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| Friday, November 21, 2008 |
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CLE Ski at Snowmass: Great skiing, great programs
Get great skiing and great CLE all in one package. The TBA's CLE Ski returns for its 24th year with a week-long program in beautiful Snowmass, Colo., central to four remarkable ski areas: Snowmass, Aspen Highlands, Aspen Mountain and Buttermilk. Sign up now. CLE Ski will run from Jan. 31 through Feb. 7, with a total of 15 hours of CLE programming in the morning and afternoon and plenty of time during the day to conquer the slopes.
Register today or find out more
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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
05 - TN Court of Appeals
01 - TN Court of Criminal Appeals
00 - 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
open them from there. 1) 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. 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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DEBRA J. EATON v. STEPHEN G. PORTERA, M.D.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Aaron L. Thomas, Memphis, TN, for Appellant.
Christopher L. Vescovo, Memphis, TN, for Appellee.
Casey Shannon, Memphis, TN, for Appellee.
Judge: STAFFORD
This is a medical malpractice case. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Appellee doctor on grounds of insufficient service of process, and failure of Appellant patient to come forward with the required expert proof to refute the motion for summary judgment. Finding no error, we affirm.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2008/eatond_112108.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE, EX REL., MARGARET V. HICKMAN v. RONALD L. DODD
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Juan G. Villasenor, Nashville, TN, for Appellants.
Robert Kinton, Trenton, TN, for Appellee.
Thomas F. Bloom, Nashville, TN, for Appellee.
Judge: STAFFORD
This is a Title IV-D child support case. Appellee father executed a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity and a consent paternity order. After discovering that he was not the child's biological father, Appellee sought relief from both his retroactive and future child support obligations. The trial court granted Appellee's motion on the ground that he was not the biological father. The State of Tennessee seeks review of the trial court's decision. We
conclude that the trial court did not have authority to forgive Appellee's child support arrears. Moreover, Appellee has neither alleged sufficiently specific facts to challenge the voluntary acknowledgment of paternity as required under Tenn. Code. Ann. section 24-7-113, nor has he satisfied the necessary requirements of Tenn. R. Civ. P. 60.02 to gain relief from either the consent paternity order, or the order on child support entered in the chancery court. We reverse and remand.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2008/hickmanm_112108.pdf
ANNE MCLEAY v. METROPOLITAN HOSPITAL AUTHORITY
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Martin D. Holmes, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Anne McLeay.
Rita Roberts-Turner, James Earl Robinson, John Lee Kennedy, Department of Law of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, for the appellee, Metropolitan Hospital Authority.
Judge: COTTRELL
In this action for common law writ of certiorari, petitioner appeals the trial court's holdings that petitioner was justly terminated and that the de novo hearing in the trial court cured any due process flaws that may have existed in the administrative proceedings below. We affirm.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2008/mcleaya_112108.pdf
LOVIE MITCHELL, as Executrix of the Estate of Mack Mitchell, Deceased v. KINDRED HEALTHCARE OPERATING, INC., ET AL.
CORRECTION is in the caption on the first page where Lovie Mitchell is shown as Executrix instead of Executive.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
David J. Ward, Chattanooga, TN, for Appellant.
T. Ryan Malone, Chattanooga, TN, for Appellant.
Jill Jensen Thrash, Chattanooga, TN, for Appellant.
Cameron C. Jehl, Nashville, TN, for Appellee.
Deborah Truby Riordan, Nashville, TN, for Appellee.
Carey L. Acerra, Nashville, TN, for Appellee.
Brian G. Brooks, Greenbrier, AR, for Appellee.
Judge: STAFFORD
This appeal concerns the enforceability of an arbitration agreement between a nursing home and one of its patients. Although the trial court found that the patient's spouse had authority to sign the agreement under the terms of a power of attorney, the court concluded that the spouse did not
knowingly and voluntarily waive the patient's right to a jury trial. Therefore, the trial court denied the defendant's motion to compel arbitration. After reviewing the entire record, we find that the facts do not support the trial court's conclusion. Accordingly, we reverse and remand.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2008/mitchelll_CORR_112108.pdf
STEPHANIE JAN CLIFTON SOLIMA v. DAVID JOHN SOLIMA
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Kenneth James Sanney, Brentwood, Tennessee, for the appellant, David Solima.
John J. Hollins, Jr., Sarah S. Richter, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Stephanie Jan Clifton Solima.
Judge: COTTRELL
Father appeals criminal contempt conviction for failure to abide by provision in Parenting Plan Order governing summer residential time with minor son. According to Father, the Parenting Plan was ambiguous so that the length of his summer residential period with his son was unclear. Finding that the provision in the Parenting Plan Order was clear, specific, and unambiguous, we affirm Father's contempt conviction.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2008/solimas_112108.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. QUAMINE JONES
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Charles R. Curbo (on appeal) and Brett B. Stein (at trial), Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, Quamine Jones.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Deshea Dulany, Assistant Attorney General; William L. Gibbons, District Attorney General; and David Zak and Anita Spinetta, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: GLENN
The defendant, Quamine Jones, was convicted of first degree premeditated murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. He argues that the evidence of premeditation was insufficient to support his conviction for first degree murder, the indictment should have been dismissed because he was denied a preliminary hearing, the trial court erred in admitting into evidence a photograph of
the victim and testimony of a witness regarding his reluctance to testify, and the State withheld exculpatory evidence. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2008/jonesq_112108.pdf
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| TODAY'S NEWS |
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Legal News
Politics
TBA Member Services
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| Legal News |
| FDIC vote ensures safety of IOLTA deposits |
| The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation today extended the unlimited FDIC insurance coverage of its Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program to include accounts that are part of state Interest on Lawyer Trust Account programs. As a result of the action, an individual client's funds deposited in IOLTA are fully insured regardless of the amount. The vote followed efforts by the ABA, the TBA, the Tennessee Bar Foundation and other state and local bar associations and individual lawyers to persuade the FDIC that not expanding the program to include IOLTA funds would endanger the program, which provides funding for legal aid for the poor. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, was among the dozens of members of Congress who joined in urging FDIC action to insure the accounts. |
Read more about the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program and comments
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| 35 selected for TBA leadership program |
| The Tennessee Bar Association has selected a diverse group of 35 attorneys from across the state to take part in its Leadership Law program for 2009. Leadership Law, now in its sixth year, is designed to equip Tennessee lawyers with the vision, knowledge and skills necessary to serve as leaders in their profession and local communities.
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See a list of this year's Leadership Law class
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| Memphis, Nashville elect new YLD presidents |
| The Young Lawyers Divisions of both the Memphis and Nashville Bar Associations recently elected new presidents for their organizations. In
Memphis, young lawyers met last night at the Rendezvous to elect Freeman Foster with the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County. He takes over from Stacie Winkler with Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell and Berkowitz. In
Nashville, Rob Baker with the Music Row firm of Baker & Kelley was elected last week during the group's annual meeting at the Broadway Brewhouse. Emily Shouse with Waddey & Patterson is now immediate past president. |
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| Mukasey back to work after collapse |
| Attorney General Michael Mukasey was given a "clean bill of health" and went back to work today after collapsing at a late-night dinner speech. The 67-year-old Mukasey told reporters midday today that he felt "excellent" as he stepped into a van for a ride back to the Justice Department. |
Law.com has this report from the Associated Press
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| Memorial services honor lawyers lost this year |
| The Knoxville and Nashville Bar Associations this week held services recognizing local attorneys who had died this past year. The Nashville Memorial Service was held Thursday at the Downtown Presbyterian Church. Knoxville held its Memorial Service today at the Tennessee Supreme Court Courtroom there, with the Hon. Gary R. Wade leading the service and the Rev. Charles W.B. Fels providing opening and closing words. Memorial resolutions were prepared and read at each ceremony. Learn more about those honored in Knoxville and Nashville. |
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| Judge expresses reluctance to exhume body of DA |
| A Knox County judge said he will rule next month on a third petition to exhume the body of the late Knox County Attorney General Ed Dossett for a second autopsy. His comments in court today, however, suggest that he is disinclined to grant the exhumation request.
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Read more in the Knoxville News Sentinel
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| Politics |
| Knox senator eyes mayoral post |
| State Senator Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville, became the first to formally announce his candidacy to become Knox County's next mayor in 2010. An estimated 500 people showed up at Powell Auction Co. to help launch the campaign, enjoying bologna-and-cheese sandwiches, Moon Pies and RC Cola. |
Read more in the Knoxville News Sentinel
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| TBA Member Services |
| Have you activated your FedEx shipping discounts? |
TBA members are entitled to discounts on FedEx shipping. Did you know that TBA members are saving an average of $83 per quarter by utilizing their FedEx Association Advantage program discounts? Here's what some members have to say about their FedEx savings:
"Our firm took advantage of the Tennessee Bar Association FedEx discounts and saved over $200 on FedEx Express shipments last quarter alone. It's the best $200 we've ever saved," says member Bill Cameron of Cameron & Young in Cookeville. Start saving on your shipments today! For more information on how to enroll, call 1-800-923-7089 or |
visit the TBA Web site
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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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