia, he received an illegal sentence. The trial court summarily dismissed the petition without an evidentiary hearing, finding that the issues raised by Petitioner were not proper subjects for habeas corpus relief. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2006/rainerm012306.pdf
Procedure for Expungement of Divorce Records
TN Attorney General Opinions
Date: 2006-01-23
Opinion Number: 06-015
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/AG/2006/ag_06-15.pdf
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| TODAY'S NEWS |
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Legal News
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| Legal News |
| FBI arrests Roane County judge |
| Roane County Sessions Court Judge Thomas A. Austin was arrested this morning by the FBI as part of an undercover probe into a driving school, and was then arraigned on an eight-count federal indictment charging him with extortion and money laundering, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. |
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| Candidates line up for Sullivan County judicial elections |
| Potential candidates for court and law enforcement-related races in Sullivan County are coming out in big numbers, as several seats are being vacated with retirements. See who they are, as reported by the
Kingsport Times-News.
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| Online CLE |
| Course examines latest in search and seizure questions |
| Many court cases are decided, not at trial, but at pretrial hearings on search and seizure questions. Learn what the latest cases hold in this important area of criminal procedure from this new course. Also new is a course that addresses the effect of the adoption of comparative fault on those common law tort doctrines that you learned in Torts 101. Scenarios and hypotheticals will raise issues and illustrate the problems that can arise when an important change in the law occurs by judicial fiat, leaving other doctrines uncertainly affected or even abrogated. |
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| Program offers savings on auto insurance |
| GEICO and the Tennessee Bar Association team up to offer the GEICO Preferred auto insurance program. |
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| Correction |
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| A headline in Friday's TBA Today was innacurate. The Jefferson City attorney referred to in the headline, James R. "Rick" Scroggins, says he will not be a candidate for district attorney general. |
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