Editorial
Front Page - Friday, February 25, 2011
Case Digests: Tennesse Court of Appeals Syllabus
Suzanne H. McKin v. Charles David McKin.
Hamilton County – In this divorce case the Trial Judge granted the parties a divorce, divided the marital property, and ordered transitional alimony to the wife until the husband pays the wife an amount ordered by the Court to render the property settlement equitable. The parties have appealed, and we modify the Judgment because the Trial Court inadvertently included an amount in the property division which he had found to be the separate property of the husband. We adjust the property division along the lines intended by the Trial Judge and set a definite time for the transitional alimony to comply with the statute.
Curtis Robin Russsell, et al. v. Anderson County, et al.
Anderson County – 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 percent of the fault each to Mrs. Russell and the City and 10 percent to Mr. Misek. The City appealed. We affirm.
Tommy K. Hindman v. Louise Helen Hindman.
Knox County – 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.
Randall Phillip Boyce v. Tennessee Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission.
Davidson County – Sheriff filed a petition for judicial re-view 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.
Advanced Photographic Solutions LLC v. National Studios, Inc., et al.
Bradley County – 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.
Melany Faye (Ellett) Morris v. Johnny Edward Morris, II.
Fayette County – This is a divorce case. One minor child was born of the marriage. After the parties filed for divorce, the wife relocated out of state with the parties’ child without obtaining court permission to do so. The husband filed a petition to hold the wife in contempt for relocating out of state with the child. The trial court declined to hold the wife in contempt, designated the wife as the primary residential parent, and ordered the husband to pay child support. In dividing the marital property, the husband was ordered to pay the statutory penalty for early withdrawal of the monies in his retirement savings account. The wife was awarded rehabilitative alimony and attorney fees as alimony in solido. The husband now appeals the relocation decision, the designation of primary residential parent, the assessment of the retirement account penalty, and the award of attorney fees. We affirm.
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