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Wednesday, August 10, 2011

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Tennessee lawyers begin, end ABA terms

Memphis lawyer Lucian Pera was installed as treasurer of the American Bar Association (ABA) at the close of the 400,000-member organization's annual meeting in Toronto this week. Pera, who has been treasurer-elect since last August, will serve a three-year term overseeing the association's $200 million budget. As treasurer, Pera also serves as a member of the ABA's Board of Governors and its Executive Committee. He is a partner with Adams and Reese LLP. Also, at the close of the ABA meeting, U.S. District Judge Bernice B. Donald of Memphis ended her three-year term as the ABA's secretary. She awaits confirmation by the Senate for a spot on the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.

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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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.

MICHAEL SCHWAMB v. BRIDGESTONE AMERICAS TIRE OPERATIONS, LLC

Court: TWCA

Attorneys:

B. Timothy Pirtle, McMinnville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC.

Susan K. Bradley, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, for the appellee, Michael Schwamb.

Judge: HARRIS

In this workers' compensation case, the employee had a compensable back injury in 2008. His doctor assigned 19% permanent anatomical impairment for the injury, based upon the Sixth Edition of the American Medical Association Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment. He had previously settled a claim for a compensable back injury in 1996. That injury resulted in a 15% permanent impairment according to the Fourth Edition of the Guides, then in effect. Based upon those ratings, the treating physician for the 2008 injury apportioned 4% of the total 19% impairment to the more recent injury. An evaluating physician used the Sixth Edition to rate both injuries and opined that the impairment for the 2008 injury was 13% to the body as a whole. The trial court adopted the evaluating physician's rating and based its award of permanent disability benefits on it. The employer has appealed, arguing that the trial court erred by adopting the evaluating physician's rating. We affirm the judgment.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TSC_WCP/2011/schwambm_081011.pdf

ARAGORN LAFAYETTE EARLS v. JILL ANDREA MENDOZA

Court: TCA

Attorneys:

Jeff Mueller, Jackson, Tennessee, for Plaintiff/Appellant, Aragorn Lafayette Earls.

Lewis L. Cobb & Laura M. Cobb, Jackson, Tennessee, for Defendant/Appellee, Jill Andrea Mendoza.

Judge: KIRBY

This appeal involves a post-divorce petition to modify a parenting plan. The parties divorced in Tennessee and agreed to a parenting plan that designated the mother as the primary residential parent of their two minor children. By the time the divorce decree was entered, both parties had moved to New York. Months later, the mother filed a petition in the Tennessee trial court seeking court approval to relocate with the minor children to Colorado. The mother also sought an increase in child support, and to recover a child support arrearage. The father objected and filed a cross-petition in the Tennessee trial court to be designated as the primary residential parent. After a hearing, the Tennessee trial court granted the mother's petition to relocate, increased the father's child support obligation, and assessed a child support arrearage against the father. The father appeals. We hold that, under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, the Tennessee trial court did not have subject matter jurisdiction to adjudicate the mother's petition to relocate or the father's petition to change the designation of primary residential parent. We also hold that, under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, the trial court did not have subject matter jurisdiction to adjudicate the mother's request for modification of child support. The trial court, however, retained jurisdiction to enforce the existing child support order. Therefore, we vacate the trial court's order insofar as it modified the parenting plan and child support.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/earlsa_081011.pdf

MILBURN L. EDWARDS v. STATE OF TENNESSEE

Court: TCCA

Attorneys:

Milburn L. Edwards, Pro Se, Clifton, Tennessee.

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

Judge: SMITH

Petitioner, Milburn L. Edwards, was convicted by a Davidson county jury of multiple counts of rape, first degree burglary, aggravated burglary, and one count each of second degree burglary, aggravated rape, assault with intent to commit rape, and robbery. State v. Edwards, 868 S.W.2d 682, 685 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1993) The trial court sentenced Petitioner to an effective sentence of life plus 415 years. Id. On appeal, this Court affirmed Petitioner's convictions and modified his sentence to an effective sentence of life plus seventy-five years and an additional effective sentence of 120 years. Id. at 705. Subsequently, Petitioner unsuccessfully filed a petition for post-conviction relief and three petitions of writ of habeas corpus relief. See Milburn L. Edwards v. Cherry Lindamood, No. M2009-01132-CCA-MR3-HC, 2010 WL 2134156 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Nashville, May 27, 2010); Milburn L. Edwards v. Cherry Lindamood, No. M2006-01092-CCA-R3-HC, 2007 WL 152233 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Nashville, Jan. 17, 2007), perm. app. denied, (Tenn. Apr. 16, 2007) (affirming the habeas corpus court's dismissal of the petition for writ of habeas corpus); Milburn L. Edwards v. State, No. M2004-01378-CCA-R3-HC, 2005 WL 544714 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Nashville, Mar. 7, 2005), perm. app. denied, (Tenn. Aug. 29, 2005) (affirming the habeas corpus court's dismissal of the petition for writ of habeas corpus); Milburn L. Edwards v. State, No. M2002-02124-CCA-R3-PC, 2003 WL 23014683 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Nashville, Dec. 15, 2003) (affirming the post- conviction court's denial of the petition for post-conviction relief). The subject of this appeal is Petitioner's fourth petition for writ of habeas corpus in which he argues that the habeas corpus court erred in summarily dismissing his petition based on the State's argument that the issue of whether Petitioner was properly sentenced under the 1982 Sentencing Act as opposed to the 1989 Sentencing Act was previously determined. Because we have concluded that this issue was previously determined on direct appeal, we affirm the habeas corpus court's dismissal of the petition.

http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/edwardsm_081011.pdf

TODAY'S NEWS

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TBA Member Services

Legal News

TBA YLD calls special membership meeting

TBA YLD President Mason Wilson has called a special meeting of the YLD membership to be held Aug. 20 in Memphis to consider an amendment to the division's bylaws. The meeting will be at 1 p.m. in the Galaxie Room of the Peabody Hotel, 149 Union Ave., Memphis 38103. The room is located on the third floor in the hotel's Executive Conference Center. All YLD members are invited and encouraged to attend.

Learn more about the issues involved here

Memphis law firm honors Hooks with scholarship

In a campaign to preserve the legacy of Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks and promote diversity within the Memphis legal community, Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs has established a scholarship in memory of the civil rights activist and member of the firm, who died last year. Created in conjunction with the University of Memphis School of Law, the scholarship will cover full tuition, books, supplies and other fees for three years. The recipient also will be offered a summer associate position with the firm. Today the firm announced that Corey Strong is the first recipient of the scholarship. A Memphis native, Strong graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and earned a masters in business from San Diego State University. He hopes to specialize in contract law and work to promote the city's entrepreneurial community.

The Commercial Appeal has more

New book indexes judicial ethics opinions

Gregory D. Smith, attorney and municipal judge for the towns of Pleasant View and Pegram, recently completed editing and indexing the state's 150 judicial ethics opinions. The opinions, which provide guidance to judges on how to properly conduct their personal and professional actions, are issued by the Tennessee Supreme Court's Judicial Ethics Committee. Prior to Smith's work only 35 of the opinions were readily accessible and there was no indexing system. The Judicial Ethics Opinions Handbook will be published and distributed by the Administrative Office of Courts and the Tennessee Municipal Judges Conference.

The Leaf Chonicle reports

Judge Grimes honored

Montgomery County General Sessions and Juvenile Court Judge L. Raymond Grimes received the McCain-Abernathy Memorial Award at the annual Tennessee Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges Conference. The award recognizes a judge who has demonstrated outstanding service and commitment to the improvement of juvenile justice in the state. Grimes was honored for his work starting a teen court and drug court in the community, as well as helping the school system get its truancy problems under control.

The Leaf Chronicle has more

Feds investigate Robertson County schools

Federal authorities are investigating complaints alleging segregation and discrimination of students inside the Robertson County School system. A formal complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights and the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division alleges the school system discriminates in student assignment policies and faculty and staff assignments.