APPELLATE COURT OPINIONS

By pre-complaint Petition under Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 27, insureds seek to obtain from their insurer copies of previous unsworn oral statements given to an adjuster before they will submit to a statement under oath pursuant to their obligations under the policy. The trial court granted the Petition, and insurer appeals. The judgment of the trial court is reversed, and the case is remanded with instructions to dismiss the Petition.

The defendant was convicted of one count of burglary. He contends on appeal that 1) there is insufficient evidence to sustain the conviction, 2) no proper foundation was laid for opinion testimony by certain witnesses, 3) the warrantless search of the vehicle was improper, and 4) the trial court erred in sentencing the defendant. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

The Defendant, Craig Quevedo, pled guilty to thirty counts of rape and twenty-four counts of incest and pled nolo contendere to two counts of aggravated sexual battery, four counts of rape of a child, nine counts of rape and one count of aggravated rape in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed an aggregate sentence of ninety-two years in prison. On appeal, the Defendant contends that his sentence was excessive and contrary to public policy. Finding no reversible error, we affirm the trial court's judgments.

Petitioner, Letivias D. Prince, filed a petition for post-conviction relief, which was subsequently amended. Following an evidentiary hearing, the trial court dismissed Petitioner's petition. On appeal, Petitioner argues the trial court erred in dismissing his petition for post-conviction relief and contends (1) that his counsel failed to develop a reasonable trial strategy or defenses for Petitioner; (2) that his counsel failed to fully investigate or adequately prepare the witnesses for trial; (3) that his counsel failed to allow Petitioner to testify at trial; and (4) that his counsel failed to ask for a continuance to investigate certain exculpatory evidence presented by the State at the time of trial. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

In this appeal, the ex-husband challenges the trial court's order denying his post-divorce petition to modify alimony and finding him in "technical contempt." We find that the proof is inadequate to establish willful efforts to defeat alimony obligations, that his change of employment was not voluntary and that a substantial and material change of circumstances has occurred, justifying some relief from the alimony obligation. The trial court did not err in holding the ex-husband to be in contempt. We reverse the judgment in part, affirm the judgment in part, and remand the case for further proceedings.

The Defendant, Thomas G. Lampley, Jr., was convicted of aggravated burglary, a Class C felony. After determining the Defendant to be a Range III, persistent offender, the trial court sentenced him to twelve years in the Department of Correction, consecutive to an prior sentence. The Defendant now appeals, alleging that his sentence for the instant crime should be ten years. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The petitioner, Jerry Lynn Wright, appeals the dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief, alleging that the post-conviction court erred in finding that his guilty plea was knowing and voluntary and that he received effective assistance of counsel. Upon review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

In this divorce appeal the Husband challenges the distribution of the only significant marital asset, the Husband's retirement benefit. The trial court divided that benefit by ordering the Husband to pay $530.82 of each monthly payment to the Wife. We affirm.

The Petitioner, Darrell Watkins, appeals the trial court's denial of his petition for habeas corpus relief. The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the trial court's denial of relief pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The Petitioner fails to assert a ground entitling him to habeas corpus relief. Accordingly, the State's motion is granted and the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

The Trial Judge refused to onerate an individual associated with defendant corporation with an obligation of the corporation which had been discharged in bankruptcy. On appeal, we affirm.

The Petitioner, Corey Johnson, appeals the trial court's denial of his petition for habeas corpus relief. The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the trial court's denial of relief pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Petitioner has failed to allege any ground that would render the judgment of conviction void. Accordingly, we grant the State's motion and affirm the judgment of the lower court.

Plaintiff's action for libel against defendants was dismissed on grounds the action was time-barred. We affirm.

The Appellant, David I. Tucker, appeals the dismissal of his petition requesting DNA analysis pursuant to the Post-Conviction DNA Analysis Act. After review, we find no error and affirm the judgment of the Cannon County Circuit Court.

The Defendant, Walter R. Smith, Jr., was convicted by a jury of five counts of child rape. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed an effective sentence of forty years. In this direct appeal, the Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence and his sentences. We affirm the Defendant's five convictions for child rape. The trial judge erred by failing to state on the record the facts that support the imposition of consecutive sentences. However, the record clearly shows that consecutive sentencing was proper. Therefore, we affirm the Defendant's sentences.

Defendant, Martin Stuart Hammock, was originally convicted of first degree murder following a jury trial. On appeal, this Court found that there was insufficient evidence of premeditation to support a conviction for first degree murder. Accordingly, we modified the judgment to reflect a conviction of second degree murder and remanded the case to the trial court for re-sentencing. State v. Martin Stuart Hammock, No. M2000-00334-CCA-R3-CD, 2001 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 824, (Tenn. Crim. App. at Nashville, Oct. 12, 2001), no perm. to app. filed. Following a new sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced Defendant to serve twenty-five years. Defendant appeals. After a review of the record, the briefs, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The Appellant, Rodney Laron Covington, was convicted by a Davidson County jury of one count of rape of a child and two counts of aggravated sexual battery. Covington received a twenty-year sentence for rape of a child and ten-year sentences for each aggravated sexual battery conviction. The sentences were ordered to be served concurrently. On appeal, he presents three issues for our review: (1) whether testimony by a nurse practitioner violated the holding of State v. Ballard, 855 S.W.2d 557 (Tenn. 1993); (2) whether the State's recitation of the facts supporting the charge of rape of a child was "specific enough to ensure that the jury would reach a unanimous decision" and "sufficiently corresponded to the State's proof;" and (3) whether the proof established that the offense of rape of a child occurred after July 1, 1992, as required for 100% service of the sentence imposed under Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-13-523(b). After review of the record, we find no reversible error. Accordingly, the judgments of the trial court are affirmed.

The Defendant, Shamain Johnson, appeals from the trial court's denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. Finding that denial of the petition was appropriate, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Plaintiff homeowners sued Defendant pest control operators for negligent misrepresentation and breach of warranty relative to the issuance by the Defendants of a wood destroying insect infestation inspection report pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 62-21-201 to 206. The trial court granted summary judgment to Defendants. Because civil liability is limited by section 62-21-202 and Plaintiffs allege no damages caused by the presence of wood-destroying insects, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
 

The Appellant, Christopher Robert Smith, was convicted by a Davidson County jury of possession with intent to deliver over 300 grams of cocaine, a class A felony. Following this conviction, he was sentenced to twenty-one years imprisonment. Smith appeals, arguing that (1) the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress and (2) the trial court improperly admitted evidence of prior criminal conduct. After a review of the record, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

The petitioner, Anthony Darrell Hines, convicted of first degree felony murder and sentenced to death for a 1985 homicide, appeals from the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, alleging that counsel were ineffective at his 1986 trial and 1989 resentencing hearing, that women were excluded from both juries, and that imposition of the death penalty violates his rights under the federal and state constitutions. The post-conviction court denied the petition after an evidentiary hearing. Following our review, we affirm the denial.

The narrow question presented by this appeal is whether Tennessee recognizes the tort of negligent misrepresentation by nondisclosure. While the Sears family’s complaint faces a daunting battle on other fronts, I would not extinguish it at this stage of the proceeding by holding as a matter of law that a professional person cannot supply the false information required by Restatement (Second) of Torts § 552 (1977) by silence.

 

Upon his plea of guilty, the Defendant was convicted of DUI. In this appeal, he attempts to present two certified questions of law pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 37(b)(2)(i). Because we conclude that this appeal does not properly present certified questions of law, we dismiss the appeal.