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Getting paid a problem? New TennBarU course can help
Collecting fees is not directly addressed in the Rules of Professional Conduct, however both the rules and malpractice carriers urge lawyers not to sue clients or former clients for payment except when absolutely necessary. A new online course from TennBarU explores practice management strategies to help reduce the number of non-paying clients and discusses ethical obligations for collecting fees from such clients.
http://www.tnbaru.com/usercatalogdrb.php?517936U=25&bprnum=888888#
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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.
03 - TN Supreme Court
00 - TN Worker's Comp Appeals
00 - TN Supreme Court - Rules
04 - TN Court of Appeals
00 - TN Court of Criminal Appeals
00 - TN Attorney General Opinions
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00 - Formal Ethics Opinions - BPR
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 or need to obtain a password,
you can look it up on-line at http://www.tba.org/getpassword.mgi
Here's how you can obtain full-text version. We recommend you download the Opinions to your computer and then
open them from there. Click the URL at end of each Opinion paragraph below. This should give you the option to
download the original document. If not, you may need to right-click on the URL to get the option to save the file
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and save a plain-text version of the opinion. Browse the Opinion List area of TBALink.
This option will allow you to download the original version of the opinion.
Howard H. Vogel
Knoxville, Tennessee
Editor-in-Chief, TBALink
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SUPREME COURT DISCRETIONARY APPEALS Grants & Denials List
Corrected List
Court: TSC
Corrected List. Version on 03/20/2006 did not include date.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC/2006/certlist_corr032106.pdf
DONNA J. OVERMAN v. ALTAMA DELTA CORPORATION
Corrected Dissenting Opinion
Court: TSC
Judge: BARKER
The last full sentence of page two of the original opinion reads: "Even the plaintiff here conceded that the Panel's holding in Nay - that absolute waivers of reconsideration rights (as opposed to conditional waivers, the issue in this case) - is valid for settlements of workplace injuries occurring before the statutory prohibition!"
In the corrected opinion, the "that" preceeding "absolute waivers" is changed to "which upheld".
Corrected Dissenting Opinion. Opinion originally filed 3/16/2006.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC/2006/overmandj_disscorr032106.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. STEVEN JAMES ROLLINS
Corrected Case
Court: TSC
Attorneys:
H. Randolph Fallin, Mountain City, Tennessee; Roger G. Day, Johnson City, Tennessee (at trial and on appeal) for the appellant, Steven James Rollins.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Michael E. Moore, Solicitor General;
Michelle Chapman McIntire, Assistant Attorney General; H. Greeley Wells, District Attorney
General; and Barry P. Staubus, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of
Tennessee.
Judge: BARKER
The defendant, Steven James Rollins, was convicted of premeditated murder, felony murder, and especially aggravated robbery. The trial judge merged the felony murder conviction with the premeditated first degree murder conviction. Upon conclusion of the sentencing
hearing, the jury found that the State had established beyond a reasonable doubt the following
five aggravating circumstances: (1) the defendant was previously convicted of one or more
felonies, other than the present charge, whose statutory elements involve the use of violence to
the person; (2) the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel in that it involved torture or
serious physical abuse beyond that necessary to produce death; (3) the murder was committed for
the purpose of avoiding, interfering with, or preventing a lawful arrest or prosecution of the
defendant or another; (4) the murder was knowingly committed, solicited, directed, or aided by
the defendant, while the defendant had a substantial role in committing or attempting to commit,
or was fleeing after having a substantial role in committing or attempting to commit, any
robbery; and (5) the victim of the murder was seventy (70) years of age or older. See Tenn.
Code Ann. Sec. 39-13-204(i)(2), (5), (6), (7), (14) (1999). After further finding that these
aggravating circumstances outweighed mitigating circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt, the
jury imposed a sentence of death.
The defendant appealed, challenging both his conviction and sentence of death. The
Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed. The case was automatically docketed in this Court. See
Tenn. Code Ann. Sec. 39-13-206(a)(1). Thereafter, this Court entered an order specifically
requesting that the parties address the following three issues at oral argument: (1) whether the
interrogation of the defendant by the sheriff's officers after his arrest violated the defendant's
state and federal constitutional rights to counsel such that the trial court erred by refusing to
suppress the defendant's statements; (2) whether the trial court erred in refusing to allow the defendant to call his co-defendant, Greg Fleenor, to the witness stand to invoke his privilege
against self-incrimination in the jury's presence; and (3) whether the mandatory review
provisions of Tennessee Code Annotated Section 39-13-206(c)(1) require reversal of the
defendant's death sentence. Upon thoroughly considering these and all issues raised by the
defendant, the record on appeal, and the relevant authority, we affirm the defendant's conviction
of first degree murder and sentence of death.
Case originally filed 3/16/2006. Case corrected to change
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC/2006/rollinssj_corr032106.pdf
IN THE MATTER OF: J.M.F.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
James S. Stephens, Manchester, Tennessee, for the appellant, L.G.F.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Douglas Earl Dimond, Senior Counsel; Elizabeth T. Ryan and Wilson Harpe, for the appellee, State of Tennessee Department of
Children's Services.
Christine Milene Flury Sitz, Guardian ad litem.
Judge: CLEMENT
Mother appeals the termination of her parental rights to her child, J.M.F. The trial court terminated Mother's parental rights on the grounds of failure to remedy persistent conditions, substantial noncompliance with permanency plans and abandonment by failing to visit and
failing to provide support. The trial court also found the termination of Mother's parental rights was in the child’s best interest. We affirm the trial court's termination of parental rights based upon Mother's failure to remedy persistent conditions and substantial noncompliance with
permanency plans.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/jmf032106.pdf
KERRY C. LYONS v. GREGORY M. LYONS
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
John N. Bean, Memphis, Tennessee, for the Appellant, Gregory M. Lyons.
Stacy Alane Clinton, Memphis, Tennessee, for the Appellee, Kerry C. Lyons.
Judge: FARMER
The trial court determined a material change of circumstances had occurred which warranted
modification of the parties' child visitation scheduled. Father appeals. We affirm.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/lyonsk032106.pdf
JOAN OATES v. CHATTANOOGA PUBLISHING COMPANY d/b/a CHATTANOOGA TIMES FREE PRESS
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Richard A. Schulman and R. Jonathan Guthrie, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the Appellant Joan
Oates.
L. Michael Zinser and Matthew Salada, Nashville, Tennessee, for the Appellee Chattanooga
Publishing Company d/b/a Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Judge: SWINEY
Joan Oates (Plaintiff) was employed by the Chattanooga Publishing Company (Defendant)
for approximately twenty-three years. In January of 2004, Plaintiff was observed on Defendant's
security camera making obscene gestures with her middle finger toward the camera and then
covering the security camera with a cup for a period of time. Defendant terminated Plaintiff's
employment. Plaintiff filed this lawsuit alleging that she was terminated because of a disability.
Plaintiff also claimed that she was subjected to a hostile work environment and malicious
harassment while employed by Defendant. Plaintiff also sued for intentional and/or negligent
infliction of emotional distress. The Trial Court granted Defendant's motion for summary
judgment on all of Plaintiff's claims. Plaintiff appeals, and we affirm.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/oatesj032106.pdf
UNITED COLOR LAB & DIGITAL IMAGING, INC. v. UNITED STUDIOS
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Randall N. Songstad, Memphis, TN, for Appellant.
John D. Horne, Memphis, TN, for Appellee.
Judge: HIGHERS
In this case we are asked to review a trial court's decision to hold the defendant in contempt of the
court's order. After the plaintiff filed its lawsuit to recover amounts allegedly owed on certain
invoices, the trial court ordered the defendant to file a sworn statement setting forth any amounts it
believed it owed to the plaintiff and the "basis" for that statement. The defendant submitted the
affidavit of its president who asserted that it owed nothing to the plaintiff and that plaintiff breached
the parties' contract. The defendant subsequently filed an answer denying it owed the money and
filed a counter-complaint for breach of contract, tortious interference with contract, and fraud. The
plaintiff filed a petition seeking to hold the defendant in contempt of the court's order, asserting that
the affidavit filed by the defendant did not set forth specific facts. The chancery court granted the
motion and found the defendant in contempt of the order holding that the affidavit did not contain
enough "detail" as required by the order. The defendant appealed to this Court. We reverse.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/unitedcolor032106.pdf
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| TODAY'S NEWS |
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Legal News
Legislative News
TBA Member Services
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| Legal News |
| FBI completes investigation of Till murder |
| The FBI recently completed its investigation of the 1955 murder of Emmett Till, which many believe sparked the civil rights movement. Investigators determined that the federal statute of limitations precludes prosecution under U.S civil rights laws, but turned their findings over to the district attorney in Greenville, Miss., for possible prosecution under state law. In Mississippi, there is no statute of limitations on homicide cases. Read more in the |
Commercial Appeal
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| Legal lectures this week |
Nashville attorney Anne C. Martin will lecture on sexual harassment issues and show the 2005 film North Country, about a Minnesota female miner's sexual harassment class-action lawsuit on Wednesday. Martin is an attorney with Bone, McAllester Norton PLLC. The event starts at 4 p.m. at the Keathley University Center Theatre on the campus of MTSU in Murfreesboro. For more information call 615-494-8918.
Nadine Strossen will speak Thursday on gender, sexuality and civil liberties as part of MTSU's National Women's History Month celebration. Strossen is president of the American Civil Liberties Union and a law professor at New York Law School. The lecture begins at 4 p.m. at the State Farm Lecture Hall in the Business Aerospace Building. For more information call 615-898-5910.
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| Oak Ridge mom sues McDonald's for $5.5 million |
| Oak Ridge native Amanda Spaid has sued McDonald's for failure to disclose that its french fries contain dairy products. Her children, who suffer from a rare genetic disorder that keeps them from digesting dairy products, are frequent customers of the fast food chain. McDonald's disclosed the dairy component on its website last month after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cracked down on regulations. For more of the story, see this article in the |
Oak Ridger
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| Clay County judge charged with drunk driving |
| State troopers arrested Clay County General Sessions Judge James D. White last week on suspicions he was driving drunk in Lafayette. White has law offices in Celina and Lafayette and serves as attorney for Macon County, responsible for advising the county mayor and commission. He posted bond Friday afternoon. |
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| Campbell announces for DA |
| Assistant District Attorney Colin Campbell has announced that he will seek the office of District Attorney General for the 25th Judicial District. The office serves Fayette, Hardeman, Lauderdale, McNairy and Tipton counties. District Attorney General Elizabeth Rice has announced that she is retiring at the end of her current term. Read about Campbell's campaign in the |
Fayette County Review
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| UM law professor bans laptops |
| Earlier this month University of Memphis Law School Professor June Entman banned laptop computers from her classroom because she considered them a distraction in lectures. She warned her first-year students instead to bring pens and paper to class for note taking. Students filed a complaint with the American Bar Association based on an ABA rule on technology at law schools, but the complaint was dismissed. Students now are collecting signatures on a petition against the move. Law School Dean James Smoot said the decision is up to individual professors. |
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| Legislative News |
| Complaint against Matheny dismissed |
| The House Ethics Committee voted unanimously Monday to dismiss a complaint against Rep. Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma), saying that his actions did not violate state law or the House Code of Ethics. The complaint, which was filed in January by Rep. Phillip Pinion (D-Union City), alleged that Matheny accepted a prohibited consulting fee. After the committee's actions yesterday, Matheny stated that Pinion signed a "false affidavit" and should now be prosecuted for perjury, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel. |
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| TBA Member Services |
| Let JobLink help you with your next career move |
| Nissan North America is relocating its headquarters to the Nashville area and is looking for a trademark attorney, business law attorney and securities lawyer. Check out these and other job listings at TBA JobLink - a job seeking and recruitment tool available to TBA members at no charge. |
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