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| Wednesday, August 20, 2008 |
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Holder to be sworn in as state's first female chief justice
Justice Janice M. Holder, the third woman in the state's history to
serve on the Supreme Court of Tennessee, will become the first woman ever to serve as its chief justice when she is sworn into office at 2 p.m. Sept. 2 at the Supreme Court Building in Nashville. She will become one of 20 women chief justices nationwide.
See the full release from the Administrative Office of the Courts
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TODAY'S OPINIONS
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VICKY JONES, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS THE DAUGHTER OF MARIE HURST, DECEASED, ALSO AS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE HEIRS OF THE ESTATE OF MARIE HURST AND/OR FOR THE USE AND BENEFIT OF THE HEIRS AND ESTATE OF MARIE HURST, DECEASED v. KINDRED HEALTHCARE OPERATING, INC. ET AL.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
F. Laurens Brock, Alix C. Michel, and Jacob C. Parker, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the appellants, Kindred Healthcare Operating, Inc. et al.
Susan Nichols Estes, Deborah Truby Riordan, and Cameron C. Jehl, Memphis, Tennessee, and Brian G. Brooks, Greenbrier, Arkansas, for the appellee, Vicky Jones.
Judge: KURTZ
We here review a trial court's denial of the defendants' motion to compel arbitration. Each defendant is alleged to have been involved in the ownership and operation of a nursing home facility at which the mother of the plaintiff was a resident prior to her death. The mother had, several years earlier, executed a general durable power of attorney naming one of her daughters as her attorney-in- fact. Later that daughter signed a letter purporting to give another of the mother's daughters certain powers. This daughter then secured the admission of their mother to the nursing facility in question here and in the admissions process signed an arbitration agreement. The defendants contend that her
signature is effective to require arbitration of the claims raised in this suit. We conclude that the signing daughter did not possess the requisite authority to enter into a binding arbitration agreement. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court's decision and remand for further proceedings.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2008/kindredhealthcare_082008.pdf
IN RE: ESTATE OF WILLIAM ANTHONY LUCY RITA CLARK, SHELBY COUNTY ASSESSOR OF PROPERTY ET AL. V. NAOMI SCHUTTE, AS ADMINISTRATRIX OF THE ESTATE OF WILLIAM ANTHONY LUCY
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Brian L. Kuhn, Shelby County Attorney, and Thomas E. Williams, Assistant County Attorney, for the appellants, Rita Clark, Shelby County Assessor of Property, and Shelby County, Tennessee.
Jerry H. Schwartz, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellee, Naomi Schutte, as Administratrix of the Estate of William Anthony Lucy.
Judge: KURTZ
The Shelby County Assessor and Shelby County moved to intervene in a probate case in order to amend a prior order previously entered adjudicating a claim made against the decedent's estate by the City of Memphis for delinquent personal property taxes. The would-be intervenors claimed as their interest in the case the possibility that the probate court's decision might be deemed preclusive in a tangentially related chancery proceeding. The probate court denied the motion to intervene and ordered that the movants pay the estate's attorney's fees. We conclude that the movants did not possess a substantial legal interest in the litigation warranting their intervention under Tenn. R. Civ. P. 24.01, and we further conclude that the probate court did not abuse its discretion in finding the motion to be untimely. Accordingly, we affirm the probate court's denial of the motion to intervene as well as its denial of a companion motion made under Tenn. R. Civ. P. 60.02. We, however, vacate its decision awarding the estate attorney's fees.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2008/lucya_082008.pdf
META-SUE JONES WOODALL v. JETHERO JACKSON WOODALL, JR.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Daniel Loyd Taylor and John N. Bean, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, Jethero Jackson Woodall, Jr.
Mitchell D. Moskovitz and Adam N. Cohen, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellee, Meta-Sue Jones Woodall.
Judge: FARMER
This appeal arises from a divorce action. The issues presented on appeal relate to the trial court's classification and division of the parties' property. We affirm.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2008/woodallm_082008.pdf
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| TODAY'S NEWS |
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Legal News
Election 2008
Upcoming
Your Practice
TBA Member Services
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| Legal News |
| Knox church shooting suspect indicted for murder |
| A Knox County grand jury indicted Jim Adkisson today on two charges of first-degree murder and six counts of attempted first-degree murder for the fatal church shooting on July 27. Adkisson, 58, has been in jail on a $1 million bond. His public defender said he plans an insanity defense. The FBI is conducting a civil-rights probe and federal charges may follow as well.
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See the Knox News Sentinel for a full report
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| Shelby County commission approves charter amendments for ballot |
| Shelby County Commissioners approved a new set of proposed charter amendments for the November ballot. This measure is for establishing five countywide offices as positions in the county charter instead of the Tennessee Constitution and a separate amendment would limit those holding these offices to no more than two consecutive terms in office. The commission has a third reading of the amendments planned and a deadline of Sept. 5 to submit the proposal to the Shelby County Election Commission for the Nov. 4 election. |
See the Memphis Daily News for more
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| AARP sued for age discrimination |
| The American Association of Retired Persons is being accused of age discrimination by a 63-year-old former employee. Bonita Brady says she received excellent job reviews but the company passed her over for a series of jobs because she was too old. She sued in federal court in Michigan and is seeking more than $25,000. |
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| Election 2008 |
| State has lower voter turnout than national average |
| About 30 percent of eligible voters participated in the primaries nationally but only about 26 percent of Tennessee's voted in the state's Feb. 5 primary. However, a new study by the Pew Center on the States shows that early voting was more popular in Tennessee than most other states, coming in only second behind Texas.
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The Times Free Press has the story
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| Upcoming |
| Investiture ceremony set for Court of Appeals Judge J. Steven Stafford |
| Gov. Phil Bredesen will administer the oath of office to Court of
Appeals Judge J. Steven Stafford during a formal investiture ceremony at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 12 in the Lannom Center, 2000 Commerce Ave., Dyersburg. The governor appointed Stafford to the appellate court in June. From 1993 until his appointment to the Court of Appeals, he served as chancellor for the 29th Judicial District, including Dyer and Lake counties. |
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| Your Practice |
| Law firm revenue at slowest pace in many years |
| Continued law firm expansion in the U.S. combined with a tough economy is bringing about quite a slump in profits for law firms. The first half of 2008 saw a drop of 9 percent in average profit per equity partner, according to Dan DiPietro, author of "Bumpy -- and Slow -- Ride for Law Firms Through 2008," which is featured |
on today's AmLaw Daily
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| TBA Member Services |
| Avis benefits 'try harder' |
| TBA members are offered a rental car discount through Avis. Enroll in the Avis Preferred Service at www.avisawards.com to bypass the rental counter and go directly to your car for a faster, easier rental experience. Enter code AWD# A570100.
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About this publication: Today's News is a compilation of digests of news reports of interest to Tennessee lawyers compiled by TBA staff, links to digested press releases, and occasional stories about the TBA and other activities written by the TBA staff or members. Statements or opinions herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Tennessee Bar Association, its officers, board or staff.
© Copyright 2008 Tennessee Bar Association
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