Kelly Lee Pitts v. State of Tennessee
E2022-01455-CCA-R3-PC
The Petitioner, Kelly Lee Pitts, appeals the dismissal of his petition for post-conviction
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert H. Montgomery, Jr.
Originating Judge:Judge Stacy L. Street |
Washington County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 10/03/23 | |
State of Tennessee v. Gregory S. Clark
E2022-00667-CCA-R3-CD
The Defendant, Gregory S. Clark, appeals from his guilty pleaded convictions for
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert H. Montgomery, Jr.
Originating Judge:Judge Thomas W. Graham |
Rhea County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 10/03/23 | |
Blankenship CPA Group, PLLC v. Stephen Wallick
M2022-00359-COA-R3-CV
A temporary injunction restrained a former employee of an accounting firm from committing acts of harassment against the firm or any of its principals, employees, or agents. An Internet news article reported the former employee’s perspective on his history with the firm. The former employee posted a link to the article on his Facebook page and circulated the article to clients of the firm and others. The firm filed a petition for criminal contempt, alleging that the former employee violated the restraint on acts of harassment against the firm. The trial court held the former employee in criminal contempt for willfully disobeying the injunction. We affirm in part and reverse in part.
Authoring Judge: Judge W. Neal McBrayer
Originating Judge:Chancellor Joseph A. Woodruff |
Williamson County | Court of Appeals | 10/03/23 | |
Dominic Joseph Schanel v. Sarabeth Richardson
M2022-00800-COA-R3-CV
This appeal arises from a divorce after a very brief marriage. The parties had one young son at the time of the divorce. The trial court declared the parties divorced, named the mother primary residential parent, largely adopted her proposed parenting plan, and calculated child support after imputing income to the mother based on a finding of voluntary underemployment. The father appealed and raises three issues, primarily arguing that he should be named primary residential parent or at least have additional parenting time. The mother raises a host of issues regarding various other provisions of the parenting plan. For the following reasons, we affirm the decision of the circuit court as modified.
Authoring Judge: Judge Carma Dennis McGee
Originating Judge:Judge Joe Thompson |
Sumner County | Court of Appeals | 09/29/23 | |
State of Tennessee v. Tyrone T. Roach
M2022-01626-CCA-R3-CD
Defendant, Tyrone T. Roach, entered a nolo contendere plea to one count of sexual battery. The trial court imposed a diverted one-year sentence. As part of the plea, Defendant attempted to reserve a certified question of law under Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 37(b)(2) as to whether the four-year delay between the grand jury presentment on the sexual battery charge and his arrest on the presentment violated his rights to a speedy trial and due process. The State contends that this court lacks jurisdiction to hear an appeal from a diverted sentence. In the alternative, the State argues that Defendant did not reserve the certified question properly, and even if the certified question were reserved, the trial court did not violate his right to a speedy trial. Defendant has not responded to the State’s contention regarding jurisdiction. We conclude we lack jurisdiction to consider Defendant’s appeal. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal.
Authoring Judge: Judge Matthew J. Wilson
Originating Judge:Judge David D. Wolfe |
Humphreys County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 09/29/23 | |
State of Tennessee v. Eugene W. Jones
E2023-00155-CCA-R3-CD
Defendant, Eugene W. Jones, appeals the trial court’s order revoking his probationary
Authoring Judge: Judge Jill Bartee Ayers
Originating Judge:Judge Hector Sanchez |
Knox County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 09/29/23 | |
Robert Crotty, et al. v. Mark Flora, M.D.
M2021-01193-SC-R11-CV
In this interlocutory appeal, the defendant physician in a health care liability action asks us
Authoring Judge: Justice Holly Kirby
Originating Judge:Judge Joe P. Binkley, Jr. |
Davidson County | Supreme Court | 09/29/23 | |
State of Tennessee v. Timothy Eugene Wells
E2022-00961-CCA-R3-CD
In 2021, the Defendant, Timothy Eugene Wells, pleaded guilty to sexual assault by an
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert W. Wedemeyer
Originating Judge:Judge Andrew Freiberg |
Monroe County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 09/29/23 | |
State of Tennessee v. Christopher Alan Peters
E2022-01558-CCA-R3-CD
Defendant, Christopher Alan Peters, was convicted by a McMinn County jury of
Authoring Judge: Judge Jill Bartee Ayers
Originating Judge:Judge Andrew Freiberg |
McMinn County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 09/29/23 | |
State of Tennessee v. Ebony Robinson
M2021-01539SC-R11-CD
In 2020, Ebony Robinson (“Defendant”) pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide by
Authoring Judge: Chief Justice Roger A. Page
Originating Judge:Judge Mark J. Fishburn |
Davidson County | Supreme Court | 09/29/23 | |
State of Tennessee v. Joseph Z. Kibodeaux
E2022-01445-CCA-R9-CD
We granted this interlocutory appeal to review the trial court’s order denying the State’s
Authoring Judge: Judge Kyle A. Hixson
Originating Judge:Judge Andrew Freiberg |
McMinn County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 09/29/23 | |
Robert Crotty, et al. v. Mark Flora, M.D. (Concur in Part and Dissent in Part)
M2021-01193-SC-R11-CV
This interlocutory appeal involves two pretrial orders. I concur with the holding
Authoring Judge: Chief Justice Roger A. Page
Originating Judge:Judge Joe P. Binkley, Jr. |
Davidson County | Supreme Court | 09/29/23 | |
In Re Conservatorship of Tara Young
M2022-01448-COA-R3-CV
This case involves an appeal from the trial court’s appointment of a permanent conservator to oversee the person and property of the appellant, Tara Young. Ms. Young’s brother, Daniel Wood, petitioned for a conservatorship after he discovered that Ms. Young had been admitted to the Vanderbilt Adult Psychiatric Hospital following a car accident. After several months of proceedings and a two-day trial, the trial court concluded that a conservatorship was warranted and appointed a conservator for the person and property of Ms. Young. The trial court further determined that medical decisions should remain vested with Ms. Young. Ms. Young timely appealed. On appeal, Mr. Wood did not file a brief in response to Ms. Young’s appellate brief. Upon review, we conclude that Ms. Young’s brief lacks a statement of the issues presented for review and therefore does not comport with Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 27(a)(4). Inasmuch as Ms. Young has not presented any issues on appeal as required by Rule 27, we dismiss this appeal.
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas R. Frierson, II
Originating Judge:Judge Amanda J. McClendon |
Davidson County | Court of Appeals | 09/29/23 | |
State of Tennessee v. Cornell Poe
W2022-01585-CCA-R3-CD
A Madison County Grand Jury indicted the defendant, Cornell Poe, for driving on a
Authoring Judge: Judge J. Ross Dyer
Originating Judge:Judge Kyle C. Atkins |
Madison County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 09/29/23 | |
Commercial Painting Company, Inc. v. The Weitz Company, LLC, et al. (Dissent)
W2019-02089-SC-R11-CV
economic-loss doctrine bars recovery in tort for purely economic losses in certain
Authoring Judge: Justice Sarah K. Campbell; Justice Jeffrey S. Bivins joins
Originating Judge:Judge JoeDae L. Jenkins |
Shelby County | Supreme Court | 09/28/23 | |
In Re Estate of Willie C. Chaney
E2022-01051-COA-R3-CV
This appeal involves a dispute between family members regarding their father’s/grandfather’s estate. Following the filing of an action to probate the decedent’s will by his daughter, the decedent’s son and grandson contested the will. The trial court conducted a bench trial, subsequently entering an order determining that the residuary clause in the decedent’s will was invalid due to undue influence by his daughter. The court also held that the decedent’s son and grandson had proven that a portion of the decedent’s real property should be vested in the son due to a “resulting/constructive” trust. The decedent’s daughter and her son have appealed the trial court’s rulings. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm.
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas R. Frierson, II
Originating Judge:Judge Deborah C. Stevens |
Court of Appeals | 09/28/23 | ||
Brenda Smith d/b/a Sugar Creek Carriages v. David Gerregano, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Rec
M2022-00941-COA-R3-CV
The Tennessee Department of Revenue issued a tax assessment against a horse-drawn carriage company pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-6-212(a)(2). The carriage company filed a complaint in the chancery court challenging the tax assessment on two grounds: (1) that its carriage rides did not constitute a place of amusement under the statute and (2) that its equal protection rights had been violated because no other carriage companies had been assessed the tax. Both parties filed motions for summary judgment. The court granted the Tennessee Department of Revenue’s motion for summary judgment and denied the carriage company’s motion for summary judgment. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm the chancery court’s decision.
Authoring Judge: Judge Andy D. Bennett
Originating Judge:Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal |
Davidson County | Court of Appeals | 09/28/23 | |
In Re Conservatorship of James Steele
E2022-00840-COA-R3-CV
The appeal arises from a conservatorship proceeding. At issue is whether the trial court
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Frank G. Clement, Jr.
Originating Judge:Chancellor Pamela A. Fleenor |
Court of Appeals | 09/28/23 | ||
Roger Baskin v. Pierce & Allred Construction, Inc.
M2021-00144-SC-R11-CV
In this appeal, we address whether a Tennessee resident may sue an Alabama corporation in a Tennessee court for alleged breach of contract and breach of warranty pertaining to its construction of a custom lake house in Alabama. Tennessee resident Roger Baskin hired Pierce & Allred Construction, an Alabama corporation with its principal place of business in Alabama, to build a house on a parcel of land in Alabama. Mr. Baskin supplied the architectural plans and some of the materials, all sourced from Tennessee, and the parties communicated throughout the project from their respective states. However, all of Pierce & Allred Construction’s activities on the project occurred in Alabama. Mr. Baskin ultimately became dissatisfied with the quality and expense of the construction work, and he filed suit in the Davidson County Chancery Court. Pierce & Allred Construction moved to dismiss the complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction, arguing that the corporation lacked the “minimum contacts” with Tennessee that due process protections require. Int’l Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 316 (1945). The trial court granted the motion, finding that the events relevant to the claims occurred in Alabama and that the corporation’s contacts with Tennessee were minor and attenuated. The Court of Appeals reversed, looking to recent decisions from this Court, see Crouch Ry. Consulting, LLC v. LS Energy Fabrication, LLC, 610 S.W.3d 460 (Tenn. 2020), and the United States Supreme Court, see Ford Motor Co. v. Mont. Eighth Jud. Dist. Ct., 141 S. Ct. 1017 (2021) (explaining that the exercise of specific personal jurisdiction requires that a plaintiff’s claim arise out of or relate to the defendant’s forum contacts). We granted permission to appeal. Based on our review, we have determined that Pierce & Allred Construction’s contacts with Tennessee were not such that the corporation reasonably should have anticipated being haled into a Tennessee court to answer this suit. In making this determination, we conclude that certain contacts with Tennessee did not reflect that the corporation purposefully availed itself of the privilege of conducting business activities in Tennessee, while certain other contacts were not sufficiently related to Mr. Baskin’s claims to support the exercise of specific personal jurisdiction. Thus, we hold that Mr. Baskin failed to establish a prima facie case of the minimum contacts necessary for a Tennessee court to exercise specific personal jurisdiction over the Alabama corporation. Accordingly, we reverse the decision of the Court of Appeals and reinstate the judgment of the trial court dismissing Mr. Baskin’s complaint.
Authoring Judge: Justice Jeffrey S. Bivins
Originating Judge:Chancellor Russell T. Perkins |
Davidson County | Supreme Court | 09/28/23 | |
Aziz Kherani Et Al. v. Raj Patel Et Al.
E2022-00983-COA-R3-CV
This is a breach of contract action involving an agreement for purchase and sale of
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas R. Frierson, II
Originating Judge:Chancellor Clarence E. Pridemore, Jr. |
Court of Appeals | 09/28/23 | ||
Westfield Group Insurance A/S/O David & Carol Neiger v. Tiffany Embry
M2022-01301-COA-R3-CV
In this appeal, a defendant asserts that the trial court erred when it granted the plaintiff’s motion to voluntarily dismiss its complaint while the defendant’s motion to dismiss and for attorneys’ fees was pending. We hold that a pending motion to dismiss does not preclude the plaintiff from voluntarily dismissing its case pursuant to Tenn. R. Civ. P. 41.01. Likewise, the defendant’s request for attorneys’ fees did not create a “vested right” preventing the plaintiff from voluntarily dismissing its case. The ruling of the trial court is affirmed.
Authoring Judge: Judge Andy D. Bennett
Originating Judge:Judge Joseph P. Brinkley, Jr. |
Davidson County | Court of Appeals | 09/28/23 | |
State of Tennessee v. Eric Martell Small
W2022-01349-CCA-R3-CD
The Defendant, Eric Martell Small, was convicted by a Tipton County jury of evading
Authoring Judge: Judge John W. Campbell, Sr.
Originating Judge:Judge A. Blake Neill |
Tipton County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 09/28/23 | |
Fred Austin Wortman, III v. State of Tennessee
W2023-00017-CCA-R3-PC
Petitioner, Fred Auston Wortman, III, appeals the summary dismissal of his petition
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert L. Holloway, Jr.
Originating Judge:Judge James Jones, Jr. |
Shelby County | Court of Criminal Appeals | 09/28/23 | |
Commercial Painting Company, Inc. v. The Weitz Company, LLC, et al.
W2019-02089-SC-R11-CV
The economic loss doctrine generally precludes a contracting party who suffers only
Authoring Judge: Justice Sharon G. Lee
Originating Judge:Judge JoeDae L. Jenkins |
Shelby County | Supreme Court | 09/28/23 | |
Larry Inman v. Cindy Craven Inman
W2022-01056-COA-R3-CV
This appeal stems from a lawsuit over a void marriage. Larry Inman (“Plaintiff”) sued
Authoring Judge: Chief Judge D. Michael Swiney
Originating Judge:Chancellor Gadson W. Perry |
Shelby County | Court of Appeals | 09/28/23 |