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Thursday, March 10, 2011

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Tort revision hearings set

The House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee charged with reviewing bills to change Tennessee's tort system has set hearings on the Gov. Haslam's "Civil Justice Act" (SB1522, HB2008). The March 23 session will allow groups interested in the legislation -- both pro and con -- to testify. Committee Chair Eric Watson (R-Cleveland) has said he hopes and expects that the panel can discuss and vote on the measure at its March 30 meeting.

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
01 - TN Worker's Comp Appeals
00 - TN Supreme Court - Rules
03 - TN Court of Appeals
03 - 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.

JIMMY RANKIN v. EVERYBODY'S OIL CORPORATION d/b/a QUICK TIRE/TIRE BARN, ET AL.

Court: TWCA

Attorneys:

Nicholas S. Akins, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Zenith Insurance Company.

J. Eddie Lauderback, Johnson City, Tennessee, for the appellee, FCCI Insurance Group

Judge: BLACKWOOD

Pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 51, this workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel for a hearing and a report of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The employee sustained a work-related injury in September 2007, but medical treatment was not offered by the employer at that time. He continued to work for several months despite his injury. In March 2008, his employer sent him to a physician. He was diagnosed with a significant spinal injury, which required surgical treatment and resulted in severe disability. His employer had changed its workers' compensation insurer in November 2007. Employee's claim was settled, but the two insurers disagreed as to which was liable. The trial court found that the insurer at the time of the original injury was liable. That insurer has appealed, contending that the later insurer should be liable due to the gradual worsening of the employee's condition after November 2007. We affirm the judgment.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC_WCP/2011/rankinj_031011.pdf

TAWANNA CURRIE v. HAYWOOD COUNTY, TENNESSEE

Court: TCA

Attorneys:

James I. Pentecost, William B. Mauldin, Jackson, Tennessee, for the appellant, Haywood County, Tennessee

Christopher L. Taylor, Jackson, Tennessee, for the appellee, Tawanna Currie

Judge: HIGHERS

Plaintiff sued Haywood County and a Haywood County sheriff's deputy after she was sexually harassed by the deputy. Following a bench trial, the trial court entered judgment in favor of the Plaintiff against Haywood County and against the deputy. Haywood County appeals, challenging the finding of liability and the amount of damages awarded against it. We affirm.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/curriet_031011.pdf

IN RE: DAMON G. and ROSA G.

Court: TCA

Attorneys:

Vanedda Prince Webb, Dyersburg, Tennessee, for the appellant, Beverly G.

Matthew W. Willis, Dyersburg, Tennessee, for the appellant, Damon G.

Lanis L. Karnes, Jackson, Tennessee, for the appellees, Nathan Runions and Lisa Runions.

Judge: FARMER

The trial court terminated the parental rights of Mother and Father on the grounds of abandonment and persistence of conditions, and upon finding that termination was in the best interests of the children. We affirm.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/damong_031011.pdf

VISUVALINGAM VILVARAJAH, M.D. v. TENNESSEE BOARD OF MEDICAL EXAMINERS

Court: TCA

Attorneys:

Frank J. Scanlon, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Visuvalingam Vilvarajah, M. D.

Sue Ann Sheldon, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners.

Judge: DINKINS

Physician appeals Chancery Court decision affirming his summary suspension of his license to practice medicine on the basis of his conviction in the State of Kentucky for facilitation to traffic in controlled substances. We affirm the Chancery Court judgment and the summary suspension of the physician's license.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/vilvarajahv_031011.pdf

DOUGLAS BORUFF v. STATE OF TENNESSEE

Court: TCCA

Attorneys:

Douglas Boruff, pro se.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Lacy Wilbur, Assistant Attorney General; and Michael L. Flynn, District Attorney General; for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: OGLE

The appellant, Douglas Boruff, appeals the Blount County Circuit Court's denial of his motion to discharge a fine that the trial court imposed as part of his punishment for a prior conviction. Based upon the record and the parties' briefs, the appellant's appeal is dismissed.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/boruffd_031011.pdf

STATE OF TENNESSEE v. SCOTTY MACK GRIFFITH

Court: TCCA

Attorneys:

J. Liddell Kirk, Knoxville, Tennessee (on appeal), and Mack Garner, District Public Defender (at trial), for the appellant, Scotty Mack Griffith.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Matthew Bryant Haskell, Assistant Attorney General; Mike Flynn, District Attorney General; and Andrew Watts, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: TIPTON

The Defendant, Scotty Mack Griffith, pled guilty to promotion of the manufacture of methamphetamine, a Class D felony, and to possession of methamphetamine, a Class A misdemeanor. See T.C.A. sections 39-17-433, 39-17-418 (2010). He was sentenced as a Range II, multiple offender to six years' confinement for the promotion conviction and to eleven months, twenty-nine days' confinement for the possession conviction, to be served concurrently. On appeal, he contends that the trial court erred by imposing a sentence of full confinement. We affirm the judgments of the trial court.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/griffiths_031011.pdf

KENNETH ALAN STEELE v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
With Concurring Opinion

Court: TCCA

Attorneys:

Benjamin L. McGowan, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the appellant, Kenneth Alan Steele.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Rachel E. Willis, Assistant Attorney General; William H. Cox, III, District Attorney General; and Neal Pinkston, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge: OGLE

The Petitioner, Kenneth Alan Steele, filed a petition for a writ of error coram nobis, alleging that because of newly discovered DNA evidence, his convictions should be vacated and/or he should be granted a new trial to present evidence of a third-party perpetrator. On appeal, the Petitioner argues that the trial court erred by dismissing his petition without a hearing and that it applied the wrong standard in making its ruling. We agree that the trial court used the wrong standard; nevertheless, we conclude that the trial court did not err in dismissing the petition. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/steelek_031011.pdf

WITT concurring
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/steelek_CON_031011.pdf

TODAY'S NEWS

Legal News
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Tenn. Supreme Court
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Legal News

Baumgartner pleads guilty to official misconduct, resigns

Knox County Criminal Court Judge Richard Baumgartner entered a guilty plea this morning to one count of official misconduct, and agreed to step down from the bench immediately. Prosecutors say Baumgartner bought percoset, roxycodone, hydrocodone, and cyboxin from a convicted felon who had appeared in his courtroom. As part of his statement, Baumgartner said, "I have had numerous medical and surgical proceedures causing pain and discomfort that would, at least in part, be alleviated by prescription pain medication."

"Addiction is a cunning, baffling, and powerful disease and one from which I suffer. I say this not as an excuse but rather as an explanation."

WBIR.com has more on the story

Court seeks comment on 2 rules amendments

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Wednesday called for comments on two proposed amendments to Tennessee Supreme Court Rules. The court orders seek comments on:

-- A proposed amendment to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, section 1.3 that governs the procedure for judicial review of the judgment of a hearing panel of the Board of Professional Responsibility. The court is considering an amendment to section 1.3 and related amendments to sections 8.3, 13.7, and 16.1. Comments are due by April 8. Read the proposed amendments in the order's appendix.
-- A proposal to amend Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 7, section 14.01 that governs the procedure for seeking this court's review of any action of the Board of Law Examiners, Comments are due by April 8. Read the proposed amendments in the order

Court adopts amendment to Rule 12

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Wednesday issued an order to amend Rule 12 of the Tennessee Supreme Court dealing with the required report that trial judges file when a defendant is convicted of first-degree murder. The amendment brings language in the report into agreement with changes brought to the Tennessee Code Annotated by Public Chapter 734. Specifically, the amendment replaces the term "mental retardation" with the term "intellectual disability" and the term "was mentally retarded" with the term "had intellectual disability."

Read the court order

Opinion: Tenn. malpractice awards fair, reasonable

Nashville lawyer Daniel Clayton picks apart arguments being made for limits to jury awards in an opinion piece published in today's Tennessean. While the Center for Policy Research has campaigned for its tort revision initiative with claims that there is a growing trend toward large jury awards, Clayton writes that the number of lawsuits filed in Tennessee last year was actually lower than any year over the past five years and that only 384 lawsuits were tried last year as compared to more than 1,000 a decade ago.

Read the full opinion piece in the Tennessean

Tennessee gets $1.5 million share in pharmaceuticals case

Tennessee will receive more than $1.5 million in a multi-state agreement resolving improper marketing allegations. The complaint, filed today along with the agreement, alleges that AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP and AstraZeneca LP engaged in unfair and deceptive practices when they marketed their antipsychotic drug Seroquel for unapproved or off-label uses.

UM law team earns high honors at national competition

The University of Memphis Law School Bankruptcy Moot Court Team claimed a third place finish and honorable mention for Best Brief this past weekend in the 19th Annual Duberstein Moot Court Competition hosted by St. John's University and the American Bankruptcy Institute. The team -- sponsored by the MBA Bankruptcy Section and coached by attorney Mark Wright -- is made up of Lauren Siegel, Randall Noel, Bill O'Connor and Jennifer Sutch. Their finish in the 48-team field was the highest recorded by the school.

Twitter posts to be part of defense in MTSU killing

Postings on the Twitter social media site may become evidence in the case of slain MTSU basketball player Tina Stewart. Attorney Joe Brandon Jr. filed a motion Wednesday asking that all electronic pages and postings by Stewart be preserved as proof that Shanterrica Madden is not guilty of first-degree murder in Stewart's March 2 stabbing death.