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| Wednesday, April 06, 2011 |
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Subcommittee approves amended tort revision bill
The Tennessee House Judiciary Subcommittee got down to work today on tort law changes, adopting a new administration amendment that rewrites the bill, and referring the amended legislation to the full committee. The latest iteration of the "Civil Justice Act" removes references to changing collateral source rule, lowers the catastrophic cap from $1.25 million to $1 million, removes the cap altogether for certain intentional torts, and adopts a statutory comparative fault provision.
Download a copy of the amendment
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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.
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00 - TN Attorney General Opinions
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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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CUMBERLAND PROPERTIES, LLC v. RAVENWOOD CLUB, INC., ET AL.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Samuel T. Bowman and William A. Lewis, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellants, Ravenwood Club, Inc. and Ravenwood Country Club, LLC.
Kemper Harlan Dodson, III, Donald N. Capparella, Kristen B. Amonette, and Candi Renee Henry, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Cumberland Properties, LLC.
Judge: STAFFORD
This is a contract case. Appellant, a Nashville Country Club, hired Appellee, a real estate development and consulting firm, to help the Club procure the best price available for the
sale of its real property. Appellee claimed that it was due fees under the parties' written agreement. Following a hearing, the trial court entered judgment in favor of Appellee.
Appellant appeals, arguing that: (1) the parties' contract was not supported by adequate consideration; (2) the parties' contract was void as against public policy based upon
Appellants' allegation that Appellee was acting as a broker; (3) the trial court erred in allowing parol evidence and in its interpretation of the terms of the parties' agreement; and
(4) the trial court erred in calculating Appellee's damages. Discerning no error, we affirm and remand for determination of Appellee's reasonable attorney's fees and costs in defending
this appeal. Affirmed and remanded.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/cumberlandprop_040611.pdf
ROBERT A. STOLZE v. JANET F. STOLZE
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Ben Hall McFarlin, III, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, for the appellant, Robert A. Stolze.
Andrew M. Cate, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Janet F. Stolze.
Judge: DINKINS
In this divorce action, Husband appeals trial court's award of alimony to Wife, grounds for divorce, and overall division of marital assets. Finding that the trial court did not abuse its
discretion in the nature or amount of alimony awarded, grounds for divorce, or the overall division of marital assets, the judgment is affirmed.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/stolzer_040611.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. TIMOTHY LEBRON ARNOLD
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Robin Ruben Flores, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the appellant, Timothy Lebron Arnold.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Sophia S. Lee, Assistant Attorney General; William H. Cox, III, District Attorney General; and Cameron B. Williams, Assistant
District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: THOMAS
The Defendant, Timothy Lebron Arnold, was indicted for especially aggravated robbery, a Class A felony, but pled guilty to robbery, a Class C felony, and received a sentence of five years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. In this appeal as of right, the Defendant contends that the trial court erred in permitting testimony from an officer at the sentencing hearing; that the trial court erred in setting the length of his sentence; and that the trial court erred in denying alternative sentencing. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/arnoldt_040611.pdf
WARREN FOWLER v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Albert J. Newman, Jr., Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Warren Fowler.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Matthew Bryant Haskell, Assistant Attorney General; Randall Eugene Nichols, District Attorney General; and Leslie Nassios,
Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: THOMAS
The Petitioner, Warren Fowler, appeals as of right from the Knox County Criminal Court's denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. The Petitioner pled guilty to attempted first degree murder and especially aggravated kidnapping, both Class A felonies, and received concurrent sentences of 20 years. The Petitioner challenges the performance of trial counsel and the voluntariness of his guilty plea. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of
the post-conviction court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/fowlerw_040611.pdf
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| TODAY'S NEWS |
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TBA Member Services
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| Legal News |
| Bench-Bar Commission wants your input |
| The Tennessee Judicial Conference's Bench-Bar Commission is asking lawyers to take part in a survey to help it shape recommendations that will improve the overall efficiency of the courts. The online survey, which should take five to 10 minutes to complete, must be submitted by April 25.
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Access the survey now
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| Ethics opinion addresses drug court recusal |
| The Judicial Ethics Committee has released an advisory opinion on whether a judge who is part of a drug court team can preside over a revocation hearing for a defendant who is in the drug court program. The opinion concludes that serving as a member of a drug court team does not in and of itself require recusal, but that recusal is required if the judge determines his involvement would raise the appearance of impartiality.
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Download the opinion here
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| Memphis lawyer accused of running 'shadow' practice |
| The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports today that a Memphis attorney made more than $300,000 in legal fees on the side by secretly using his firm's personnel and resources to operate a "shadow" practice for his personal use. The claim against attorney B. J. Wade and paralegal Shannon Crowe are outlined in a suit filed by the firm formerly known as Glassman, Edwards, Wade & Wyatt PC. The firm, now Glassman, Edwards, Wyatt, Tuttle & Cox PC, learned of the situation after a client of Wade's contacted the firm about a billing issue. |
Read the story here
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| Legal Aid Society receives $5,000 ABA grant |
| The American Bar Association has awarded a $5,000 grant to the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands. The grant, which requires a $5,000 match, will be used to develop a planned giving program. |
WRCB TV has this Associated Press story
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| Wisconsin court race impacted by union fight |
| The race between a conservative-leaning Wisconsin Supreme Court justice and a little-known challenger was too close to call this morning, but unofficial returns showed Justice David Prosser and his opponent JoAnne Kloppenburg separated by fewer than 600 votes. Kloppenburg faced an up-hill battle in taking on the sitting justice, but anger over the governor's collective bargaining law appears to have energized voters to support a more liberal candidate. The race has set a new record for spending on a Supreme Court seat in the state. As of Monday, spending had reached $3.5 million.
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WKRN TV has the story
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| General Assembly News |
| Residential lending bill takes shape |
| A TBA-backed bill to broaden the exemptions in the law requiring licensure of mortgage brokers cleared its first legislative hurdle today. The bill, SB1158/HB758, as amended, restores owner-financing and attorney exemptions in the Residential Lending Brokerage and Servicing Act and adopts other common sense changes. The TBA's Real Estate Law Section recommended the changes.
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| Sen. Herron injured after biking accident |
| Tennessee state Sen. Roy Herron, D-Dresden, crashed his bicycle while training for a triathlon Sunday and went to the hospital with a broken collarbone, broken ribs and a partially collapsed lung. He was released on Monday and went home to Dresden to recuperate. He hoped to return to Nashville today. |
The Times Free Press reports
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| Tenn. Supreme Court |
| Court to hear priest abuse case |
| The Tennessee Supreme Court will be in Jackson Thursday to hear a civil case involving allegations of child sexual abuse by a Catholic priest. The case alleges that the Memphis Catholic Diocese knew or should have known that the priest was "a dangerous sexual predator with a depraved sexual interest in young boys." The case will test whether the plaintiff still has standing to bring the suit or if the statute of limitations has run.
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The Memphis Daily News has more
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| Congressional News |
| Corker names new legal counsel |
| Sen. Bob Corker's office announced today that chief counsel Paul Fassbender will depart the office May 1 for a position to be announced shortly. John Lipsey, current legislative counsel in the office, will replace him. In his new role Lipsey will advise Corker on judiciary,
immigration, trade and homeland security issues. Lipsey has worked for Corker since 2008 and previously served as an intern for Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Brentwood. He earned his law degree from the University of San Diego School of Law. |
Read more from the Nashville Post's political blog
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| Upcoming |
| Legal clinic, fundraiser on tap Saturday in Memphis |
| This month's Saturday Legal Clinic, sponsored by the Memphis Bar Association Access to Justice Committee, will take place this Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to noon at the main library, located at 3030 Poplar. Due to a scheduling error, there is no firm sponsor of the clinic so individual volunteer attorneys and support staff are desperately needed to fill the void. For more information contact Linda Warren Seely with Memphis Area Legal Services (MALS) at (901) 523-8822 or lseely@malsi.org. On Saturday evening, the annual Memphis Race Judicata will be held at Jefferson Davis Park, 51 North Riverside Drive. The 5K run/walk is a fundraiser for MALS. |
Learn more or register here
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| TBA Member Services |
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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 2011 Tennessee Bar Association
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