Raybin Tennessee Supreme Court Hot List

Case:  Cynthia E. Yebuah et al. v. Center for Urological Treatment, PLC Facts:  In this health care liability case, a jury awarded Patient $4 million in noneconomic damages and $500,000 to Spouse for loss of consortium. The Defendant argued that the statutory damage cap should reduce the totality of the award to $750,000. The trial […]

Case: Regions Bank v. Nathan I. Prager Facts: After Plaintiff’s first suit was dismissed for failure to prosecute, Plaintiff filed a Motion to Reconsider. The trial court denied the motion but said the dismissal was neither “with nor without prejudice” and the Plaintiff was “welcome to refile.” Relying on that statement, Plaintiff declined to appeal […]

Case:  State of Tennessee v. Tyshon Booker Facts:  Defendant received a mandatory life sentence for a murder committed with he was sixteen years old. Defendant argued that “an automatic sentence of life imprisonment (with release no sooner than fifty-one years) is unconstitutional for a juvenile” based on the decisions in Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. […]

Case:  In Re Mattie L. Facts:  Mother petitioned to terminate Father’s parental rights. Father was arrested shortly before the trial and did not appear. The trial court held a trial without Father and held two grounds for termination had been proven by clear and convincing evidence: abandonment by willful failure to visit and abandonment by […]

Case:  State of Tennessee v. Terrell Lamont Reid Facts:  Defendant pled guilty in 2015 and received a sentence that was enhanced by the “criminal gang enhancement statute.” The following year, the enhancement was held to be unconstitutional in State v. Bonds, 502 S.W.3d 118 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2016). In 2019, Defendant filed a motion under […]