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Posted by: Tanja Trezise on Jun 30, 2021

Two cars collided at a four-way stop. One driver filed a personal injury action against the other. At trial, the two sides presented conflicting descriptions of the accident. The jury found the defendant driver was not at fault. And the trial court, as thirteenth juror, approved the jury verdict. Because the jury verdict is supported by material evidence, we affirm.

Posted by: Tanja Trezise on Jun 30, 2021

The plaintiff has appealed from the dismissal of her complaint for property damage stemming from a water leak. Because the plaintiff did not file her notice of appeal within the time permitted by Tenn. R. App. P. 4, we dismiss the appeal.

Posted by: Tanja Trezise on Jun 30, 2021

This appeal requires us to interpret provisions in the Prompt Pay Act, Tennessee Code Annotated sections 66-34-101 to -704, regarding retainage withheld on construction projects. The Prompt Pay Act requires the party withholding retainage—a percentage of total payment withheld as incentive for satisfactory completion of work—to deposit the funds into a separate, interest-bearing escrow account. Failure to do so results in a penalty of $300 per day. In this case, both parties agree the subcontractor’s retainage was not placed into an interest-bearing escrow account, and the retainage was not timely remitted to the subcontractor. Three years after completing its work on the contract, the subcontractor sued the contractor for unpaid retainage plus amounts due under the Prompt Pay Act. The contractor soon tendered the retainage; consequently, only the statutory penalty is at issue in this appeal. Tennessee Code Annotated section 66-34-104(c) states that, for persons required to deposit retainage into a separate interest-bearing escrow account, the penalty is assessed “per day for each and every day” retainage is not so deposited. Consonant with the statute’s language, its objective, the wrong the Prompt Pay Act seeks to prevent, and the purpose it seeks to accomplish, we hold that the $300 per day penalty is assessed each day retainage is not deposited in a statutorily-compliant escrow account. Consequently, while the subcontractor’s claim for the statutory penalty is subject to the one-year statute of limitations, if the subcontractor can establish that the contractor was required to deposit the retainage into an escrow account, the subcontractor is not precluded from recovering the penalty assessed each day during the period commencing 365 days before the complaint was filed. Accordingly, we reverse in part the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to the contractor and remand to the trial court for further proceedings.

Posted by: Tanja Trezise on Jun 28, 2021

The plaintiffs in this action are operators of businesses that collect and transport municipal solid waste. The plaintiffs filed suit against the defendants, a company that operates a landfill and the county that is a partial owner of the landfill, alleging violations of certain statutes regulating solid waste disposal and landfill operations. Upon a motion to dismiss filed by the defendants, the trial court dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims based upon, inter alia, the plaintiffs’ lack of standing and the court’s determination that the statutes did not create a private right of action. The plaintiffs have appealed. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm the trial court’s dismissal of the plaintiffs’ claims.

Posted by: Tanja Trezise on Jun 28, 2021

SILER, Circuit Judge. Typically, only parties to a contract are bound to its terms. This case is no exception. Zen-Noh Grain Corporation was neither a party to nor consented to Ingram Barge Company’s contract for the transportation of goods (a bill of lading) and thus is not bound to the contract’s forum selection clause. Therefore, the district court did not have jurisdiction over Zen-Noh, and we AFFIRM the district court’s dismissal for lack of personal jurisdiction.

Posted by: Tanja Trezise on Jun 28, 2021

KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge. Dawn Hughey’s 42 U.S.C. 1983 suit arises from a handcuffing during a traffic stop. Hughey alleges that Michigan State Trooper Anthony Easlick yanked her left arm as he handcuffed her, that he ignored her complaints about pain in her left arm, and that the cuffs were overly tight. Hughey purportedly sustained a torn rotator cuff and ring marks around her wrists. Finding that Easlick is entitled to qualified immunity, the district court granted summary judgment to the trooper on Hughey’s excessive-force claim. Because Hughey has created a genuine dispute of material fact about whether Easlick violated her clearly established constitutional right to be free from excessive force, we REVERSE and REMAND for further proceedings.

Posted by: Tanja Trezise on Jun 28, 2021

The Defendant, Byron Sidney Doss, was convicted after a bench trial of false imprisonment, a Class A misdemeanor, and aggravated assault involving strangulation, a Class C felony. See Tenn. Code Ann. 39-13-102(A)(iv), -13-302. The trial court imposed an effective sentence of five years, suspended to time served plus five years on supervised probation. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the trial court imposed an excessively long five-year sentence. After our review, we affirm and remand the case for the entry of corrected judgment forms.

Posted by: Tanja Trezise on Jun 25, 2021

THAPAR, Circuit Judge. Miguel Perez claims that his school district failed to provide him with an appropriate education. He brought his claim in the proper administrative forum, but he settled with the school before the process had run its course. Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the decision to settle means that Perez is barred from bringing a similar case against the school in court—even under a different federal law. The district court dismissed the case, and we affirm.

Posted by: Tanja Trezise on Jun 25, 2021

JOHN K. BUSH, Circuit Judge. Marcus Henderson, a guard at the Lucas County jail, took a bribe to smuggle contraband into the jail. Unfortunately for him, the person who paid the bribe was part of an FBI sting operation. At his first trial, a jury convicted Henderson of providing contraband in prison. But it hung on the other count, Hobbs Act extortion under color of official right. The government retried Henderson on that count, and this time—with slightly different jury instructions—the jury convicted him. He challenges that conviction on two grounds. First, he argues that the court abused its discretion by denying a proposed jury instruction that would have clarified the meaning of “official act,” an element of Hobbs Act extortion. Second, he argues that the government’s evidence was insufficient to convict him because the statutory definition of official act does not encompass his actions. Both arguments are unavailing. We affirm.

Posted by: Tanja Trezise on Jun 25, 2021

A majority of the Judges of this Court in regular active service has voted for rehearing en banc of this case. Sixth Circuit Rule 35(b) provides as follows: The effect of the granting of a hearing en banc shall be to vacate the previous opinion and judgment of this court, to stay the mandate and to restore the case on the docket sheet as a pending appeal. Accordingly, it is ORDERED, that the previous decision and judgment of this court are vacated, the mandate is stayed, and this case is restored to the docket as a pending appeal. The Clerk will direct the parties to file supplemental briefs and will schedule this case for oral argument as soon as possible.


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