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Cases posted the week of 12/29/2008
Penny Foreman v. Automatic Systems, Inc. and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company -
M2007-00325-SC-WCM-WC View
Rutherford County - In this appeal, we determine the extent of Employee’s disability as a result of her June 24, 2004, work-related back injury. Prior to this work-related injury, Employee had been treated intermittently for back problems since 1995. The trial court determined that the June 24 injury caused only a temporary aggravation of Employee’s pre-existing condition and that this aggravation had resolved itself by September 7, 2004. On appeal, the Special Workers’ Compensation Appeals Panel agreed that Employee sustained only a temporary aggravation of her pre-existing condition. However, a majority of the Appeals Panel determined that Employee’s temporary aggravation had not reached maximum recovery until November 2, 2005, and thus, Employer should be responsible for Employee’s disability benefits and medical expenses until that time. Upon review of the record, we hold that the record does not preponderate against the trial court’s findings. Accordingly, we reverse the Appeals Panel and reinstate the trial court’s judgment.
Lon Cloyd vs. Hartco Flooring Company - E2007-02041-SC-R3-WC View
Separate Concurring Opinion - View
Scott County - In this workers’ compensation appeal, we initially made a referral to the Special Workers’ Compensation Appeals Panel for a hearing and a report of findings of fact and conclusions of law in accordance with Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-225(e)(3). We then granted direct review. The employee filed suit for workers’ compensation benefits, claiming that he suffered a work-related injury to his wrist, which caused an aggravation of the underlying dormant arthritic condition in his right wrist. In response, the employer asserted that the employee’s arthritis was not causally related to his employment and argued that the severity of the pre-existing condition was not advanced by his work activities. The trial court awarded benefits, concluding that the employee had sustained a 36% permanent partial impairment to his right extremity and was entitled to future medical treatment and discretionary costs. The employer has appealed, contending that the trial court erred by finding that the employee had sustained an injury that was causally related to his work activities and by ruling that the statute of limitations had not expired. Because the evidence does not preponderate against the judgment of the trial court, we affirm.
Clarence Trosper vs. Armstrong Wood Products, Inc. - E2007-00816-SC-WCM-WC View
Separate Dissenting Opinion - View
Scott County - Following surgeries on both of his hands, the employee filed suit seeking workers’ compensation benefits on the theory that the repetitive nature of his work in the employer’s flooring business exacerbated a pre-existing, but dormant, arthritic condition. The trial court found that the employee’s work duties had worsened his osteoarthritis and awarded 40% permanent partial disability to each hand. The trial court also awarded temporary total disability benefits for the time during which the employee was recuperating from the surgeries and unable to work. The Special Workers’ Compensation Appeals Panel reversed the trial court, holding that the employee’s condition was neither caused nor aggravated by the work he performed for the employer. Because the evidence does not preponderate against the trial court’s finding of causation and the award of benefits, we reverse the decision of the Appeals Panel and affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Cases posted the week of 11/24/2008
Robert H. Waldschmidt v. Reassure America Life Insurance Co. et al. -
M2008-01133-SC-R23-CQ View
This appeal involves a question of law concerning the interpretation of Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-7-2303 (2008) certified by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. The bankruptcy court has asked this Court to determine whether the issuer of a deceased debtor’s life insurance policy was exempted under Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-7-2303(d) from the statutory notice requirements for lapsed life insurance policies because the premium payments on the policy were being paid monthly. We hold that the plain language of Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-7-2303(d) exempts from the notice requirements in Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-7-2303(a) “any policies upon which premiums are payable monthly or at more frequent intervals.” Based on the undisputed facts, the premiums for the debtor’s life insurance policy were “payable monthly.” Therefore, the issuer of the policy was not required to give either the debtor or the trustee the notice required by Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-7-2303(a), and the policy lapsed in accordance with its terms before the debtor’s death.
Cases posted the week of 11/10/2008
Tennie Martin and Roya Mitchell, Co-Personal Representatives of the Estate of Kathryn L. Martin vs Norfolk Southern Railway Company and Anthony D. Worley -
E2006-01021-SC-R11-CV View
Separate Concurring Oipnion - View
Anderson County - This case comes before us on an appeal of the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendants. Because the plaintiffs have established the existence of several genuine issues of material fact, we conclude that summary judgment is inappropriate. We further conclude that the trial court did not err in excluding evidence of a defendant’s subsequent remedial measures. We therefore reverse the trial court’s judgment and remand for further proceedings.
State of Tennessee v. James Edgar White, Jr. - W2006-00655-SC-R11-CD View
Dyer County - We granted the defendant’s application for permission to appeal to determine whether the evidence presented at trial was sufficient to establish the identification of marijuana, an essential element of the offense, beyond a reasonable doubt. We conclude that the evidence presented was sufficient to support the jury’s conclusion that the substance was marijuana beyond a reasonable doubt. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Edwinna Ruth Blackburn v. Heath Bradley Blackburn (Deceased) - E2006-00753-SC-R11-CV View
Bledsoe County - We granted Wife’s application for permission to appeal in this divorce case to address whether the trial court properly entered the parties’ divorce decree nunc pro tunc to June 6, 2005, the date upon which the parties announced in open court that they had reached a divorce settlement. We hold that the record does not support a finding that the trial court granted the parties a divorce that day. As a result, the divorce proceeding between Wife and Husband was still pending on October 30, 2005, the day of Husband’s death, and as such, the divorce proceeding abated on that day. We reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals and remand this matter to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Cases posted the week of 11/3/2008
State of Tennessee v. Devin Banks - W2005-02213-SC-DDT-DD View
Shelby County - This appeal involves a defendant who shot two persons during a robbery at the home of one of the victims. One of the victims died. A Shelby County grand jury indicted the defendant for (1) premeditated and intentional murder, (2) murder during the perpetration of a robbery, (3) attempted first degree murder, and (4) especially aggravated robbery. A jury found the defendant guilty on all counts. At the penalty phase of the trial, the jury found the presence of the aggravating circumstances in Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-204(i)(6) and (7) (2006) and sentenced the defendant to death. In a separate sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced the defendant to twenty-five years for the attempted first degree murder and especially aggravated robbery convictions and ordered these sentences to be served consecutively to each other and to the sentence of death. The defendant appealed his convictions and sentences to the Court of Criminal Appeals. The Court of Criminal Appeals, after concluding that the trial court’s submission of the Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-204(i)(6) aggravating circumstance to the jury was harmless error, affirmed the defendant’s convictions and the sentences. State v. Banks, No. W2005-02213-CCA-R3-DD, 2007 WL 1966039 (Tenn. Crim. App. July 6, 2007).
We have concluded that the Court of Criminal Appeals erred by holding that the evidence did not support submitting the Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-204(i)(6) aggravating circumstance to the jury. We also hold as follows: (1) the trial court committed no errors with regard to the admission or exclusion of evidence, (2) the trial court did not err with regard to its handling of the Arabic language interpreter or the dismissal of one of the jurors, (3) the prosecutor’s closing arguments did not result in reversible error, (4) the trial court did not commit reversible error with regard to the instructions for lesser-included offenses, (5) the evidence supports the defendant’s convictions for attempted first degree murder and especially aggravated robbery, (6) the sentences of attempted first degree murder and especially aggravated robbery are not excessive, and the trial court did not err by ordering them to be served consecutively, (7) the evidence supports the defendant’s first degree murder convictions, as well as the jury’s finding that the Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-204(i)(6) and (7) aggravating circumstances apply in this case, (8) the defendant’s multiple constitutional challenges to Tennessee’s death penalty procedures are without merit, and (9) the defendant’s constitutional challenge to Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol is without merit. We also agree with the Court of Criminal Appeals’s conclusion with respect to the remaining issues and attach to this opinion as an appendix the relevant portions of that court’s opinion. Finally, in the discharge of our obligation under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-306 (2006), we have thoroughly reviewed the record in this case and have determined (1) that the defendant’s death sentence was not imposed in an arbitrary fashion, (2) that the evidence fully supports the aggravating circumstances in Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-3-204(i)(6) and (7), (3) that these aggravating circumstances outweigh the mitigating circumstances offered by the defendant, and (4) that the defendant’s death sentence, taking into consideration the nature of the offenses and the defendant himself, is neither excessive nor disproportionate to the penalties imposed in similar cases. Accordingly, the judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals, as corrected by this opinion, is affirmed.
Cases posted the week of 10/27/2008
Michael Hannan, et al v. Alltel Publishing Co., et al - E2006-01353-SC-R11-CV View
Separate Dissenting Opinion - View
Monroe County - The defendant failed to print the plaintiffs’ advertisement and business listings in a telephone directory. The plaintiffs filed suit against the defendant claiming loss of profits and other damages as a result of the omission. The defendant moved for summary judgment alleging the plaintiffs were unable to prove they were damaged. The trial court granted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment. The Court of Appeals held that the defendant failed to negate an essential element of the plaintiffs’ claim and reversed the trial court’s judgment. We affirm the Court of Appeals’ decision and remand to the trial court.
The Estate of Cornelius Theodore Ridley, Carolyn
Ridley v. William Keith Ridley - M2006-01109-SC-R11-CV View
Davidson County - The issues in this appeal
are whether the probate court’s order
construing the decedent’s will was a final judgment and, if so,
whether the appellee’s notice of appeal was timely. We hold that
the order construing the will was a final judgment and that the appellee’s
notice of appeal was not timely. Consequently, we reverse the judgment
of the Court of Appeals and dismiss the appeal.
State of Tennessee vs. Roy A. Ferrante - E2007-00180-SC-R11-CD View
Bradley County - We granted permission to appeal to determine whether a criminal defendant’s appearance in court is sufficient to commence a prosecution for purposes of tolling the statute of limitations where the purported charging instrument is void ab initio. We hold that a defendant’s appearance in court following the issuance of an affidavit of complaint that is void from inception does not toll the running of the statute of limitations. The fatal deficiencies in the affidavit of complaint in this case were not overcome until after the limitations period had expired. Accordingly, the Defendant’s motion to dismiss the charge against him in this case must be granted. The judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals reinstating the charge against the Defendant is reversed, and the charge against the Defendant is dismissed.
Ronald K. Nevin v. Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee - M2007-02033-SC-R3-BP View
Davidson County - We granted this appeal to determine whether the Chancery Court properly affirmed a Board of Professional Responsibility Hearing Panel’s six-month suspension of the appellant, Ronald K. Nevin. Nevin argues that the Hearing Panel erred in finding that he violated several disciplinary rules and in finding aggravating circumstances. He also argues that the six-month suspension is not commensurate with sanctions imposed in similar cases or the relevant American Bar Association Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions. After reviewing the record of the proceedings before the Hearing Panel and the Chancery Court, we affirm the Chancery Court’s judgment.
Cases posted the week of 10/20/2008
State of Tennessee vs. Robert J. Harrison - W2006-00483-SC-R11-CD View
Chester County - This appeal involves the procedure for discovering the records of a clinical psychologist whom the defendant intends to call as an expert witness at a pretrial competency hearing in a criminal case. After the defendant filed a petition in the Circuit Court for Chester County requesting to be declared incompetent to stand trial, the State obtained a judicial subpoena under Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-17-123 (2006) directing the defendant’s psychologist to produce “[a]ny and all records” related to his examination of the defendant. The trial court declined to quash the subpoena but granted the defendant an interlocutory appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeals. The intermediate appellate court held that the trial court erred by issuing a subpoena under Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-17-123 but, characterizing the competency hearing as “in the nature of a civil proceeding,” ordered the production of the materials sought in accordance with Tenn. R. Civ. P. 35.02. State v. Harrison, No. W2006-00483-CCA-R9-CD, 2007 WL 906730, at *4 (Tenn. Crim. App. Mar. 2, 2007). We granted the defendant’s application for permission to appeal to address the application of Tenn. R. Civ. P. 35.02 to pretrial competency hearings in criminal cases. We concur with the Court of Criminal Appeals’ conclusions that the trial court erred by granting the judicial subpoena and that the State is entitled to discover the report of the expert testifying for the defendant in the competency hearing. However, we have also determined that Tenn. R. Civ. P. 35.02 does not apply to pretrial competency hearings in criminal cases. Exercising our inherent supervisory authority over Tennessee’s judicial system, we adopt a temporary procedure for the disclosure and use of evidence relating to competency to stand trial in criminal cases.
State of Tennessee vs Phedrek Davis - M2006-00198-SC-R11-CD View
Separate Concurring Opinion - View
Davidson County - We granted the Defendant’s request for permission to appeal to address the propriety of jury instructions requiring the jury to reach a unanimous decision to acquit of a greater offense before considering a lesser-included offense. We hold that such jury instructions are proper and do not violate the Defendant’s right to trial by jury. We also hold that the trial court’s imposition of consecutive sentences did not violate the Defendant’s federal Sixth Amendment rights. While the Defendant has raised several other issues, we have determined that the Court of Criminal Appeals correctly held that they do not entitle the Defendant to relief. Accordingly, we affirm the Defendant’s convictions and sentences.
Cases posted the week of 10/13/2008
Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee v. Edward I Curry, III -
W2006-02688-SC-R3-CV View
Shelby County - This appeal involves a disciplinary proceeding against a lawyer that arises from a fee dispute. A hearing panel of the Board of Professional Responsibility suspended the lawyer for six months after determining (1) that he engaged in unprofessional conduct by placing an unauthorized endorsement on a settlement check and (2) that he had converted funds he had withdrawn from his trust account to pay his fee because he failed to return the funds after his client disputed his fee. The lawyer appealed to the Chancery Court for Shelby County. Based on the record of the proceeding before the hearing panel and additional evidence, the reviewing court reduced the six-month suspension to a public censure after determining that the hearing panel erred by concluding that the lawyer had converted his client’s funds and that he was obligated to return the funds after his client disputed his fee. Disciplinary Counsel appealed to this Court. We hold that a public censure is an appropriate remedy in this case.