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Understanding lawyer advertising and the internet
Ethics rules have not kept up with the daily challenges that the Internet presents to lawyer advertising. A new course from the TBA's TennBarU sheds light on familiar and not-so-familiar activities regarding Internet advertising and how the ethics rules should be or are being applied to those activities.
http://www.tennbaru.com/
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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.
00 - TN Supreme Court
01 - TN Worker's Comp Appeals
00 - TN Supreme Court - Rules
04 - TN Court of Appeals
00 - TN Court of Criminal Appeals
03 - TN Attorney General Opinions
00 - Judicial Ethics Opinions
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
to your computer. Do a key word search in the Search Link area of TBALink. This option will allow you to view
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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MARK ANTHONY HATMAKER v. ALLIED INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT, INC., ET AL.
Court: TWCA
Attorneys:
Arthur G. Seymour, Jr. and Robert L. Kahn, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the Appellant, Allied
Industrial Equipment, Inc.
Jason E. Legg, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the Appellee, Mark Anthony Hatmaker.
Judge: LEE
This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals
Panel in accordance with Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting to the
Supreme Court of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The trial court awarded the plaintiff 76
percent permanent partial disability to the body as whole and 39 additional weeks of temporary total
disability benefits. On appeal, the defendant contends that the award of permanent partial disability
was excessive; that the award of temporary total disability was not warranted; and the trial court
erred in allowing the testimony of a vocational expert. After carefully reviewing the record and
applicable authorities, we find no error and affirm the judgment.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC_WCP/2006/hatmakerm_100906.pdf
WANDA KELLER, ET AL. v. MONUMENTAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Judith A. DePrisco and Patty K. Wheeler, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the Appellant, Monumental Life Insurance Company.
A. Philip Lomonaco, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the Appellees Wanda Keller and Charles E. Keller.
Judge: SWINEY
Charles L. Keller (the "Decedent") was insured through several accidental death insurance policies issued by Monumental Life Insurance Company ("Monumental"). The Decedent was diagnosed with a very rare and often fatal form of prostate cancer, necessitating immediate surgical intervention to remove his prostate. During the surgery, the Decedent's bowel was perforated. The perforation was very small and went undetected by the surgeon despite his visual inspection of the bowel. The perforation eventually caused a bacterial infection necessitating further surgical intervention. Although the perforation was repaired, the Decedent nevertheless died approximately six days later. After Monumental denied coverage under the accidental death policies, the plaintiffs filed suit. Monumental filed a motion for summary judgment, which was denied by the Trial Court. The Trial Court, however, granted Monumental's request for a Tenn. R. App. P. 9 interlocutory appeal which we, in turn, also granted. We reverse the Trial Court's denial of Monumental's motion for summary judgment.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/kellerw_100906.pdf
KYONG EUN KIM v. JAMES ORDELL LAUMB, JR.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Sharon T. Massey, Clarksville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Kyong Eun Kim
Christopher J. Pittman, B. Nathan Hunt, Clarksville, Tennessee, for the appellee, James Ordell Laumb, Jr.
Judge: CAIN
Appellant/Mother challenges the trial court’s denial of her Motion to Modify Parenting Plan. Applying the appropriate presumption of correctness under Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 13(d), we hold that the evidence does not preponderate against the factual findings of the trial court. We likewise affirm the trial court’s refusal to hold Appellant in contempt for failing to comply with the Chancery Court’s divorce decree and incorporated parenting plan.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/kimk_100906.pdf
LEVY WRECKING COMPANY v. CENTEX RODGERS, INC. v. NORTH AMERICAN SPECIALTY INSURANCE COMPANY v. A-L COMPRESSED GASES, INC.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Gregory L. Cashion and S. Joe Welborn, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Levy Wrecking Company
Thomas W. Shumate, IV, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, A-L Compressed Gases, Inc.
Judge: CLEMENT
This appeal concerns the priority of two competing liens. One is an attorney fee lien for representation of a party in this action. The other is a lien filed against the same party, which resulted from a judgment in a separate action. The law firm of Smith and Cashion represented the plaintiff, Levy Wrecking Company, throughout these proceedings. Following a bench trial Levy was awarded a monetary judgment against which Smith and Cashion was awarded a lien to secure payment of attorney fees. Prior to the entry of the final order in this action, A-L Compressed Gases, Inc., intervened in this action to perfect a lien for a judgment it had been awarded against Levy in an unrelated action. Since there were insufficient funds to satisfy both liens, a dispute arose as to the priority of the competing liens. The trial court held that A-L had perfected its lien first and, thus, had priority. Levy’s counsel contends the lien for attorney fees related back to the commencement of this action, and therefore its lien has priority. We reverse.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/levywrecking_100906.pdf
ANNE MCLEAY v. WAVA HUDDLESTON, ET AL.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Martin D. Holmes of Nashville, Tennessee for Appellant, Anne McLeay
Rita Roberts-Turner of Nashville, Tennessee for Appellees, The Department of Law of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County
James A Crumlin, Jr. and Sharon O. Jacobs of Nashville, Tennessee for Appellee, Wayne Moore, M.D.
Judge: CRAWFORD
Plaintiff filed suit against her employer for common law and statutory retaliatory discharge, violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983, tortuous interference with an employment contract, defamation, and negligence after being terminated from her position as a physician assistant. The trial court granted motions for summary judgment to all defendants. Plaintiff appeals. We affirm.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/mcleaya_100906.pdf
County Commissioner Assuming Another Elected Office
TN Attorney General Opinions
Date: 2006-10-05
Opinion Number: 06-152
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/AG/2006/ag_06-152.pdf
Vacancy in State Senate
TN Attorney General Opinions
Date: 2006-10-05
Opinion Number: 06-153
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/AG/2006/ag_06-153.pdf
Validity of Shelby County Ballot
TN Attorney General Opinions
Date: 2006-10-05
Opinion Number: 06-154
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/AG/2006/ag_06-154.pdf
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| TODAY'S NEWS |
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Legal News
Election 2006
Upcoming
TBA Member Services
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| Legal News |
| Fire in Memphis' Court Square touches law firm |
| A fire destroyed much of a nearly finished $45 million redevelopment of three historic downtown Memphis buildings on Friday but developers say the project will continue.
A portion of the Court Annex's eastern wall collapsed onto the ornate law office of Burch, Porter & Johnson. David Harris, managing partner at the law firm, said the old Tennessee Club portion of the building was open and accessible. |
Read more about the fire in the Commercial Appeal
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| Translator keeps court system moving |
| Lee Hockaday, the Davidson County criminal court system's sole full-time certified interpreter, makes sure that gaps in understanding the English language will not translate into gaps in justice. "My job is to tear down the barriers to communication, and give a person a level playing field," he said. |
Hockaday is featured in the Nashville City Paper
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| Senator halts judge pick over gay marriage |
| A Republican senator from Kansas has placed a hold on the nomination of Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Janet T. Neff, saying her presence at a 2002 Massachusetts commitment ceremony for a lesbian couple four years ago raises questions about her judicial philosophy. |
WSMV has the story
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| Memphis law firm profiled |
| The Memphis law firm of Crone & Mason began as a friendship between Alan Crone and Miles Mason. |
Read this profile of the firm in the Memphis Business Journal
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| Snub any bias in a jury |
| The Tennessean urges lawyers and juries to focus less on immigration status bias and more on the facts of the case. "If unfair judgments should occur because of prejudice in a jury, justice is the loser, not just the defendant." |
Read the editorial
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| Persistence, serendipity leads to a conviction 21 years later |
| The 21-year-old murder case of Donna Gail Goldberg was finally ended last week with the sentencing hearing for William D. Lake III. "This was in some ways like a treasure hunt," said Roger Moore, the senior assistant district attorney general who prosecuted the case with Assistant District Attorney General Debbie Housel. DNA samples from 1985 linked Lake to the case, bolstering the fingerprint evidence and witness testimony. |
The City Paper has details
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| Sumner and Carter bars elect new officers |
| The Sumner County Bar Association elected the following officers in September: David Howard, president; Loren Lassiter, vice president; William Lambert, treasurer; and Lance Wray, secretary.
The Carter County Bar Association's new officers are Jason Holly, president; and Travis Holly, treasurer.
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| Election 2006 |
| Judge tosses Union Co. vote-buying case |
| A special judge ruled today that results from the 8th District public defenders office race will stand because the complaint seeking to invalidate Martha Yoakum's election came too late.
Leif Jeffers, Yoakum's opponent in the Aug. 3 election, failed to file his complaint within a state-mandated 10-day period, Judge Bart Stanley ruled.
Jeffers' complaint centered around allegations of vote-buying in Union County by Union County Commissioner Charlie |
Read more in the Knoxville News Sentinel
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| Sells to appeal loss of election suit |
| On Friday Lillie Ann Sells sent notice to the Chancery Court in Cookeville that she will appeal a recent court decision that declared David Patterson the judge. Sells, who lost the judgeship to Patterson by 10 votes in the Aug. 3 election, filed a lawsuit contesting the election results. She lost the suit and Patterson is now serving as judge.
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The Cookeville Herald-Citizen has the story
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| Upcoming |
| Legally entertaining |
| Check out the dramatic talents of Memphis attorneys Tuesday night, Oct. 10, when the Memphis Bar Association presents "Entertaining Motions" from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Buckman Performing Arts Center, 60 Perkins Road Extended. The production is a parody of legal life featuring music and skits by and for the Memphis legal community. Call 527-3573 for more information. |
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| TBA Member Services |
| Upgrade your telecommunications |
| Save on telecommunications costs and upgrade your existing system with the TBA member benefits program from American Communications Services. ACS works with BellSouth and a verity of providers to bring you savings on telecom. |
Find out more
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