Court Rulings

Employee Christine Summers was killed in the course and scope of her employment with RTR Transportation Services. Employee's surviving spouse, Sonney Summers, filed a claim for death benefits. The parties ultimately agreed that Mr. Summers was entitled to death benefits. However, they disagreed regarding whether the death benefits should be paid in a lump sum. They also disagreed regarding whether Mr. Summers's attorneys were entitled to have their fees paid in a lump sum and whether attorneys' fees were recoverable for burial expenses. The trial court determined that neither Mr. Summers's death benefits nor the attorneys' fees should be commuted to a lump sum payment. The trial court also found that attorneys' fees were not recoverable for burial expenses. The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board affirmed. Employee has appealed, and the appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel for consideration and a report of findings of fact and conclusions of law pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 51. We affirm in part and reverse in part.

Appellant's claim that he did not receive a fair trial lacks merit. There is nothing in the record to indicate that the trial court magistrate exhibited racial bias by crediting appellees' trial testimony over appellant's testimony and video evidence. Moreover, the credibility of the witnesses' testimony was for the magistrate, as trier of fact, to resolve, and there is nothing in the record indicating that the magistrate's credibility determination was unsound. Judgment affirmed.

This appeal involves a contractual dispute related to the plaintiff's employment. The trial court granted summary judgment to the defendant. The plaintiff appealed. We affirm.