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Judges join field for Supreme Court post
Circuit Court Judge D'Army Bailey of Memphis and Chancellor Richard Dinkins of Nashville today added their names to the growing list of individuals vying for open positions on the Tennessee Supreme Court. They join George T. "Buck" Lewis of Memphis, Stephen A. Cobb of Nashville, Court of Criminal Appeals Judge J.C. McLin of Memphis, J. Houston Gordon of Covington, Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Gary R. Wade of Sevierville, Court of Appeals Judge Frank Clement, D. Bruce Shine of Kingsport, Circuit Court Judge Dea Kelly Thomas Jr. of Maryville and Phillip A. Condra of Whitwell, public defender for the 12th Judicial District. Today was the deadline to apply for the first position.
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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 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.
00 - TN Supreme Court
01 - TN Worker's Comp Appeals
00 - TN Supreme Court - Rules
03 - TN Court of Appeals
01 - TN Court of Criminal Appeals
00 - TN Attorney General Opinions
00 - Judicial Ethics Opinions
00 - Formal Ethics Opinions - BPR
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Howard H. Vogel
Knoxville, Tennessee
Editor-in-Chief, TBALink
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KARAM HANNA v. GAYLORD ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY
Court: TWCA
Attorneys:
Jay R. Slobey, Nashville, Tennessee, for appellant, Karam Hanna.
Richard K. Smith and Kathleen W. Smith, Nashville, Tennessee, for appellee, Gaylord
Entertainment Company.
Judge: HARRIS
This is an appeal from the dismissal of a workers' compensation claim for failure to prosecute and
to abide by the orders of the trial court with regard to setting the case for hearing. The employee
filed a motion to alter or amend the dismissal order which was denied by the trial court. The
employee appealed. Finding no abuse of discretion on part of the trial court, we affirm the dismissal.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC_WCP/2006/hannaka033106.pdf
IN RE C.L.M.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
J. Stephen Mills, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, K.D.M.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Dianne Stamey Dycus, Deputy Attorney General,
for the appellee, Tennessee Department of Children's Services.
Judge: CAIN
Natural mother brings this appeal from the juvenile court's termination of her parental rights as to
the minor child, C.L.M. The sole challenge to the court's order is that, due to alleged insufficiency
of process, the trial court lacked personal jurisdiction over her such that the termination of her
parental rights amounted to a violation of due process. We affirm the action of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/clm033106.pdf
WILNER DIEUDONNE v. METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
J. Brooks Fox and John Kennedy, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Metropolitan Government
of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee.
Wilner Dieudonne, Nashville, Tennessee, Pro Se.
Judge: CLEMENT
This action for personal injury arises out of a vehicular accident between the plaintiff and an on-duty
police officer of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. Plaintiff timely
filed this action in the General Sessions Court; however, he failed to properly identify the defendant
and service of process was returned unserved. Plaintiff did not attempt to renew service of process
until after the one-year statute of limitations had run, waiting sixteen months before making his
second attempt at service of process on the defendant. The trial court denied the defendant's motion
to dismiss based upon its finding the plaintiff's delays in service of process did not constitute an
abandonment of the claim. The case proceeded to trial, and the plaintiff was awarded damages. The
defendant appeals contending the trial court erred by not dismissing the action. Finding the statute
of limitations had run, we therefore reverse and remand with instructions to dismiss.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/dieudonnnew033106.pdf
AHMED USSO and GENET AYELE v. BRYAN WINSTON
With Dissenting Opinion
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Michael S. Lattier, Kingsport, Tennessee, for appellant.
James D. Culp, Johnson City, Tennessee, for appellees.
Judge: FRANKS
Plaintiffs sued to recover earnest money tendered with a contract to purchase realty. Defendant
counter-sued for breach of contract and damages. The Trial Court Ordered the return of the
earnest money to plaintiffs. We affirm.
Majority Opinion
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/ussoa033106.pdf
Swiney Dissenting
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/ussoa_diss033106.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JOANNE GELENE IRWIN
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Michael T. Cabage, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Joanne Gelene Irwin.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General & Reporter; Leslie Price, Assistant Attorney General; and
Ta Kisha M. Fitzgerald, Philip H. Morton, and Mitchell T. Harper, Assistant District Attorneys
General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WADE
The defendant, Joanne Gelene Irwin, was convicted of two counts of simple assault, Class A
misdemeanors. See Tenn. Code Ann. Section 39-13-101 (1997). After merging the two counts of
simple assault, the trial court imposed a sentence of eleven months and twenty-nine days and
ordered thirty days of confinement. The defendant was fined $1,000. Judicial diversion was
denied. In this appeal of right, the defendant argues that she should have been permitted to
introduce evidence of the juvenile record of the victim for impeachment purposes under Rule
609 of the Tennessee Rules of Evidence; that the trial court submitted erroneous instructions to
the jury; that the trial court imposed an excessive sentence; and that the trial court abused its
discretion by denying judicial diversion. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2006/irwinj033106.pdf
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