Court Rulings

Because the amount of back pay recoverable has not been established with certainty, Stultz is not entitled to the requested writ of mandamus.

Core Terms: public record court of claims R.C. 2743.75 R.C. 149.43 ambiguous overly broad email. Overview: Requester sought email between respondent and employees of a named company on specific dates and times. The special master found that the request as clarified prior to litigation reasonably identified the records sought. The special master further found that requester did not provide clear and convincing evidence to overcome respondent's attestation that if such emails had existed, they would have been deleted in accordance with the office records retention schedule and were no longer in her possession.

At issue in this appeal is whether nurse case management fees are recoverable as part of an employer's workers' compensation subrogation lien under Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-112. The trial court answered this question in the negative and also determined that the employer's subrogation lien should be reduced by attorney's fees awarded to the employee's attorney. For the reasons stated herein, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

This appeal arises from a widow's suit over her husband's alleged exposure to asbestos. Raymond Andrews ("Decedent") worked for Norfolk Southern Railway Company ("Norfolk Southern") for 24 years before retiring. He later died of lung cancer. Decedent's wife, Gloria Andrews ("Plaintiff"), sued Norfolk Southern in the Circuit Court for Knox County ("the Trial Court") under the Federal Employers' Liability Act ("FELA") alleging that her late husband had been exposed to asbestos while working for Norfolk Southern. Norfolk Southern filed several evidentiary motions which the Trial Court granted. Norfolk Southern subsequently filed a motion for summary judgment, which also was granted. Plaintiff appeals to this Court raising several evidentiary issues. We hold that the Trial Court did not err in excluding lay testimony regarding the presence of asbestos in areas where Decedent worked because these witnesses lacked personal knowledge about the alleged asbestos. Plaintiff was unable to produce any admissible evidence at the summary judgment stage to support her claim that Norfolk Southern failed to maintain a safe working environment. We affirm the judgment of the Trial Court.

The trial court did not err in confirming and refusing to vacate an arbitration award in favor of union and against transit authority with regard to transit authority's practice of contracting outside entities to provide a portion of transportation services mandated for individuals with disabilities. The arbitrator did not exceed his authority by interpreting the applicable collective bargaining agreement as prohibiting transit authority from subcontracting driving duties normally performed by union bus operators. Judgment affirmed.

The trial court did not err in confirming an arbitration award entered in favor of a labor union. The award drew its essence from the collective bargaining agreement because it did not conflict with the agreement's express terms and was rationally supported by the agreement. The parties agreed to assign a specific task to a particular job classification, and there was also a past practice of having only employees in that job classification perform the task. This past practice was unequivocal, was clearly enunciated, and was followed for a reasonable period of time as a fixed and established practice accepted by both parties. It, therefore, was binding on the parties. Even if the past practice had not been binding, the collective bargaining agreement specifically required past practices or precedent to be considered in interpreting the agreement. Judgment affirmed.