FAYETTE JANITORIAL SERVICES and TECHNOLOGY INSURANCE COMPANY, AS ASSIGNEE OF THE CLAIMS OF WESLEY KENNEDY v. KELLOGG USA, INC.
Court: TN Court of Appeals

Attorneys:

Benjamin F. Gallagher, St. Paul, MN; Brian L. Yoakum, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellants, Fayette Janitorial Services and Technology Insurance Company, as Assignee of the Claims of Wesley Kennedy

R. Scott McCullough, Richard Sorin, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellee, Kellogg USA, Inc.

Judge: HIGHERS

This appeal involves a tort suit filed after a workplace injury. The defendant filed a motion for summary judgment, contending that it was a statutory employer within the meaning of the Workers’ Compensation Law, Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-113, and therefore, it was immune from the tort claim asserted on behalf of the injured worker. The trial court granted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment. Plaintiffs appeal. We affirm.

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ERIE INSURANCE EXCHANGE v. COLUMBIA NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY ET AL.
Court: TN Court of Appeals

Attorneys:

Gordon C. Aulgur, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Erie Insurance Exchange.

Joseph M. Huffaker, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Columbia National Insurance Company.

Judge: CLEMENT

This is a declaratory judgment action wherein one insurance company, which provided general liability insurance coverage to the insured, asserts that another insurance company, which provided the same insured with automobile insurance coverage, had the primary duty to pay the cost of defending and to indemnify the insured in a third-party tort action filed pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated § 50-6-112. The plaintiff insurer asserts that the defendant insurer had the primary duty to provide and pay the cost of the defense in that action and to indemnify the insured pursuant to its automobile insurance policy because an additional insured was operating a “boom truck” owned by the insured that was listed under the defendant’s auto policy when the injury to the third-party plaintiff occurred. Both insurers filed motions for summary judgment. The trial court denied the plaintiff’s motion and granted summary judgment to the defendant insurer holding that the plaintiff, not the defendant, is liable for providing and paying the cost of the defense and for indemnifying the insured in the third-party tort action. We affirm.

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ERIE INSURANCE EXCHANGE v. COLUMBIA NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY ET AL.
Court: TN Court of Appeals

Attorneys:

SANDRA BELLANTI, ET AL. v. CITY OF MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, A MUNICIPAL CORPORATION, ET AL.
Court: TN Court of Appeals

Attorneys:

Michael Fletcher, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, City of Memphis, Tennessee.

Thomas E. Hansom and Leigh Hansom Thomas, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellees, Sandra Bellanti and Albert Bellanti.

Judge: FARMER

Plaintiff motorist was seriously injured when a padlock was hurled from beneath a lawn mower operated by a City of Memphis Parks Services employee and through the window of her vehicle, striking her in the head and resulting in the loss of her left eye. The motorist and her husband filed an action for damages against the City, which was adjudicated pursuant to the Governmental Tort Liability Act. The trial court entered judgment in favor of Plaintiffs, and the City appeals. We affirm.

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FRED V. WILSON, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF ANNA R. WILSON, DECEASED v. MONROE COUNTY, TENNESSEE ET AL.
Court: TN Court of Appeals

Attorneys:

Jonathan Swann Taylor, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Monroe County, Tennessee.

Jimmy W. Bilbo and Brent J. McIntosh, Cleveland, Tennessee, for the appellee, Fred V. Wilson, individually and as personal representative of the Estate of Anna R. Wilson, deceased.

Judge: SUSANO

Fred V. Wilson and his wife, Anna R. Wilson, were the initial plaintiffs. They filed suit against Monroe County and the City of Sweetwater alleging that the amputation of Mrs. Wilson’s left leg was proximately caused by the negligence of those responding to an emergency call to her home. Mrs. Wilson died before trial and the case proceeded with her husband as the sole plaintiff, individually and in a representative capacity. At a bench trial, the court found that the injury to Mrs. Wilson’s left foot occurred during the ambulance ride from the Wilsons’ home to the hospital emergency room. It further found that the injury, which did not heal, necessitated the amputation of her leg. The court entered judgment against Monroe County. The claims against Sweetwater were dismissed. Monroe County appeals. The plaintiff, by way of a separate issue, challenges the sufficiency of the court’s award of damages. We affirm.

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SUZANNE RENEE WILLIAMS-ALI AS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF RUBY LEE COFER WILLIAMS v. MOUNTAIN STATES HEALTH ALLIANCE
Court: TN Court of Appeals

Attorneys:

Robert Payne Cave, Jr., Kingsport, Tennessee, for the appellant, Suzanne Renee Williams- Ali.

Frank H. Anderson, Jr., Johnson City, Tennessee, for the appellee, Mountain States Health Alliance.

Judge: MCCLARTY

This is a case alleging negligence by defendant, Mountain States Health Alliance, which resulted in injury to a patient, Ruby Williams. Ms. Williams fell off a table while she was undergoing myocardial perfusion imaging, also known as a nuclear stress test. Mountain States Health Alliance asserted that Ms. Williams’s complaint sounded in medical malpractice instead of ordinary negligence, and asked for summary judgment because Ms. Williams had not complied with the filing requirements of the medical malpractice statute. The trial court granted summary judgment, finding that the case involved a medical malpractice claim rather than an ordinary negligence claim. Ms. Williams’s Estate appeals. We affirm the trial court’s ruling.

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RUTH M. MAXWELL v. MOTORCYCLE SAFETY FOUNDATION, INC. ET AL.
Court: TN Court of Appeals

Attorneys:

R. Steven Waldron, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, for the appellant, Ruth M. Maxwell.

Joel P. Surber, Frank M. Gallina, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellees, Mid Tenn Motorcycle Education Center, and Michael Upchurch.

Judge: CLEMENT

Plaintiff filed this action against the instructor of a motorcycle safety course and his employer for injuries she sustained when she drove off of the designated course site and collided with a parked pickup truck. The trial court found that the plaintiff’s negligence claims were barred because she signed a valid written waiver/release from liability document prior to starting the course. The trial court also dismissed the plaintiff’s gross negligence claims, finding there was nothing in the record which would allow a reasonable juror to conclude the defendant exercised a conscious neglect of duty or a callous indifference to consequences. We affirm.

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AEGIS SCIENCES CORPORATION v. LOU ANN ZELENIK, ET AL.
With dissenting opinion
Court: TN Court of Appeals

Attorneys:

Joel T. Galanter and Tricia T. Olson, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Aegis Sciences Corporation.

Richard E. Spicer and Brent S. Usery, Nashville, Tennessee, and Robert E. Lee Davies, Franklin, Tennessee, for the appellees, Lou Ann Zelenik, Lou Ann for Congress and Jay Heine.

Judge: FARMER

The trial court awarded summary judgment to Defendants in this action for defamation, civil conspiracy, and violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act. Plaintiff appeals the award of summary judgment on its claims for defamation and civil conspiracy. We affirm.

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Stafford Dissenting Opinion

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JOSHUA COOPER ET AL. v. LOGISTICS INSIGHT CORP. ET AL.
With dissenting opinion
Court: TN Supreme Court

Attorneys:

Scott Carey and Mark Baugh, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellants, ProLogistics, Inc., Logistics Insight Corp., and Joe Murray.

Daniel C. Todd, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellees, MasterStaff, Inc. and Discover RE.

Judge: HOLDER

An employee was injured at work as a result of the actions of a third-party tortfeasor. The employee suffered permanent injuries that required future medical care. The injured employee filed a claim for workers’ compensation benefits and filed a lawsuit against the third-party tortfeasor. The employer intervened in the lawsuit pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-112 (2008) to protect its subrogation lien against any recovery from the third-party tortfeasor. The employee settled the lawsuit with the third-party tortfeasor and voluntarily dismissed the case. The employer requested that the case be set for trial, claiming that it was entitled to a lien against the settlement proceeds for the cost of future medical benefits that may be paid on behalf of the injured employee. We hold that the employer’s subrogation lien provided by Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-112 does not include the cost of future medical benefits that may be provided to an injured employee.

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Koch Dissenting Opinion

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