APPELLATE COURT OPINIONS

This malpractice action was dismissed on motion for summary judgment. It arose from a routine prostate resection which went awry, resulting in adverse consequences to the plaintiff. A device referred to as a resectoscope manufactured by the Circon ACMI Ohio Manufacturing Company,1 malfunctioned while being used by and under the control of the defendant, Dr. Paul Hatcher [hereafter, the “defendant”]. It is not disputed that a portion of the penis of the plaintiff, Herman Davis [hereafter, “plaintiff”], was either chemically, thermally or electrically burned away, with disastrous results unnecessary here to be recounted.

This is an action for damages for breach of a construction contract and of an implied warranty of good workmanship and materials and for negligent construction.

This is an appeal by petitioner, Allen B. Cole, from the judgment of the Chancery Court of Davidson County granting the motion to dismiss of respondent, the Tennessee Board of Paroles ("the Board").

In this wrongful death case we have determined that when the plaintiffappellant accepted a jury verdict finding the decedent was forty-nine percent at fault, that finding became binding in the appeal of the trial judge’s action in dismissing another defendant on the day of the trial. We, therefore, pretermit the issues raised by the appellant and affirm the judgment below.

Even though I concur completely with Judge Lewis’s opinion, I have prepared this separate opinion to elaborate further on the procedure whereby a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted is converted to a motion for summary judgment. Tenn. R. Civ. P. 12.02(6) requires this conversion whenever “matters outside the pleading are presented to and not excluded by the [trial] court.”

This appeal involves one of the central principles of our comparative fault system - that all persons involved in an occurrence giving rise to injury or damages should have their rights and liabilities determined in one action. Douglas Samuelson perfected this appeal solely to obtain appellate review  of the summary dismissal of his malpractice claim against one of  several defendants on the day of trial. Rather than deciding this question, the majority has decided that the jury’s verdict with regard to the remaining parties somehow forecloses Mr. Samuelson from ever obtaining relief from the defendant who was removed from the case even before the trial started. I cannot agree with this decision.

In this case, Plaintiff-Appellant, Dr. Afsoon Vafaie Elmore, appeals the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to Defendant-Appellee, Dr. Walter R. Owens, III, with respect to Plaintiff’s claims against Dr. Owens for assault, malicious harassment and civil conspiracy. Plaintiff also appeals the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to Defendant-Appellee, Cheryl Roberts Owens as to Plaintiff’s claims against Mrs. Owens for assault, malicious harassment, outrageous conduct and civil conspiracy. Plaintiff further appeals certain evidentiary rulings made by the trial court during the course of Plaintiff’s jury trial against Dr. Owens in which the Plaintiff sought to recover damages for severe emotional distress, arising from the alleged outrageous conduct of Dr. JuOwens.

This appeal involves a post-divorce contempt proceeding. The appellant, Mrs. Brenda Cherry, filed an unverified complaint in the Probate Court for Davidson County seeking to recover unpaid child support from her former husband, Mr. Songoleke Kurante Kotunu (formerly Joseph Tyree Glanton). Mr. Kotunu filed a Motion to Dismiss arguing the Complaint was defective since Mrs. Cherry had not verified it. The probate court agreed with Mr. Kotunu, and dismissed Mrs. Cherry’s suit. The court also awarded Mr. Kotunu his attorneys fees. Mrs. Cherry asserts on appeal that the probate court erred by requiring her to have verified her complaint, and in granting Mr. Kotunu’s attorneys fees. We partially disagree with Mrs. Cherry, and therefore affirm the probate court in part.

This is an action by Appellee, Dodson Roberts(Roberts), to recover the compensation allegedly due him from his former employer, the appellant, National Safety Associates, Inc. (NSA).

In this medical malpractice action, Plaintiff-Appellant, Jeannie Farrow (“Farrow” or “Plaintiff”), appeals the trial court’s judgment granting the Motion for Summary Judgment filed by Defendant-Appellee, Warren G. Reed (“Dr. Reed” or “Defendant”).

In this medical malpractice action, Plaintiff-Appellant, Jeannie Farrow (“Farrow” or “Plaintiff”), appeals the trial court’s judgment granting the Motion for Summary Judgment filed by Defendant-Appellee, Warren G. Reed (“Dr. Reed” or “Defendant”).

Plaintiff Shirley Moore, on her own behalf and on behalf of her deceased son, Tracy W. Moore, appeals the trial court’s order granting the motion for summary judgment filed by Appellee Haulers Insurance Company, Moore’s uninsured motorist carrier. In granting the motion, the trial court ruled that the automobile insurance policy issued by Haulers did not cover Moore’s claim because Moore failed to give prompt notice of the claim to Haulers as required by the policy provisions. We affirm.