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Court begins AG candidate interviews this week
The Tennessee Supreme Court will convene Thursday at 9 a.m. to conduct a public hearing with the 14 candidates who have applied for the position of Tennessee attorney general and reporter. Personal interviews, which are not open to the public, will begin at 2 p.m. that day for eastern and western grand division candidates. Interviews for applicants in the middle grand division will take place on Friday, Oct 13 at 9 a.m. According to the court's spokesperson, a final decision may or may not be made on Friday. Download the hearing and interview schedule:
http://www.tba2.org/tbatoday/news/2006/ag_interviews_101006.pdf
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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
00 - TN Worker's Comp Appeals
00 - TN Supreme Court - Rules
05 - TN Court of Appeals
03 - TN Court of Criminal Appeals
00 - 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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DIAGNOSTIC CENTER and DIAGNOSTIC ASSOCIATES OF CHATTANOOGA v. STEVEN B. STUBBLEFIELD, M.D., P.C., and STEVEN B. STUBBLEFIELD TRUST
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
John P. Konvalinka, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for appellants.
W. Randall Wilson, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for appellees.
Judge: FRANKS
The Arbitrator filed a Report with the Trial Court during the time this Court had stayed the Trial Cour's proceedings. After the stay was lifted the Trial Court approved the Arbitrator's award. Appellants argue the stay rendered the award void. We affirm the Trial Court's Judgment.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/diagnostic_101006.pdf
MARY JOE EARL HEADRICK v. WILLIAM H. HEADRICK, JR.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Ronald L. Grimm, and Mary L. Abbott, Knoxville, Tennessee, for appellant.
Terry G. Vann, Lenoir City, Tennessee, for appellee.
Judge: FRANKS
In this divorce case, the Trial Court granted the wife a divorce, awarded the wife separate property and divided what was determined to be marital property. The husband appealed and we affirm the Trial Court's Judgment as modified.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/headrickm_101006.pdf
EARL INGRAM AND CHRISTA INGRAM v. CENDANT MOBILITY FINANCIAL CORPORATION, CASSANDRA LEE DEES, AND JOHN L. DEES, JR., AND UNDERWOOD HOME INSPECTION
Corrected Opinion
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Matthew J. Evans and John W. Elder, Knoxville, Tennessee, for appellants.
Ailsa Peppel Schuller, and Lars E. Schuller, Knoxville, Tennessee, for appellee.
Judge: FRANKS
Plaintiffs, house purchasers, sued defendant, seller, for breach of contract, negligent and fraudulent concealment, negligence, wilful and negligent misrepresentation, and violations of the Consumer Protection Act on the grounds the house was subject to flooding. The Trial Court granted summary judgment. We affirm.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/ingrame_corr101006.pdf
JOHN JUDE v. FRED K. RIDDLE, ET AL.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Jerred A. Creasey, Dickson, Tennessee, for the appellants, Fred K. Riddle and Sweet Home Builders, Inc.
Joseph L. Lackey, Jr., Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, John Jude.
Judge: CAIN
In this appeal, landowner sued builder alleging that the parties had entered into a partnership and an oral contract to construct a house on property belonging to landowner. Landowner claimed that builder failed to pay him the total consideration for the sale of the land after landowner deeded the property to builder and that builder failed to equally divide the profits from the sale of the improved
property once the house was sold. Builder denied the existence of a partnership and oral contract, alleged that the lot had been paid for in full, and claimed that landowner had no interest in the property or the proceeds from the sale of the improved property. The trial court found that a partnership and oral contract existed between the parties and awarded landowner the balance on the
sale of the land and one-half of the profits from the sale of the improved property. We affirm the judgment of the trial court in all respects.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/judej_101006.pdf
PHEBE M. WATERMAN v. PETER HELGE DAMP, M.D., ET AL.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Richard L. Duncan and Cary L. Bauer, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Phebe M. Waterman.
Wendy Lynne Longmire and Julie Bhattacharya, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Peter H. Damp, M.D.
Mary Martin Schaffner, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, St. Thomas Hospital.
Judge: CAIN
This appeal comes from the trial court's summary judgment grant in favor of the defendants in a malpractice case. The appellant challenges the trial court's finding that, since the experts she proffered did not offer satisfactory testimony on the statutory "locality rule," she failed to present
a prima facie case under the state's malpractice statute. See Tenn. Code Ann. Section 29-26-115. We hold that, despite the infirmities in the plaintiff's proffered experts, the deposition testimony of the defendant doctor was sufficient to demonstrate a genuine issue of material fact as to the standard of care, and the affidavit of the plaintiff's expert Dr. Childs was sufficient proof of causation to
preclude summary judgment. Therefore, the grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendant
doctor is reversed. We also conclude that the undisputed facts in the record demonstrate that the
summary judgment in favor of the defendant hospital was appropriate and affirm that portion of the trial court's ruling. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded for trial on the merits as to the claim against the defendant doctor.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2006/watermanp_101006.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JERRY BELL
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Robert Wilson Jones, Shelby County Public Defender; and Garland Ergüden, Assistant Public Defender, for the appellant, Jerry Bell.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Benjamin A. Ball, Assistant Attorney General; William L. Gibbons, District Attorney General; and Ray Lepone, Assistant District Attorney
General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WELLES
Following a jury trial, the Defendant, Jerry Bell, was convicted of two counts of aggravated robbery, one count of aggravated burglary, one count of aggravated assault, and one count of possession of a deadly weapon with the intent to employ it in the commission of aggravated robbery. On appeal, the Defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions because the State
failed to prove his identity beyond a reasonable doubt. We conclude that the evidence is sufficient to support his convictions but that the convictions for both aggravated robbery and possession of a deadly weapon violate double jeopardy protections. The Defendant's conviction for possession of a deadly weapon is dismissed. The Defendant's remaining convictions and sentences are affirmed. We remand solely for the entry of an appropriate judgment consistent with this opinion.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2006/bellj_101006.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. RONALD CLINTON
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Robert Wilson Jones, District Public Defender; Garland Erguden, Assistant Public Defender; and Constance Barnes, Assistant Public Defender, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, Ronald Clinton.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Sofia S. Lee, Assistant Attorney General; William L. Gibbons, District Attorney General; and Stacy McEndree, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, the State of Tennessee.
Judge: WOODALL
Following a jury trial, Defendant, Ronald Clinton, was convicted of one count of the unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, a Class A misdemeanor; one count of evading arrest, a Class E felony; and one count of simple assault, a Class A misdemeanor. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced Defendant to eleven months, twenty-nine days for each misdemeanor conviction, and six
years as a Range III, career offender, for his felony conviction, and ordered the sentences to be served consecutively. Defendant does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his assault conviction, or the length or manner of service of his sentences. In his appeal, Defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions for the unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and felony evading arrest. After a thorough review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2006/clintonr_101006.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JOHN LIDDELL
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Robert Wilson Jones, District Public Defender; Tony N. Brayton, Assistant Public Defender; Jennifer Johnson, Assistant Public Defender; and Kathy Kent, Assistant Public Defender, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, John Liddell.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Blind Akrawi, Assistant Attorney General; William L. Gibbons, District Attorney General; Stephen Jones, Assistant District Attorney General; and Greg Gilbert, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, the State of Tennessee.
Judge: WOODALL
Following a jury trial, Defendant, John Liddell, was convicted of two counts of theft of property valued at $500 or less, a Class A misdemeanor; one count of the aggravated assault of Robert Bolinger, a Class C felony; and one count of the aggravated assault of Cheffie Hurt, a Class C felony.
The trial court sentenced Defendant to concurrent sentences of thirteen years as a Range III, persistent offender for each felony conviction, and eleven months, twenty-nine days for each misdemeanor conviction, for an effective sentence of thirteen years. Defendant does not appeal the length of his sentences or the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his theft convictions. In his appeal, Defendant argues that the evidence is insufficient to support his two convictions of aggravated assault. After a thorough review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2006/liddellj_101006.pdf
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| TODAY'S NEWS |
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Legal News
Election 2006
TBA Member Services
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| Legal News |
| Bar exam results coming Friday |
| Results from the July Tennessee bar exam will be available Friday on the TBA Link Web site. Results will be posted as soon as they are released by the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners, usually just after noon.
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| Davidson County courts praised for inclusiveness |
| In an editorial today, the Nashville City Paper writes that metro leaders need to take a lesson from Davidson County officials, who appear to have accepted that the area's non-English speaking population is rapidly growing and not likely to slow down. The paper praises the county justice system for ensuring that all defendants have quick and easy access to interpreters and cautions that English-only proposals can be an obstacle to justice.
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Read the opinion piece
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| Some question timing of Frist courthouse naming |
| Some are questioning the timing of a U.S. Senate amendment that would name a new federal courthouse in Nashville in honor of retiring Majority Leader Bill Frist. The current federal building in Nashville is named for former U.S. Sen. Estes Kefauver, a Democrat.
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Read the AP story in the Oak Ridger
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| Anderson bar elects new officers |
| The Anderson County Bar Association has elected new officers for the bar year. President is Mary Lyn Goodman with the Legal Aid Society in Oak Ridge. Vice President is Michael R. Kelley of Fox and Farley in Clinton. Secretary and Treasurer is William A. Allen of Mostoller, Stulberg & Whitfield in Oak Ridge.
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| First Lady to honor Knox County program |
| First Lady Laura Bush will be in Knoxville tomorrow afternoon to visit the Knox County Public Defender Community Law Office and promote its program "Communication Through Art," which offers educational activities to help at-risk youth avoid delinquent behavior. The program was selected by Helping America's Youth, an initiative of the First Lady's that is designed to raise awareness about the challenges facing America's young people. The Knox program will be highlighted for its effectiveness in using art as a medium for productive personal expression.
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| UT Law hosts admission workshop |
| The University of Tennessee College of Law will host a law school admission workshop and recruitment fair tomorrow, Oct. 11. The program will begin with a workshop on how to prepare for law school as an undergraduate, the law school admission process, the LSAT and financing a legal education. Later in the day, admissions representatives from several law schools in the southeast will be on campus to discuss their programs. For more information, call the UT College of Law Admissions Office at (865) 974-4131.
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| Election 2006 |
| Wanted: Copies of judicial campaign ads |
| Copies of judicial campaign ads are wanted for research on the 2006 campaigns. Send paper copies, electronic files or tapes of campaign ads to the Judicial Campaign Ethics Committee or to Lucian Pera, Brinkley Plaza, 80 Monroe Ave., Suite 700, Memphis, TN 38103. |
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| TBA Member Services |
| Program offers savings on auto insurance |
| See how being a member of the TBA could help you save 8 percent on car insurance.
GEICO offers 24-hour sales, service and claims. Call GEICO at 1-800-368-2734.
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Or get an Online Rate Quote
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