APPELLATE COURT OPINIONS

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Slater Belcher vs. State

E1999-02287-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Jerry Smith
Originating Judge:D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.
Blount County Court of Criminal Appeals 09/26/00
Jackie McGregor vs. Gregor Scott McGregor

E1999-00877-COA-R3-CV
This is a divorce case. Following a bench trial, the court below (1) granted the parties a divorce on stipulated grounds; (2) divided the marital property; and (3) found that wife was not entitled to an award of alimony, but that funds withdrawn by her from a joint account immediately prior to her filing for divorce constituted necessary temporary support for her and the parties' daughter. Wife appeals the trial court's characterization of certain real property as marital property and the trial court's division of the marital property. Both wife and husband take issue with the trial court's treatment of the funds withdrawn by wife from the joint account. We affirm the judgment of the trial court, as modified.
Authoring Judge: Judge Charles D. Susano, Jr.
Originating Judge:L. Marie Williams
Hamilton County Court of Appeals 09/26/00
State vs. Jimmy Cullop

E2000-00095-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge J. Curwood Witt, Jr.
Originating Judge:R. Jerry Beck
Sullivan County Court of Criminal Appeals 09/26/00
State vs. Chris A. Jefferson

E2000-00429-CCA-R3-CD
Chris A. Jefferson appeals a certified question of law regarding a police officer's stop of him which resulted in his arrest for driving under the influence. Because we agree with the trial court that reasonable suspicion supported by specific and articulable facts existed for the stop, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Authoring Judge: Judge J. Curwood Witt, Jr.
Originating Judge:Phyllis H. Miller
Sullivan County Court of Criminal Appeals 09/26/00
Clara Frazier,vs. East Tennessee Baptist Hosp., Inc. et al.

E2000-00686-COA-R3-CV
In this medical malpractice case brought by Clara Frazier, as Administratrix of the Estate of Josie Mae Blalock Pickens against East Tennessee Baptist Hospital, Inc., and Mark W. Jackson, M.D., the Trial Court sustained the motion of Baptist Hospital for summary judgment because the order granting an amendment to add Baptist Hospital as a party defendant after a non-suit had earlier been taken, was not timely and exceeded the one year mandated in T.C.A. 28-1-105(a). Ms. Frazier appeals, insisting that Rule 15.03 of the Tenn. R. Civ. P. is applicable and that the amendment related back to the date of the initial filing. We find the Trial Court acted properly and affirm.
Authoring Judge: Judge Houston M. Goddard
Originating Judge:Dale C. Workman
Knox County Court of Appeals 09/26/00
Christopher J. Moore vs. Robert S. Johnson, et al

E2000-00385-COA-R3-CV
This is a personal injury action arising out of an automobile accident. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff, finding that the defendant and an unidentified driver were equally at fault in causing the accident. The defendant appeals, raising issues that require us to determine whether there is material evidence in the record to support the jury's verdict. We conclude that there is material evidence to support the verdict and thus affirm the judgment.
Authoring Judge: Judge Charles D. Susano, Jr.
Originating Judge:Harold Wimberly
Knox County Court of Appeals 09/26/00
State vs. Treva Dianne Green

E1999-02204-CCA-R3-CD
The defendant appeals from her Blount County Circuit Court conviction and sentence for driving under the influence, a Class A misdemeanor. The trial court sentenced the defendant to eleven months and 29 days in the Blount County Jail, all of which was suspended except for service of eight days incarceration. The jury imposed a fine of $1,500. In this direct appeal, the defendant complains that the evidence is insufficient to support her conviction, that statements she made to the arresting officer should have been suppressed, that prosecutorial misconduct taints the verdict, that the jury should have been charged on reckless driving as a lesser-included offense, and that her sentence and fine are excessive. We affirm the judgment of the trial court, as modified.
Authoring Judge: Judge J. Curwood Witt, Jr.
Originating Judge:D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.
Blount County Court of Criminal Appeals 09/26/00
State vs. Jimmy Cullop

E2000-00095-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge J. Curwood Witt, Jr.
Originating Judge:R. Jerry Beck
Sullivan County Court of Criminal Appeals 09/26/00
Steamfitters vs. Phillip Morris

W1999-01061-COA-R9-CV
Union health and welfare funds brought an action against tobacco companies and their trade associations to recover the funds' costs of treating their participants' smoking-related illnesses. The tobacco companies moved to dismiss the complaint, arguing that the funds' economic injuries were derivative of the participants' physical injuries and, consequently, too remote for recovery. The trial court granted the motion to dismiss on the funds' antitrust claim but denied the motion on the funds' claims for fraud and deceit, misrepresentation, conspiracy and violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act. Permission for interlocutory appeal was granted to the tobacco companies by both the trial court and the appellate court. We affirm the trial court's dismissal of the antitrust claim and reverse the trial court's denial of the motion to dismiss on the remaining claims, finding the plaintiffs' alleged injuries are too remote, as a matter of law, to permit recovery. The cause is remanded for entry of an order dismissing the plaintiffs' complaint.
Authoring Judge: Judge Holly M. Kirby
Originating Judge:James F. Russell
Shelby County Court of Appeals 09/26/00
State vs. Amy Boyd

E1999-02218-CCA-R3-CD
The defendant was indicted on two counts of aggravated assault. A Hawkins County jury found her guilty of one count and not guilty of the other. In this appeal as of right, the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the convicting evidence and the trial court's denial of alternative sentencing. Upon a thorough review of the record, we conclude the evidence was sufficient to sustain the defendant's conviction for aggravated assault and that alternative sentencing was properly denied. Thus, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
Authoring Judge: Judge Joe G. Riley
Originating Judge:James E. Beckner
Hawkins County Court of Criminal Appeals 09/26/00
State vs. James Douglas Hampton

E1999-00115-CCA-R3-CD
The defendant appeals from the trial court's revocation of his probation. The defendant admits that he materially violated his probation, but contends that the trial court's disposition of the case was improper. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Originating Judge:D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.
Blount County Court of Criminal Appeals 09/26/00
State s. Anthony Lynn Wyrick

E1999-02206-CCA-R3-CD
The defendant was convicted of two counts of aggravated rape and sentenced to concurrent terms of life without parole as a repeat violent offender. He challenges the sufficiency of the presentment, the sufficiency of the evidence, the admission of the victim's in-court identification of him as the attacker, the exclusion of evidence of a prior false accusation of rape by the victim, his inability to discover the victim's rape crisis center file, and the constitutionality of the repeat violent offender statute under which he was sentenced. Because the defendant should have been allowed to impeach the victim by cross-examining her about the prior false accusation of rape, we reverse the judgments of conviction and remand the case for a new trial.
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Originating Judge:Ray L. Jenkins
Knox County Court of Criminal Appeals 09/26/00
State vs. Wendell Lewis

W2001-03098-CCA-R3-CD
When the defendant's status on community corrections was revoked, the trial court should have given the defendant credit for the time served in the community corrections program. We, therefore, reverse and modify the judgment of the trial court.
Authoring Judge: Judge John Everett Williams
Originating Judge:James C. Beasley, Jr.
Shelby County Court of Criminal Appeals 09/26/00
State vs. James McBride

E2000-00096-CCA-R3-CD
The defendant appeals his convictions for two counts of first degree murder and one count of attempted first degree murder. He contends that the evidence is insufficient to show premeditation, that his confession should have been suppressed, that the trial court erred in admitting gory photographs of the victims and of the motor vehicle, and that the trial court erred in sentencing him to consecutive sentences. We affirm the convictions and the sentence.
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Originating Judge:E. Eugene Eblen
Roane County Court of Criminal Appeals 09/26/00
State vs. Nathaniel Lynn Crockett

E1999-00694-CCA-R3-CD
The Defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary and two counts of theft over $1,000. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to two years for each count of theft over $1,000 and to one year for each count of burglary. The trial court ordered that all sentences be served concurrently and that the Defendant serve six months in the county jail followed by intensive probation for the remainder of the sentence. The Defendant was ordered to pay $2,500 in restitution and to perform one hundred hours of community service. On appeal, the Defendant argues that the trial court erred in sentencing him to six months in confinement. Finding no error, we affirm.
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert W. Wedemeyer
Originating Judge:D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.
Blount County Court of Criminal Appeals 09/26/00
Rhea E. Burns, Jr. vs. New York Life Ins. Co. & Robert H. Noe

E2000-00158-COA-R3-CV
Plaintiff, an insurance sales agent for New York Life Insurance Company, alleged that he entered into an oral agreement with another New York Life Insurance agent for the two agents to sell life insurance policies to a particular family and share the sales commissions. Some time later, a dispute arose between Plaintiff and the second New York Life Insurance agent over who was entitled to receive certain sales commissions. After Plaintiff did not receive a share of those sales commissions, he sought the assistance of New York Life in resolving his dispute with the second agent. New York Life accepted statements from both agents and then declined to intervene on Plaintiff's behalf. Plaintiff brought suit against the second agent and New York Life, but later non-suited the claim against the agent. Plaintiff alleged that New York Life was contractually required to make a decision in a commission dispute between its agents, and that if it had made a decision, the industry standard practice would have required the company to decide in his favor. He sought damages from New York Life for breach of contract and under a quantum meruit theory. The Trial Court granted New York Life's Motion for Summary Judgment. Plaintiff appeals. We affirm the Judgment of the Trial Court.
Authoring Judge: Judge David Michael Swiney
Originating Judge:Harold Wimberly
Knox County Court of Appeals 09/26/00
State vs. Robbie Carriger

E2000-00823-CCA-R3-CD
The state challenges the trial court's order placing the defendant, Robbie Carriger, on pretrial diversion based upon its finding that the prosecutor abused his discretion for failing to consider all the factors relevant to pretrial diversion in his written response denying diversion. The state contends that the trial court erred in refusing to consider the prosecutor's amended response to the application for pretrial diversion. We hold that the trial court properly refused to consider the prosecutor's amended response, but we reverse the trial court's automatic grant of pretrial diversion and remand the case for the trial court to consider the defendant's entitlement to pretrial diversion in light of the relevant factors.
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Originating Judge:Robert E. Cupp
Carter County Court of Criminal Appeals 09/26/00
State vs. Randall Best

E1999-00120-CCA-R3-CD
The defendant, Randall E. Best, appeals his first degree murder conviction and the resulting sentence of life without parole. He contends: (1) that the evidence is insufficient to show premeditation and deliberation, (2) that certain photographs of the victim were inadmissible at the sentencing phase of the trial, and (3) that the felony murder aggravating circumstance does not sufficiently narrow the class of death-eligible offenders when the jury convicts the defendant of both premeditated murder and felony murder. We hold that the evidence is sufficient, that the challenged photographs are admissible because they are relevant to the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, and that the jury properly based the defendant's sentence on the felony murder aggravator. We affirm the trial court's judgment of conviction.
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Originating Judge:Carroll L. Ross
Monroe County Court of Criminal Appeals 09/26/00
State vs. Roy Ray Wallace

E2000-00046-CCA-R3-CD
The defendant appeals his convictions for burglary and theft of property valued at less than five hundred dollars. He challenges the sufficiency of the evidence in light of the uncorroborated testimony of an accomplice, the admissibility of a recording of his co-defendant's testimony, and the length of his sentence. We affirm the convictions and sentences.
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Originating Judge:O. Duane Slone
Grainger County Court of Criminal Appeals 09/26/00
Rongie Taylor vs. State

M2002-01780-CCA-R3-PC
The post-conviction court denied the appellant's petition for post-conviction relief following his guilty plea to robbery with an agreed five-year sentence. In this appeal, the appellant argues: (1) his guilty plea was not entered voluntarily and knowingly; and (2) his trial counsel failed to provide him effective assistance relating to the entry of his plea. We affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.
Authoring Judge: Judge Jerry Smith
Originating Judge:James L. Weatherford
Warren County Court of Criminal Appeals 09/26/00
X2010-0000-XX-X00-XX

X2010-0000-XX-X00-XX
Supreme Court 09/25/00
Prentice vs. Prentice

M1999-01507-COA-R3-CV
Ronald Prentice appeals from a decision of the Davidson County Circuit Court. The appeal involves a dispute over property division arising out of a divorce.
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Alan E. Highers
Originating Judge:Muriel Robinson
Davidson County Court of Appeals 09/22/00
Taylor vs. Heldman

M1999-00729-COA-R3-CV
Daniel Benson Taylor ("Plaintiff"), a prison inmate, filed suit for damages and other relief against two judges of the 21st Judicial District and, by amended complaint, the assistant attorneys general representing the two judges because of the alleged failure of the judges to grant his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The trial judge granted a Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure 12.02(6) motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. The specially appointed trial judge sustained the motion and Plaintiff appeals. We affirm.
Authoring Judge: Judge William B. Cain
Originating Judge:Daniel Benson Taylor V Russell Heldman
Hickman County Court of Appeals 09/22/00
Chambers vs. Amonette

M1999-01254-COA-R3-CV
At the time of the parties' divorce in 1992, their minor child was placed in the primary residential custody of the mother, and the father was ordered to pay child support in the amount of $300.00 per month. The mother instituted a petition to modify. The father is in the military and, at the time of trial, had a base pay of $2,888.46 per month, which included allowances for BAS, BAH, and BAQ-DIFF. The parties anticipated at the time of trial that the father would be transferred to Korea for one year of service, and then would be transferred to England. According to the father, he would continue to receive his BAQ-DIFF allowance, but, while in Korea, he would no longer receive BAS or BAH allowances. The mother sought an increase in the monthly support payments based upon a significant variation with the Tennessee Child Support Guidelines and based upon reduced visitation by the father. According to the parties' final divorce decree, the father's visitation schedule provided for an average of sixty-nine days of visitation throughout the year, as compared to the anticipated eighty days in the Guidelines. After a hearing on the matter, the trial court denied the petition and ordered the mother to pay the father's costs and attorney's fees. We reverse and remand.
Authoring Judge: Judge David R. Farmer
Originating Judge:Muriel Robinson
Davidson County Court of Appeals 09/22/00
Thomas J. Williams vs. State

M2000-00506-CCA-R3-PC
Thomas J. Williams appeals from the Hickman County Circuit Court's denial of his pro se petition for post-conviction relief. After review, we find the trial court's summary dismissal proper because the petition (1) is time barred; (2) fails to state a colorable claim; and (3) raises claims which are waived as they were not raised in previous petitions. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court's denial of the petition.
Authoring Judge: Judge David G. Hayes
Originating Judge:Timothy L. Easter
Hickman County Court of Criminal Appeals 09/22/00