William Frank Crawford

This case involved a contract dispute between Robert J. Young Company and Nashville Hockey Club Limited Partnership regarding sponsorship of Nashville Predators hockey games. The parties initially entered a 1998 Sponsorship Agreement that included a force majeure clause covering player strikes, then negotiated a subsequent Letter of Agreement in late 1998 for a luxury suite, ten-year term, and related terms. When a players' strike occurred, RJY sought to cancel its obligations, prompting disagreement over whether the Letter superseded the original agreement. The trial court granted summary judgment on the basis that the Sponsorship Agreement remained in effect and awarded no damages after finding mitigation, but the Court of Appeals reversed, ruling that the plain language of the Letter of Agreement showed it superseded the Sponsorship Agreement and remanded for further proceedings on claims and damages.

business & regulatoryprocedure

This case involved a dispute between a husband and his wife's adult children over responsibility for the wife's nursing home and assisted living expenses after she developed advanced Alzheimer's disease. The parties had signed an antenuptial agreement before their marriage in which the husband agreed to pay for the wife's daily necessities. The wife had granted her children durable power of attorney, and they used her separate assets to cover some costs while seeking to enforce the agreement against the husband. The trial court ruled that the nursing facility expenses qualified as daily necessities under the agreement and ordered the husband to pay them; the Court of Appeals affirmed, finding the agreement unambiguous and the trial court's factual determination supported by the record.

family law

This case was a termination of parental rights proceeding in which the Tennessee Department of Children's Services sought to end Leigh Ann McAlister's rights to her two children after referrals alleging drug exposure and neglect led to the children's removal and placement in state custody. The juvenile court terminated the mother's rights on grounds of failure to substantially comply with permanency plans, and the Court of Appeals affirmed that decision. The appellate court found clear and convincing evidence that McAlister had not fulfilled plan requirements such as completing drug and domestic violence assessments, maintaining sobriety as shown by repeated positive drug screens, obtaining stable housing and employment, and attending parenting classes. It also concluded there was clear and convincing evidence that termination served the children's best interests.

family law

This case involved a dispute over a $925,000 construction contract for installing sewer lines, water lines, roads, and site work in a Tennessee subdivision development. The contractor sued the owner for unpaid retainage, extra work, and other amounts after stopping work due to failed sewer line inspections, while the owner contested payment for changes without written orders and counterclaimed for breach. The trial court ruled largely for the contractor, but on appeal the Court of Appeals affirmed in part (including on waiver of written change-order requirements), reversed in part (on the breach finding, topsoil claim, and discretionary costs), and remanded for further proceedings. The core reasoning centered on contract interpretation, the effect of the parties' conduct on modification requirements, and reallocation of prevailing-party status after partial reversal.

business & regulatory

This case is a divorce proceeding between Jan Marie Vaughn and William Daniel Vaughn, where the mother was granted a divorce on grounds of the father's inappropriate marital conduct. The trial court divided marital property, awarded the mother alimony in futuro, child support for two minor children (one severely disabled), required the father to acquire special equipment and training for visitation, ordered life insurance, attorneys' fees, and child support arrearages. On appeal, the Court of Appeals affirmed the award of alimony and attorneys' fees but reversed the child support arrearage award, remanding for recalculation of child support and arrearages based on the mother's income and other factors. The core reasoning focused on the need for accurate computation of support obligations using proper guidelines and crediting prior payments.

family law

The case involved William J. Orr, a lab technician at Bridgestone/Firestone who sued his employer for statutory retaliatory discharge after being terminated. Orr claimed his firing stemmed from reporting quality concerns about truck-bus radial tires, while the company asserted it resulted from evidence that Orr had embezzled approximately $7,000 from a scheme involving the sale of tire casings to a vendor. The Court of Appeals of Tennessee affirmed the trial court's summary judgment for the employer, finding no dispute that Orr failed to show he refused to participate in or remain silent about illegal activity or that any protected conduct was the exclusive cause of his termination. The record showed Orr was encouraged to report tire issues (unrelated to the passenger tire recall), his concerns were investigated, and termination followed the embezzlement investigation.

labor & employment