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ABA President-elect Tommy Wells to visit Nashville
Tommy Wells, president-elect of the American Bar Association, will visit Nashville on Nov. 7, at the invitation of Lipscomb University's Law, Justice and Society program. Wells' visit will provide lawyers several opportunities to engage with the organized bar. Events include a conference on plumbing the leaks in the diversity pipeline, a luncheon featuring an address by Wells on the core values of the profession, and a reception honoring Wells at the Tennessee Bar Center. For more information or to register for any of these events visit:
http://www.tba.org/events/wellsvisit_110707.html
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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 or to obtain a text version of each opinion, 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 the TBA's Membership Central.
00 - TN Supreme Court
00 - TN Worker's Comp Appeals
00 - TN Supreme Court - Rules
03 - TN Court of Appeals
00 - TN Court of Criminal Appeals
03 - TN Attorney General Opinions
00 - Judicial Ethics Opinions
00 - Formal Ethics Opinions - BPR
You can obtain full-text versions of the opinions two ways. We recommend that you download the Opinions to your computer and then
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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. 2) 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.
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MARY LOU GAMMO v. RICHARD ROLEN, ET AL.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Mark D. Edmonds, Jonesborough, Tennessee, for the Appellant, Mary Lou Gammo.
Thomas C. Jessee, Johnson City, Tennessee, for the Appellees, Richard Rolen and Lisa J. Rolen.
Judge: SWINEY
Mary Lou Gammo sued her neighbors, Richard and Lisa Rolen, seeking removal of a fence the Rolens erected which prevented Ms. Gammo from using an alley located on the Rolens' property. Ms. Gammo alleged that language in a deed in her chain of title granted an easement for use of the alley or, in the alternative, that she and her predecessors in title had established an easement by
prescription. A Special Master heard evidence and concluded that there was no easement in favor
of Ms. Gammo over the Rolens' property. The Trial Court adopted the findings of the Special Master and dismissed Ms. Gammo's complaint. After careful review, we hold that the language in the deed in Ms. Gammo's chain of title which identified the boundary of her property with "an iron
pin in an alley or driveway which affords an outlet from the Lot hereinabove described to New Street" created an easement appurtenant for use of the Rolens' alley because the lots now owned by Ms. Gammo and the Rolens were held by a common grantor when this deed was executed. We affirm the Trial Court's ruling that Ms. Gammo did not prove the existence of a prescriptive easement. Affirmed in part and reversed in part.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2007/gammo_102407.pdf
IN RE ESTATE OF WILLIAM JOE POWELL, DECEASED
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Philip C. Kelly and Gwynn K. Smith, Gallatin, Tennessee, for the appellant, Sharon Ann Powell Parks.
Mitzi Samples and J. Christopher Clem, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the appellees, Joseph Brentley Powell and Mitzi P. Samples.
Judge: LEE
The decedent executed a will in 2001 and a second will in 2004. The decedent made handwritten alterations to the 2001 will at some time subsequent to its execution. After the decedent died, the 2004 will could not be located, and the 2001 will was presented for probate. The trial court ruled that the 2001 will was revoked by the 2004 will and that the decedent died intestate. We reverse the
judgment of the trial court because there was no proof that the terms of the two wills were inconsistent or that the 2004 will contained a clause revoking the earlier will. Further, we remand for a determination as to whether the decedent intended to revive the 2001 will and if so, the effect of the decedent's markings on such will.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2007/powellj_102407.pdf
ROMMIE DELEE STONE, JR. v. CATHY (STONE) CRAWFORD
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Jerrold L. Becker, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the Appellant, Rommie Delee Stone, Jr.
Douglas R. Beier, Morristown, Tennessee, for the Appellee, Cathy (Stone) Crawford.
Judge: SWINEY
Cathy (Stone) Crawford ("Mother") and Rommie Delee Stone, Jr. ("Father") were divorced in 2002. Mother and Father have a son who is seven years old. Following the divorce, the parties operated under a residential co-parenting schedule which essentially split each party's co-parenting time on an equal basis, although Mother was designated as the primary residential parent. In 2005, Mother filed a petition to modify the parenting plan claiming, among other things, that the current schedule no longer worked once the child began school. Following a trial, the Trial Court concluded that a material change in circumstances had been proven such that it was appropriate and in the child's best interest to modify the existing residential parenting schedule by limiting Fathers' residential time with the child. Father appeals. We modify the judgment, affirm the judgment of the Trial Court as modified, and remand for further proceedings consistent with this Opinion.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2007/stoner_102407.pdf
Rutherford County Reader as Newspaper and/or Newspaper of General Circulation
TN Attorney General Opinions
Date: 2007-10-19
Opinion Number: 07-146
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/AG/2007/ag_07_146.pdf
Private Act Environmental Court
TN Attorney General Opinions
Date: 2007-10-19
Opinion Number: 07-147
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/AG/2007/ag_07_147.pdf
Tennessee Handgun Carry Permit Laws
TN Attorney General Opinions
Date: 2007-10-22
Opinion Number: 07-148
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/AG/2007/ag_07_148.pdf
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| TODAY'S NEWS |
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Legal News
Legislative News
Upcoming
Disciplinary Actions
TBA Member Services
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| Legal News |
| Birch joins Tennessee State faculty |
| Tennessee State University has named former state Supreme Court Justice Adolpho A. Birch Jr. as the distinguished chair in law, justice and policy at the school's Institute of Government. Birch, the Tennessean reports, will assume the position on Nov. 1 and will conduct public lectures, teach, advise pre-law students and participate in special projects.
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| DOJ: school board violated desegregation order |
| The U.S. Department of Justice has informed the Fayette County Board of Education that it likely violated a federal desegregation order when it built East and West Junior High schools in 2001 and 2002. The department's lawyer researching the case promised to provide a report of her findings, which Director of Schools Myles Wilson said he would release publicly.
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The Fayette County Review reports
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| New title, old job for Dedrick |
| He's done the work, and now, after repeated stints as "acting" U.S. Attorney, Russ Dedrick has finally landed the job. The News Sentinel recently sat down with Dedrick for an interview.
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Read about it
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| Shattuck will not run again |
| Friends and colleagues gathered Tuesday to honor Hamilton County General Sessions Judge Clarence Shattuck, who recently surpassed 25 years on the bench. Shattuck has announced that he will not seek re-election when his term expires in 2014, and yesterday he hinted that retirement may come sooner than that.
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The Times Free Press looks at his tenure
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| County attorney faces personal legal woes |
| The attorney elected to handle Roane County's legal matters is facing his own legal woes on several fronts in the midst of his third four-year term in office. Tom McFarland is the focus of several recent allegations of wrongdoing, including making degrading, lurid comments to employees; abusing his wife; and assaulting another man.
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The News Sentinel has the story
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| Williamson sheriff pleads not guilty to criminal charges |
| Williamson County Sheriff Ricky Headley pleaded not guilty to four charges of official misconduct yesterday morning. Today, he faces arraignment on 33 criminal counts in Davidson County, and was expected to plead not guilty to those as well. Headley is accused of using fraudulent prescriptions at a Nashville pharmacy.
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Read more in the Tennessean
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| Hamilton County names judicial commissioners |
| Hamilton County Commissioners today chose Yolanda Mitchell as the chief judicial commissioner and Larry Ables, Bob Meeks and Marty Lasley as regular judicial commissioners. |
Read more in the Chattanoogan.com
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| Legislative News |
| Panel suggests quorum requirement |
| The subcommittee looking at proposed changes to the state's sunshine law voted yesterday to limit the law's application to government meetings involving at least a quorum of members. Currently, any meeting of two or more city council or county commission members can be subject to the law. The subcommittee also recommended that civil penalties be imposed for the first time for violations of the law. The proposals now go to the full Open Government Study Committee for possible presentation to the General Assembly.
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The News Sentinel has the story
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| Upcoming |
| Seminar on retirement plan laws comes to Nashville |
| The U.S. Department of Labor will sponsor a free compliance assistance seminar on Oct. 30, at the Willis Conference Center in Nashville. The event, which will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., is part of the department's national education campaign to increase awareness and understanding of the basic responsibilities associated with operating private sector retirement plans. To RSVP contact Pat Humphlett at (202) 693-8660 or humphlett.patricia@dol.gov |
For more information visit the department's web site
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| Disciplinary Actions |
| Two attorneys reinstated |
| Pamela Gail Vawter of Nashville and Daniel Ray Woodlief Jr. of Germantown have been reinstated to the practice of law in Tennessee after paying the annual BPR fee.
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View all attorneys suspended and reinstated for 2007 fee violations
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| TBA Member Services |
| Student loans at low rates through SunTrust |
| The TBA and SunTrust Bank now have a Partnership Program to help alleviate the burden of student loans. Members and their families can consolidate their federal student loans at a special low fixed rate - right now as low as 5.375 percent. In addition, those with consolidation loans greater than $10,000 are eligible to reduce their interest rate by another 1.5 percent for on-time payments and automatic debit payments. |
Learn more
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