APPELLATE COURT OPINIONS

This is a will contest in which the contestants have appealed from a jury verdict and judgment in favor of the will.

The majority has reached the correct result in this case. I have prepared this separate opinion for two reasons. First, we should state clearly that the contestants’ trial counsel should not be faulted for requesting the trial court to use a Tennessee Pattern Jury Instruction that the Tennessee Supreme Court had disapproved only one month before trial. Second, we should conclude without equivocation that the record contains material evidence upon which the jury could have determined that the beneficiary had clearly and convincingly rebutted the presumption of undue influence arising from her confidential relationship with Mrs. Haney.

This appeal involves a personal injury action in which the plaintiff sought to file a separate suit against previously unknown defendants in accordance with Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-1-119 (1994). The Fifth Circuit Court for Davidson County granted the new defendants’ motions for summary judgment on the ground that the complaint was filed one day late. The plaintiff asserts on this appeal that the trial court erred by failing to extend the time for filing his amended complaint by three days in accordance with Tenn. R. Civ. P. 6.05. We have determined that Tenn. R. Civ. P. 6.05 does not extend the deadline for taking the actions required by Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-1-119 and, therefore, affirm the trial court.

The sole issue in this appeal is whether the trial court awarded petitioner/appellant's attorney a reasonable attorney's fee.

This appeal involves a suit to determine ownership of an 18.5 acre tract of land located in Lincoln County, Tennessee. The facts are as follows.

In this divorce proceeding, the plaintiff, Syble B. Stephenson, has appealed from a judgment entered by the Trial Court on April 11, 1995, overruling a motion to alter or amend a judgment previously entered on November 14, 1994, dealing with distribution of marital property and indebtedness thereon, child support arrearage, future child support and medical expenses, visitation and possession of a list of personal belongings.