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| Wednesday, December 21, 2011 |
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It's not too late to get your CLE credits
If you have not met all your continuing legal education requirements for 2011, you will want to make plans for next week's
Year-End CLE Blast at the Tennessee Bar Center in Nashville. The CLE Blast will offer programming from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Dec. 27-30. There is no advance registration required. In addition, on Dec. 30, Perry Craft will present a four-hour Supreme Court Update.
Learn more about that course here
Get the scoop on the CLE Blast
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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
03 - TN Court of Appeals
02 - TN Court of Criminal Appeals
00 - TN Attorney General Opinions
00 - Judicial Ethics Opinions
00 - Formal Ethics Opinions - BPR
00 - TN Supreme Court - Disciplinary Orders
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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FRANCES SEWARD BENNETT and DON SEWARD v. CITY OF MEMPHIS
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Daniel A. Seward, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellants, Frances Seward Bennett and Don Seward.
Jill Madajczyk, Senior Assistant City Attorney, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellee, City of Memphis.
Judge: HIGHERS
Plaintiffs sued the City of Memphis, claiming that they were fraudulently induced to sign a sewer easement agreement. The trial court granted summary judgment to the City of Memphis. We reverse and remand for further proceedings.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/bennettf_122111.pdf
CAMERON GENERAL CONTRACTORS, INC. v. KINGSTON PIKE, LLC
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Arthur G. Seymour, Jr., and Matthew A. Grossman, Knoxville, Tennessee, and Ron L. Quigley, and Matthew R. Thiry, Atlanta, Georgia for the appellant, Kingston Pike, LLC.
Lewis S. Howard, Jr., and Heather G. Anderson, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Cameron General Contractors, Inc.
Judge: SWINEY
Cameron General Contractors, Inc., a Nebraska corporation ("Cameron"), sued Kingston Pike, LLC, a Georgia limited liability company ("Kingston Pike"), for breach of a contract concerning the sale of real property located in Knoxville, Tennessee. Prior to trial, Cameron elected to exercise its contractual right to terminate the contract, and the case proceeded to
trial on the issue of damages. After a bench trial, the Trial Court entered its order finding and holding, inter alia, that the contract did not limit Cameron to the return of its earnest money, and granting Cameron a judgment against Kingston Pike for damages in the amount of $872,418.22, plus attorney's fees of $137,656.56. Kingston Pike appeals to this Court. We
find and hold that the contract at issue clearly and unambiguously provides that once Cameron chose to terminate the contract, Cameron's sole remedy for Kingston Pike's breach was a return of Cameron's earnest money deposit. We, therefore, reverse the Trial Court's October 28, 2010 order.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/cameron_122111.pdf
JERRY SIDES v. ROBERT E. COOPER, ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, ET AL.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Sam F. Cole, Jr., Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, Jerry Sides.
Philip Oliphant, Assistant City Attorney, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellee, City of Memphis.
Judge: FARMER
This appeal arises from the removal of Plaintiff's political signs from public property by employees of the Defendant City of Memphis pursuant to a sign ordinance. Plaintiff filed a complaint seeking a declaration that the sign ordinance was unconstitutional, and further alleged that he was entitled to damages for the removal and disposal of his signs under the Governmental Tort Liability Act ("GTLA"). The trial court granted partial summary
judgment in favor of the City, upholding the constitutionality of the sign ordinance. Thereafter, Plaintiff filed a motion to amend the complaint to include additional claims challenging the constitutionality of the sign ordinance. In response, the City filed a motion for summary judgment arguing Plaintiff's remaining claims under the GTLA were time
barred by the one-year statute of limitations. After conducting a hearing on the motions, the trial court denied Plaintiff's motion to amend the complaint, and granted the City's motion for summary judgment, resulting in dismissal of the action. After reviewing the record, we find that the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the City was proper. Similarly, we find no abuse of discretion in the trial court's decision to deny Plaintiff's motion to amend. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/sidesj_122111.pdf
XAVIER TYRELL BARHAM v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Albert J. Newman, Jr., Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Xavier Tyrell Barham.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; David H. Findley, Assistant Attorney General; Randall E. Nichols, District Attorney General; and Phillip Morton, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WEDEMEYER
The Petitioner, Xavier Tyrell Barham, pled guilty to three counts of possession of Schedule II controlled substance with intent to deliver, and the trial court sentenced him to an effective sixteen-year sentence. The Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief, which the post-conviction court dismissed after a hearing. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that he
received the ineffective assistance of counsel at trial and that his guilty pleas were not knowingly and voluntarily entered because he understood the plea agreement to be that all of his sentences would run concurrently for a total effective sentence of eight years rather than sixteen years. After a thorough review of the record and applicable authorities, we affirm the post-conviction court's judgment.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/barhamx_122111.pdf
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JAVIS MONTELL DEAN
Court: TCCA
Attorneys:
Robert L. Vogel (on appeal), Karmen Waters (at trial), Knoxville, Tennessee, and Charles Carpenter (at trial), Maryville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Javis Montell Dean.
Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Lacy Wilber, Assistant Attorney General; Michael L. Flynn, District Attorney General; and Matthew Dunn and Kathy Aslinger, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
Judge: WEDEMEYER
The Defendant, Javis Montell Dean, pled guilty to possession of a schedule II controlled substance with intent to sell, a Class B felony, and introduction of contraband into a penal facility, a Class C felony. The trial court sentenced him to an effective sentence of eight years and ordered that the Defendant serve one year incarcerated and serve the remainder in the community corrections program. As part of the Defendant's pleas, he reserved a certified question of law challenging the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress. After reviewing the record, the parties' briefs, and applicable law, we conclude that the trial court
did not err when it denied the Defendant's motion to suppress. Accordingly, we affirm the Defendant's convictions.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCCA/2011/deanj_122111.pdf
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| TODAY'S NEWS |
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Legal News
Disciplinary Actions
TBA Member Services
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| Legal News |
| Haslam appoints Page to criminal appeals post |
| Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today appointed Circuit Court Judge Roger Page to the Court of Criminal Appeals. Page replaces the late Judge J.C. McLin. Page served as assistant attorney general for Tennessee from 1991-1998 and then was elected 26th Judicial District Circuit Court judge. He earned his law degree from the University of Memphis Cecil B. Humphreys School of Law in 1984.
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Read the governor's announcement
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| Club may change after judge reprimanded for membership |
| A federal judicial panel's decision to reprimand a Nashville judge for belonging to Belle Meade Country Club is leading others in the profession to question continued membership in a club that does not allow African Americans or women to vote or hold office, according to the Tennessean. At the same time, the club allegedly is preparing to take steps to address its issues, fearing a mass exodus of members. Gilbert S. Merritt, a Nashville-based senior judge on the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and a club member, said he has received indications from confidential sources that the situation will be rectified in the coming weeks. |
Read more in the Tennessean
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| Long-time Clarksville prosecutor retires |
| William "Bill" Cloud Jr. is retiring after spending almost 21 years in the 19th Judicial District Attorney General's office. Family, friends and colleagues gathered recently at the Montgomery County Court complex to celebrate his career. Cloud graduated from University of Tennessee College of Law in 1970, obtained his license in 1971 and opened a law firm the next day in his hometown of Clarksville. He joined the DA's office in 1991. Of his many achievements, he points to beginning the Adult Drug Court as one of his best accomplishments.
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The Leaf Chronicle has more
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| Legal Aid suing landlords over eviction tactics |
| With the help of Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, five Coffee County residents are suing their former landlords accusing them of using "bizarre and brutal tactics outside the law to throw people out of their homes." Salmun Kazerounian, an attorney with the agency, is representing the tenants in their cases, which claim the landlords engaged in tactics such as shutting off electricity and physical intimidation. "It's never legal to shut off utilities," Kazerounian said. "It doesn't matter how far behind [tenants] are on rent."
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Read more about the cases from WKRN News 2
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| Bullied teenager wins $300K judgment |
| A mother fighting against school bullying in Robertson County was awarded a $300,000 settlement last week. Her son was seriously injured in an incident five years ago. The attacked occurred in a classroom at White House Heritage School while the teacher was not present. The Robertson County Circuit Court determined the incident was foreseeable and that the school's negligence allowed it to occur.
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Learn more in the Robertson County Times
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| Georgia judge to retire |
| Faced with new charges in a sweeping ethics case, longtime Georgia Chief Judge Amanda Williams has agreed to step down on Jan. 2, 2012. The decision comes as allegations mount that she displayed favoritism toward some in her courtroom and abusive and overly punitive behavior toward others. Williams' conduct became an issue after the airing of a radio program that featured a number of cases in her court.
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The ABA Journal reports
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| Tobacco firms want federal decision delayed |
| America's largest cigarette makers say the federal judge presiding over a decade-old lawsuit against the industry should delay her decision while other cases challenging new tobacco regulations are decided. The Justice Department, on the other hand, says the case should not be delayed.
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The Associated Press reports
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| Disciplinary Actions |
| Four lawyers reinstated |
| In the last few weeks, two lawyers have been reinstated after completing 2010 CLE requirements, one lawyer has been reinstated after filing the
2011 registration fee and IOLTA statement, and one lawyer has been reinstated after paying the 2009 registration fee and the
2010 professional privilege tax.
See updated lists at the links above.
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| TBA Member Services |
| First Tennessee is TBA's preferred provider |
| First Tennessee has crafted a package of discounts to meet the specific needs of Tennessee Bar Association members. |
Find savings on merchant credit services, checking and savings, financial planning and more
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Discontinue your TBA Today subscription? ... Surely not!
But if you must, visit the TBALink web site at:
http://www.tba2.org/tbatoday/unsub_tbatoday.php
Questions, comments: Email us at TBAToday@tnbar.org
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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