Court Rulings

This appeal concerns a noncompetition agreement. The Total Garage Store, LLC ("TGS") sued former employee Nicholas C. Moody ("Moody") in the Chancery Court for Montgomery County ("the Trial Court"). TGS alleged that Moody violated his noncompetition agreement ("the Agreement"). At the end of a hearing on TGS's motion for a temporary injunction held 35 days after suit was filed, the Trial Court invoked Tenn. R. Civ. P. 65.04(7) to declare that the hearing was on the merits of the case, not just the injunction. The Trial Court found the Agreement enforceable and entered an injunction order. Later, TGS filed a motion for contempt against Moody alleging that he violated the order. After a hearing, the Trial Court found Moody guilty of six counts of criminal contempt. The Trial Court also awarded damages to TGS. Moody appeals. Because the record does not reflect that Moody received adequate notice that the injunction hearing also would be on the merits, we vacate the Trial Court's judgment as it pertains to Moody's alleged violation of the Agreement. However, this does not and did not entitle Moody to ignore the temporary injunction, and we affirm the Trial Court in its finding Moody guilty of criminal contempt. We therefore affirm, in part, and vacate, in part, the Trial Court's judgment, and remand for further proceedings consistent with this Opinion.

employment discrimination – promissory estoppel – R.C. 4112.02(A) – summary judgment – employee handbook – probationary period – at will employee

In this negligence action arising from the plaintiff's injuries sustained while attempting to traverse the aisle of a moving school bus, the trial court granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment following a determination that (1) the plaintiff had not demonstrated that the defendants had breached any duty of care to the plaintiff and (2) alternatively, any reasonable fact-finder could only conclude that the plaintiff was at least fifty percent (50%) at fault for her injuries. In so finding, the trial court declined to consider the plaintiff's captioned "Declaration" in part because it failed to meet the affidavit requirements of Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 56.06. In filing her "Declaration" in support of her opposition to summary judgment, the plaintiff sought to amend her prior deposition testimony concerning the location of her fall. The trial court additionally denied the plaintiff's "Motion to Deem Requests for Admission Admitted" after the plaintiff averred that the defendants had failed to respond to the plaintiff's initial requests for admission for over five-hundred days. The plaintiff has appealed. Having determined that genuine issues of material fact exist regarding the defendants' breach of duty of care and comparative fault, we reverse the trial court's granting of summary judgment in favor of the defendants and the trial court's finding that the plaintiff's "Declaration" should not be considered. We affirm the trial court's denial of the plaintiff's "Motion to Deem Requests for Admissions Admitted."

Negligence battery excessive force magistrate Civ.R. 53. Plaintiff, an inmate, filed a complaint against defendant for an incident where defendant's employee used force against plaintiff. Plaintiff claimed monetary damages for alleged back and neck injuries. Based on video footage and testimony at trial, the magistrate determined that defendant's employee used minimal force to stop a perceived threat from plaintiff by holding him to the ground for a short period of time. The magistrate found that plaintiff failed to prove his case by a preponderance of the evidence and recommended judgment in favor of the defendant.