APPELLATE COURT OPINIONS

Former cohabitant brought this partition action with respect to real and personal property. On appeal, the defendant argues that the trial court erred in dividing the real property and a mobile home, in finding the motor vehicles to be jointly-owned property, and in dividing the proceeds of a savings account equally between the parties. We have concluded that the trial court erred in dividing the savings account, which is titled in the defendant’s name alone. In all other respects, we affirm the decision of the trial court.

A Maury County Circuit Court jury convicted the defendant, Charles E. Lowe-Kelley, of two counts of first degree premeditated murder, two counts of first degree felony murder, and nine counts of attempted first degree murder. At sentencing, the trial court imposed consecutive sentences of life with the possibility of parole for each first degree premeditated murder conviction, merged the first degree felony murder convictions into the first degree premeditated murder convictions, and imposed concurrent sentences of 15 years’ incarceration for each attempted first degree murder conviction to be served concurrently with the life sentences. On appeal, in addition to contesting the sufficiency of the evidence, the defendant contends that the trial court erred by (1) denying his motion for a continuance, (2) allowing a juror to remain on the jury who expressed an opinion about the case, (3) admitting evidence without establishing a proper chain of custody, (4) admitting a taperecorded conversation between the defendant and a separately-tried co-defendant, and (5) imposing consecutive sentences. Because the defendant failed to file a timely motion for new trial, all issues except the sufficiency of the evidence and sentencing are waived. Furthermore, the untimely motion for new trial rendered the notice of appeal untimely. In the interest of justice, however, we waive the timely filing of the notice of appeal and review the remaining issues. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

In this divorce action, Wife appeals the trial court’s denial of: (1) an oral motion for a continuance supported by her doctor’s affidavit; and (2) a motion to add, as necessary parties, two mortgagees of real estate alleged to be marital property. Discerning no error, we affirm.

The Petitioner, Alvin T. McGee, filed for post-conviction relief from his convictions for attempted burglary and vandalism between $500 and $1000, alleging that his guilty pleas were not knowingly and voluntarily entered. The post-conviction court denied the petition, and the Petitioner now appeals. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

The appellant, Mitzi Rollins, pled guilty in the Moore County Circuit Court to one count of initiating a false report under Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-16-502. The plea agreement provided that she would be sentenced to two years and ten months, with the trial court to determine the manner of service. After a hearing, the trial court denied the appellant’s request for alternative sentencing, citing her lengthy criminal history and the repeated unsuccessful attempts to use less restrictive sentencing. The appellant contends the trial court erred by ordering her to serve her sentence in confinement. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

This is the second appeal of this wrongful death action, arising from a pedestrian versus motor vehicle collision that fatally injured a seven-year-old child at a downtown Clinton intersection. The action was filed pursuant to the Tennessee Governmental Tort Liability Act (“GTLA”), Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-20-101 et seq., against the City of Clinton (“the City”) by plaintiffs Curtis Robin Russell (“Mr. Russell”) and Dorothy Louise Russell (“Mrs. Russell”) (collectively “the Russells”) as next of kin of the decedent, their son Curtis Tyler Russell (“Curtis”). The Russells settled with the driver of the vehicle, Ladislav Misek (“Mr. Misek”), who was subsequently dismissed as a party-defendant from the lawsuit. The trial court in the first trial entered judgment after a nonjury trial, apportioning equivalent liability to Mrs. Russell and the City. On appeal, this court held that: (1) the trial court committed reversible error when it failed to rule on the fault to be attributed to Mr. Misek; and (2) material evidence existed for the culpability and fault to be assigned to Mr. Misek. On remand, the trial court altered its judgment, attributing 45% of the fault each to Mrs. Russell and the City and 10% to Mr. Misek. The City appealed. We affirm.

The defendant, Deadrick Garrett, was convicted of first degree premeditated murder and sentenced to life with the possibility of parole in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, he argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction and that the trial court erred in excluding evidence regarding the victim’s prior convictions and parole status. After careful review, we affirm the judgment from the trial court.

The Defendant, Lloyd Andra Webb, pled guilty to possession with intent to sell twenty-six grams or more of cocaine, a Class B felony, and to possession of marijuana, a Class A misdemeanor. See T.C.A. §§ 39-17-417 (2010); 39-17-418 (2010). He was sentenced as a Range I, standard offender to nine years for the possession with intent to sell conviction and to eleven months, twenty-nine days for the misdemeanor possession conviction, to be served concurrently. He was order to serve fifteen weekends in the Blount County Jail with the balance of his sentences on community corrections. The Defendant’s plea agreement reserved a certified question of law regarding the legality of the traffic stop that led to his arrest. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

This appeal involves an award of sanctions. We reverse because the moving party did not comply with the safe harbor provision of Rule 11.03 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure.

Defendant, Patrick Rico Edwards, was indicted by the Davidson County Grand Jury for murder in the perpetration of a theft and first-degree premeditated murder, both in violation of Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-202. After a jury trial began on August 21, 2008, the trial court granted a mistrial. On March 19, 2009, Defendant pleaded guilty to the lesser-included offense of second degree murder. Following a sentencing hearing on May 12, 2009, Defendant was sentenced to serve 21 years in confinement at 100 percent. In this appeal, Defendant challenges the length of his sentence. After a thorough review of the record, we conclude that Defendant’s sentence is not excessive and affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The Defendant, Tony Chester McNally, pled guilty to introducing contraband into a penal institution, a Class C felony. See T.C.A. § 39-16-201 (2010). He was sentenced as a Range I, standard offender to three years’ confinement, to be served consecutively to sentences he was serving at the time of this offense. The Defendant’s plea agreement reserved a certified question of law regarding the legality of the questioning that led to his conviction. Because we conclude that the certified question is not dispositive of the case, we dismiss the appeal.

Louise Helen Hindman (“Wife”) and Tommy K. Hindman (“Husband”) were divorced in August of 1997, at which time the trial court approved a marital dissolution agreement (“the MDA”) submitted by the parties. Relevant to the instant case, the MDA addressed future medical and educational expenses for the parties’ minor child (“Son”). After Wife refused to reimburse Husband in compliance with the pertinent provisions of the MDA, he filed a petition seeking to have her held in contempt. The trial court ultimately ordered Wife to pay $43,678. We affirm.

Mother appeals action of the trial court in adding a “paramour provision” to an order approving parenting plan for minor child. We modify the judgment and affirm in all other respects.

Sheriff filed a petition for judicial review regarding a decision of the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST) denying the sheriff’s request for certification. The sheriff argued that his basic recruit training in 1976, when he was a sheriff’s deputy, was equivalent to the Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy recruit training required by POST. The chancellor ordered POST to issue a certificate of compliance to the sheriff. Finding no error in POST’s decision, we reverse the chancellor’s decision.

Following a Montgomery County bench trial, the Defendant, Bennie E. Massey, was convicted of five counts of sexual battery by an authority figure, a Class C felony, and sentenced to six years, to be served on probation. The trial court also ordered the Defendant to serve forty-eight hours in jail every two weeks for the first year of his sentence. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions because the evidence presented by the State is based solely upon the victims’ testimony and those victims, he asserts, are accomplices to the sexual battery in that they consented to the unlawful touching. Further, he asserts that the trial  court improperly imposed consecutive sentencing. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we conclude that the victims were not accomplices, in that their consent was coerced by the Defendant, and that the evidence, therefore, supports the Defendant’s convictions. We further conclude that the trial court properly sentenced the Defendant. As such, we affirm the trial court’s judgments.

Appellant contends that he is a beneficiary of a trust created by his parents and thus entitled to distributions of principal and income. In a declaratory judgment action, the trial court determined that Appellant was not entitled to mandatory distributions of income or principal until both of his parents were deceased. We affirm this portion of the trial court’s judgment. The trial court also determined that no corporate trustee was required. We reverse this portion of the trial court’s judgment and remand for the appointment of a corporate trustee.

The Defendant, Jamie W. Stanfill, pled guilty to three counts of theft of property between $10,000 and $60,000, Class C felonies; one count of theft of property between $1000 and $10,000, a Class D felony; and five counts of burglary of a motor vehicle, Class E felonies. The Defendant agreed to a ten-year sentence, with the trial court to determine the manner of service of his sentence. After a hearing, the trial court ordered him to serve his sentence in confinement. The Defendant appeals, contending the trial court improperly denied his request for an alternative  sentence. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the trial court’s judgments.

The Bureau of TennCare filed a claim against a decedent’s estate to recover the cost of medical assistance provided to the decedent. The Estate filed an exception to the claim. The probate court sustained the claim, and the Estate appealed the probate court’s ruling to the circuit court which heard the matter de novo. The circuit court reversed the probate court and disallowed the claim of TennCare. TennCare appeals; we hold that the circuit court was without subject matter jurisdiction to review the probate court’s order. We vacate the judgment of the circuit court and remand the case.

Advanced Photographic Solutions, LLC (“Advanced”) sued National Studios, Inc. a/k/a NSI Closeout, Inc. (“National”) and Harold C. Lewis (“Lewis”) alleging that National owed on an account that was in default. After a jury trial, the trial court entered its Final Judgment on the jury’s verdict finding, inter alia, that Advanced had a contract with National, that National had breached the contract, that Lewis had a contract with Advanced providing his personal guaranty to pay National’s debt, and that Lewis had breached his contract of personal guaranty. The Final Judgment awarded Advanced judgment against National and Lewis jointly and severally in the amount of $400,526.70, and judgment against Lewis solely in the amount of $54,806.00 as attorney’s fees. National and Lewis appeal to this Court. The issues raised on appeal concern whether there was material evidence to support the jury’s verdict. We find that the record contains material evidence to support the jury’s verdict, and we affirm the trial court’s Final Judgment.

A Madison County Circuit Court Jury convicted the appellant, Willie Long, Jr., of two counts of the sale or delivery of a Schedule I drug and one count of simple possession/casual exchange of a Schedule I drug. The trial court imposed a total effective sentence of eleven years in the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) and ordered the appellant to serve eleven months and twenty-nine days of his felony sentences in the county jail “day for day” prior to being released on community corrections. On appeal, the appellant argues that the evidence adduced at trial was insufficient to sustain his convictions, that the trial court erred in enhancing the appellant’s felony sentences to eleven years, and that the trial court erred in ordering the appellant to serve eleven months and twenty-nine days of his felony sentences in the county jail “day for day.” The State concedes that the trial court erred in imposing “day for day” confinement in the county jail but argues the judgments should be affirmed in all other respects. Upon review, we affirm the appellant’s convictions and the length of the sentences imposed but remand for a correction of the judgments to provide that the appellant is entitled to earn good conduct credits while serving eleven months and twenty-nine days of his felony sentences in jail.

A Knox County Criminal Court jury convicted the appellant, Ivan Charles Graves, of first degree premeditated murder and felony murder committed during the perpetration of a kidnapping. Immediately after the jury’s verdict, the trial court merged the convictions and sentenced the appellant to life in prison. On appeal, the appellant contends that (1) the evidence is insufficient to support the premeditated murder conviction because the State failed to show he premeditated killing the victim; (2) the evidence is insufficient to support the convictions because the testimony  of one of the witnesses was irreconcilable with the physical evidence; (3) the State’s use of his  recorded jail conversations during its case-in-chief violated his constitutional rights; (4) the trial  court committed plain error by allowing the jury to have transcripts of the recorded conversations  during its deliberations; (5) the trial court erred by dismissing a potential juror for cause and failing to dismiss another juror for cause; and (6) the trial court erred by allowing a State witness to testify about the appellant’s prior bad acts. Although the trial court erred with regard to the transcripts, the errors do not warrant reversal, and we affirm the appellant’s convictions.

The Defendant, Dewitt William Stickle III, was charged with two counts of aggravated assault. Following a jury trial, he was convicted of one count of the lesser-included offense of assault, a Class A misdemeanor. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-101(b)(1). In this direct appeal, the Defendant, who maintained that he hit the victim in self-defense, contends that the trial court erred when it excluded testimony intended to corroborate his theory that the victim was the first  aggressor. After our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The Petitioner, Donald Ray Jones, pleaded guilty to two counts of first degree murder and received concurrent terms of life with the possibility of parole. The Petitioner filed a timely petition for post-conviction relief and, after a hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief. In this appeal, the sole issue that the Petitioner raises is that he was denied effective assistance of counsel because his Trial Counsel failed to request insanity and competency evaluations. After our review, we conclude that the Petitioner’s appeal should be dismissed because his notice of appeal was not timely filed.

Petitioner, James Paul Hurt, was convicted by a Marshall County jury of selling 0.5 grams or more of cocaine and delivery of 0.5 grams or more of cocaine. The trial court merged the convictions, and on direct appeal, this court affirmed the judgment of the trial court. State v. James Paul Hurt, No. M2006-02381-CCA-R3-CD, 2007 WL 4552987 (Tenn. Crim. App. at Nashville, Dec. 27, 2007), no perm. to app. filed. Subsequently, Petitioner timely filed a petition for post-conviction relief. Following an evidentiary hearing, the trial court denied relief and dismissed the petition. Petitioner appeals, arguing that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance of counsel. Following review of the briefs and the record, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction trial court.

A Davidson County jury convicted the Petitioner, Levi Battle, III, of possession of twenty-six grams or more of cocaine with intent to sell or deliver, and the trial court sentenced him to thirty years, at 60%, in the Tennessee Department of Correction. The Petitioner filed a petition for habeas corpus relief, in which he alleged that his sentence was illegal because he was sentenced outside of his sentencing range. The habeas corpus court dismissed the petition, and the Petitioner appeals the habeas corpus court’s judgment. After careful review, we affirm the judgment of the habeas corpus court.