Sue Leggett v. Paul Allen Dorris, et al.
This is an appeal from a nuisance case. The plaintiff landowner filed a complaint alleging a continuous nuisance caused by grading completed on adjacent property. The plaintiff alleged that the grading had altered the natural drainage pattern, causing damage to her house. The complaint sought damages and injunctive relief. The defendants sought summary judgment, raising the statute of limitations as a defense. The trial court agreed and granted defendants’ motion. Finding that a genuine issue of material fact remains in dispute, we reverse. |
Sumner | Court of Appeals | |
Mattie Piana, et al. v. Old Town of Jackson, et al.
This is an wrongful death action arising under a theory of premises liability. Plaintiff’s husband died as a result of injuries he sustained after tripping over a piece of concrete embedded in a dirt path. Plaintiff alleged that two of the defendants, who were under a separate maintenance contract with the owner of the property, failed to exercise the required due care in the maintance, inspection, and repairs of the path. The trial court granted directed verdicts for both defendants after finding that neither owed a duty to Plaintiff’s husband. We agree that defendant Brooks Shaw did not have a duty to maintain the path. However, we have determined that defendant Town and Country did owe a duty to Plaintiff’s husband. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, we find that there are genuine issues of material fact for the jury to decide. We therefore reverse and remand for further proceedings. |
Madison | Court of Appeals | |
Shelby County Health Care Corporation, et al. v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company
Appellant hospital filed suit against Appellee insurance company for damages arising from Appellee’s alleged impairment of the Appellant’s hospital lien. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Appellant hospital, finding that Appellant had perfected its lien under Tenn. Code Ann. §29-22-101, and that the Appellee had impaired that lien pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. §29-22-104. The trial court, however, limited Appellant’s recovery to the amount of coverage under the insurance policy. We affirm as modified herein. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
Banc of America Investment Services, Inc. v. Christina Tucker Davis, as Executrix of the Estate of Stephen G. Tucker, deceased, and Dorothy Tucker Waters, and Teresa Cureton
In this interpleader action, plaintiff held an IRA account established by decedent. When decedent died dispute arose between his companion and his blood relatives, because he had designated his companion as the sole beneficiary of his IRA account, but in his Will he gave the IRA account to his relatives. The contending parties raised this dispute in their pleadings and after an evidentiary hearing, the Trial Court ruled that the designee on the IRA account was entitled to the proceeds because the relatives did not carry the burden of proof to establish undue influence was exercised on the decedent when he established the IRA account. We affirm the Judgment of the Trial Court and remand with the cost of the cause taxed to appellants. |
Hamilton | Court of Appeals | |
Mark Holliman, et al. v. Frank McGrew, M.D., et al.
This is a wrongful death action brought under a theory of medical malpractice. The trial court granted Defendants’ motion for summary judgment, finding that Plaintiffs filed their complaint after the one-year statute of limitations had expired. After careful review, we find that Plaintiffs had notice of their claim no later than February 27, 2003, and their lawsuit was not timely filed. The ruling of the trial court is affirmed. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
Hiram Poole v. State of Tennessee, et al.
The appellant filed this action against the State of Tennessee and the Tennessee Lottery Commission alleging that the defendants breached a contract with him by failing to pay him the $171,000,000 grand prize for the December 8, 2004 Powerball drawing.2 The trial court dismissed the action as barred by the doctrine of res judicata. We affirm. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
Joseph Morgan v. Darin Hall, et al
A former inmate in the Davidson County jail filed a Petition for Permanent Injunction against the Davidson County Sheriff and the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office in which he alleged he had been mistreated while incarcerated. The defendants moved to dismiss the former inmate’s petition for injunctive relief on the ground that he was no longer incarcerated, and thus his action for injunctive relief was moot. The plaintiff failed to respond to the motion and did not attend the hearing on the motion. The trial court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss from which the plaintiff appealed. Finding no error, we affirm. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
Beverly Lockard v. Christopher H. Bratton, M.D., et al.
In this appeal, we are asked to determine whether the trial court erred in excluding Appellant’s expert’s standard of care and causation opinions and in granting summary judgment to the Appellees as to Appellant’s medical malpractice and lack of informed consent claims. We affirm. |
Henderson | Court of Appeals | |
Walter Jessee Brumit vs. Stefanie Lynne Brumit Durham
This appeal came on to be heard upon the record of the Chancery Court of Greene County and briefs filed on behalf of the respective parties. This Court is of the opinion that the judgment of the Chancery Court should be vacated and this case remanded. |
Greene | Court of Appeals | |
Kristen Cox Morrison v. Paul Allen, et al.
Wife sued the insurance company for failure to pay on Husband’s life insurance policy and the insurance brokers for failure to procure an enforceable life insurance policy, various torts and violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). Wife settled with the insurance company before trial and won judgments against the brokers based on failure to procure an enforceable life insurance policy ($1,000,000.00); negligence, negligent misrepresentation, and breach of fiduciary duty ($300,000.00); and violation of the TCPA (an additional $300,000.00). Defendants appeal, claiming that they should receive a credit for the amount of the settlement with the insurance company and that the other awards were improper for various reasons. We affirm the $1,000,000.00 judgment but find that a credit for the settlement is appropriate. We affirm the tort award. We also affirm the finding of a violation of the TCPA and affirm the award of the additional $300,000.00. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
Melissa Michelle Cox v. M. A. Primary
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Rutherford | Court of Appeals | |
L.L. Luter, Ind.,et al. v. The Vanderbilt University d/b/a Vanderbilt Stallworth Rehabilitation Hospital
Plaintiff, son and next-of-kin of decedent, appeals grant of summary judgment to hospital in negligence and wrongful death action. Finding no error in the action of the trial court, we affirm the decision. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
Michael Shropshire v. Betty Roach
A home seller appeals a jury verdict finding that she intentionally misrepresented water conditions in the basement in connection with the sale of her home. According to the seller, the jury verdict was against the weight of the evidence and the trial court erroneously allowed opinion testimony from the contractor who repaired the water damage. We affirm, finding that material evidence supports that the jury verdict and that the trial court did not err in allowing the testimony. |
Robertson | Court of Appeals | |
W&T, Inc., et al. v. Carol Ham, et al.
Defendants appeal the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to plaintiffs under the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act, based on the trial court’s holding that the judgment rendered in Massachusetts was enforceable in Tennessee. Since Massachusetts had personal jurisdiction over defendants and the alleged fraud upon the court was not sustainable, we find no ground under Tenn. R. Civ. P. 60 that constitutes a defense to domestication of the judgment rendered in Massachusetts. The grant of summary judgment is affirmed. |
Montgomery | Court of Appeals | |
James Condra and Sabra Condra vs Bradley County, Tennessee
Plaintiffs brought this action against Bradley County, alleging the county was negligent in failing to properly maintain a defective, unsafe and dangerous condition at the intersection of two county roads, which caused an accident wherein plaintiffs were injured. The county filed a Motion for Summary Judgment which the trial court granted on the grounds the county was immune. On appeal, we hold the record before us does not support the judgment granted by the trial court as a matter of law. We reverse and remand for further proceedings. |
Bradley | Court of Appeals | |
Sonja Filson, et al. v. Seton Corporation d/b/a Baptist Hospital, et al.
A mother who had recently given birth was given someone else’s child to nurse, but realized the mistake after a short time. The mother and father filed suit against the hospital alleging, among other things, negligent infliction of emotional distress. The hospital admitted a breach of the standard of care, but argued on summary judgment that there was no genuine issue of material fact regarding the mother’s lack of emotional injuries as required by Camper v. Minor, 915 S.W.2d 437 (Tenn. 1996). The trial court granted partial summary judgment to the defendant hospital by limiting the mother’s claim for damages to those suffered within ten days of the hospital’s error while the couple awaited confirmation that the baby they brought home was their biological child. We affirm the trial court in part and reverse in part. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
Amber Hobbs, et al. v. Seton Corporation d/b/a Baptist Hospital, et al.
This is a companion case to Filson v. Seton Corp. d/b/a Baptist Hospital, No. M2006-02301-COA-R9-CV. Both cases were brought by mothers of newborns against the hospital where the babies were born, and both arose from the same incident. Employees of the hospital mistakenly brought the wrong infant to a mother for feeding. In the case before us, Ms. Hobbs, the mother of the child who was mistakenly taken to the wrong mother, claimed emotional distress on her own behalf and negligence and battery on behalf of her child. The hospital admitted a breach of the standard of care, but argued that the plaintiffs did not suffer any actual damages because the mistake was corrected within a very short time after it was made. The trial court dismissed all the claims on summary judgment. Ms. Hobbs argues on appeal that the trial court erred in dismissing the claims for negligence and battery that she filed on behalf of her infant child. We affirm the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
Ricky Lee Wilson and Kimberly Wilson, as guardians and next friends of Brandon Wilson, a minor v. The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tom Maddox, Timothy John McKnight, and Justin Lejuan Dunnigan
The minor plaintiff and his parents sued for damages for serious bodily injury resulting from an assault, and at the conclusion of the trial the trial judge held the defendants liable for the injuries and awarded damages. The defendants have appealed, insisting the assault was not foreseeable. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
Elizabeth Diaz Graham vs. Christopher Scott Graham
The parties to this action were divorced in Bradley County, Tennessee, and the mother then moved to Florida with the children as the custodial parent under the agreed Parenting Plan. The father brought this action, charging the mother with contempt of court and petitioned the Court to modify the existing Parenting Plan by awarding the father custody of the minor children. Among the defenses raised by the mother was the lack of subject matter jurisdiction in this State, but the Trial Judge held that courts in Tennessee had subject matter jurisdiction over the issues in dispute. On appeal, we reverse on the basis that the courts of Tennessee do not have subject matter jurisdiction over the issues, and remand for transfer of the matter to the appropriate Florida court. |
Bradley | Court of Appeals | |
William A. Baker II v. Homer J. Johnson, Sr.
Shortly after the parties entered into a contract for the sale of a piece of real estate, the seller refused to transfer possession and informed the buyer that he did not intend to close on the property. The buyer filed suit for breach of contract and demanded specific performance. The seller denied that the contract of sale was valid or enforceable and presented a number of different and inconsistent allegations to support his contention. The trial court granted summary judgment to the buyer. We affirm. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
Jefferson Lee Young vs. Enerpac
Plaintiff filed this action after the statute of limitations had run, and defendant moved to dismiss. Plaintiff attempted to invoke the discovery rule, claiming that his injuries had required surgery and he was sedated for a few days following the accident. The Trial Court granted the defendant summary judgment and plaintiff has appealed. We affirm the Trial Court on the grounds that the discovery rule was not applicable to the circumstances of this case. |
McMinn | Court of Appeals | |
Betty L. Graham v. Board of Director Lake Park Condo-Signal View
Betty L. Graham (“Plaintiff”) sued the Board of Director Lake Park Condo-Signal View1 (“Defendant”) in General Sessions Court for Hamilton County. The General Sessions Court granted summary judgment to Defendant on eight of Plaintiff’s ten claims and later dismissed the remaining two claims with prejudice. Plaintiff appealed to the Circuit Court for Hamilton County. The Circuit Court granted partial summary judgment to Defendant on the same eight claims as the General Sessions Court had but did so on the sole basis that the appeal to the Circuit Court was untimely as to those eight claims and, subsequently granted Defendant’s motion to dismiss the remaining two claims. Plaintiff appeals to this Court. We reverse the grant of partial summary judgment on the eight claims, and affirm the dismissal of the other two claims. |
Hamilton | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee ex rel. City of Chattanooga, Tennessee v. 2003 Delinquent Taxpayers, et al.
The issue in this case is whether the trial court had jurisdiction to hear a suit filed by the City of Chattanooga (“the City”) to enforce a real property tax lien on property acquired by Custom Baking Company through a sale conducted by a bankruptcy court trustee. The previous owner of the real property, which was alleged to have been delinquent in payment of its city property taxes, filed a bankruptcy petition in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware prior to this action. The City was listed as a creditor in the bankruptcy action and was notified of the proposed sale of the debtor’s assets by the bankruptcy trustee and filed no objection. After the sale of the property, the Bankruptcy Court approved the sale free and clear of all liens, claims, and encumbrances, and retained jurisdiction “to determine any claims, disputes or causes of action arising out of or relating to the proposed sale.” The City brought this action in state Chancery Court several months after the entry of the Bankruptcy Court’s order. Upon review, we affirm the trial court’s judgment that it lacked jurisdiction to hear and decide this case and that the City is barred by the collateral attack doctrine from bringing this action to circumvent the Bankruptcy Court’s prior valid final order. |
Hamilton | Court of Appeals | |
In Re: Adoption of T.L.H., A Minor Child Erik Holt v. Christopher Lee Morris, et ux, Sarah Lynn
This is an appeal from an order terminating a father’s parental rights and granting a stepfather’s petition for adoption. Because the final order does not contain sufficient findings of fact and conclusions of law justifying the trial court’s decision, we vacate the order and remand for further proceedings. |
Wayne | Court of Appeals | |
Marian Neamtu v. Iveta Neamtu
This is an appeal from a divorce action in which both Husband and Wife challenge various findings and rulings of the trial court. Husband appeals claiming the trial court erred in not finding Wife a non-credible witness, finding Wife is unable to work due to a lengthy illness, awarding Wife alimony in futuro, and requiring him to pay Wife’s COBRA insurance. Wife appeals claiming that the trial court erred in its division of marital property and the amount of alimony awarded. We affirm the trial court’s decision in all respects. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals |
