Legal Case

JANICE M. LONGDUE v. MELISSA HAMMOCK

Court

Court of Appeals of Tennessee

Decided

June 12, 2025

Jurisdiction

SA

Importance

46%

Significant

Case Summary

06/12/2025 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE AT KNOXVILLE Assigned on Briefs June 3, 2025 JANICE M. LONGDUE v. MELISSA HAMMOCK Appeal from the Circuit Court for Knox County No. 159894 Gregory S. McMillan, Judge ___________________________________ No. E2024-01073-COA-R3-CV ___________________________________ This appeal stems from the trial court’s granting of Appellee’s petition for an order of protection against Appellant. We do not reach the merits of Appellant’s argument because her brief does not comply with Rule 27 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure and Rule 6 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals of Tennessee—most notably by failing to include a statement of issues presented for review. This appeal is therefore dismissed. Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Appeal Dismissed and Remanded J. STEVEN STAFFORD, P.J., W.S., delivered the opinion of the court, in which FRANK G. CLEMENT, JR., P.J., M.S., and JOHN W. MCCLARTY, J., joined. Melissa Hammock, Corryton, Tennessee, Pro se Janice M. Longdue, Corryton, Tennessee, Pro se. MEMORANDUM OPINION1 I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND 1 Rule 10 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals of Tennessee provides: This Court, with the concurrence of all judges participating in the case, may affirm, reverse or modify the actions of the trial court by memorandum opinion when a formal opinion would have no precedential value. When a case is decided by memorandum opinion it shall be designated “MEMORANDUM OPINION,” shall not be published, and shall not be cited or relied on for any reason in any unrelated case. This matter involves a dispute between two property owners, Respondent/Appellant Melissa Hammock (“Appellant”) and Petitioner/Appellee Janice M. Longdue (“Appellee”). Appellee’s property is bordered on one side by a strip of land encumbered by an easement; the front of Appellant’s property abuts the easement. The easement is for the benefit of the property neighboring Appellant’s property, providing an access road to the rear of that property. In turn, that neighbor has allowed Appellant to use the road to access her own property. Appellant also performs maintenance on the easement. On May 16, 2024, Appellee filed a petition for an order of protection against Appellant in the Knox County Circuit Court (“the trial court”). Appellee alleged that Appellant had damaged her property by, inter alia, cutting a barbed-wire fence, destroying a privacy fence, and cutting trees. The petition further alleged that Appellant would often be on Appellee’s property line and would record Appellee in her yard. Following a hearing, the trial court granted Appellee an order of protection on June 20, 2024. Appellant was prohibited from contacting or communicating with Appellee and entering or intentionally damaging Appellee’s property. Appellant was further prohibited from performing maintenance of the easement along Appellee’s property. The order was set to expire on December 31, 2024. Appellee filed a motion for attorney’s fees on June 25, 2024. Appellee was awarded $3,975.00 in attorney’s fees by order of July 11, 2024. Appellant filed this appeal on July 23, 2024. II. ANALYSIS As discussed more in depth, infra, it is somewhat unclear from Appellant’s brief what questions she poses on appeal. Upon review, we conclude that Appellant’s failure to comply with the requirements of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure and the Rules of the Court of Appeals of Tennessee concerning appellate briefs precludes effective review, and we decline to reach the substantive issues. The Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure and the Rules of the Court of Appeals set forth rules regarding appellate practice, specifically, the form and content of a party’s brief. Rule 27 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure provides that the brief of an appellant shall contain the following: (1) A table of contents, with references to the pages in the brief; (2) A table of authorities, including cases (alphabetically arranged), statutes and other authorities cited, with references to the pages in the brief where they are cited; (3) A jurisdictional statement in cases appealed to the Supreme Court directly from the trial court indicating briefly the jurisdictional grounds for the appeal to the Supreme Court; -2- (4) A statement of the issues presented for review; (5) A statement of the case, indicating briefly the nature of the case, the cou

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Case Details

Case Details

Legal case information

Status

Decided

Date Decided

June 12, 2025

Jurisdiction

SA

Court Type

federal

Legal Significance

Case importance metrics

Importance Score
Significant
Score46%
Citations
0

Metadata

Additional information

AddedJun 12, 2025
UpdatedJun 12, 2025

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Case Summary

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Court Proceedings

Date FiledJune 12, 2025
Date DecidedJune 12, 2025

Document Details

Times Cited
0
Importance Score
0.5

Legal Classification

JurisdictionSA
Court Type
federal
Judicial Panel
Judge J. Steven Stafford
Opinion Author
Judge J. Steven Stafford

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Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals
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Khalil Coleman v. Kentucky General Assembly

80% match
Court of Appeals of Kentucky
Jun 2025

RENDERED: JUNE 20, 2025; 10:00 A.M. NOT TO BE PUBLISHED Commonwealth of Kentucky Court of Appeals NO. 2024-CA-1311-MR KHALIL COLEMAN APPELLANT APPEAL FROM FRANKLIN CIRCUIT COURT v. HONORABLE THOMAS D. WINGATE, JUDGE ACTION NO. 23-CI-00759 KENTUCKY GENERAL ASSEMBLY APPELLEE OPINION AFFIRMING ** ** ** ** ** BEFORE: THOMPSON, CHIEF JUDGE; ACREE AND A. JONES, JUDGES. ACREE, JUDGE: Appellant Khalil Coleman appeals from the Franklin Circuit Court’s order dismissing his complaint against Appellee, the Kentucky General Assembly. Finding no error, we affirm. BACKGROUND Khalil Coleman, a state inmate, filed a pro se lawsuit seeking a declaration regarding certain sections of the Kentucky Revised Statutes. He named the General Assembly of Kentucky as the sole defendant. The General Assembly moved to dismiss the action, arguing Coleman failed to state a claim, and alternatively, if Coleman had stated a claim, the General Assembly is shielded by legislative immunity under Section 43 of the Kentucky Constitution. The Franklin Circuit Court granted the General Assembly’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim and declined to assess the immunity defense. Coleman now appeals. ANALYSIS We review de novo a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. Davenport Extreme Pools and Spas, Inc. v. Mulflur, 698 S.W.3d 140, 150 (Ky. App. 2024). Trial courts must construe pleadings “in a light most favorable to the plaintiff.” Gall v. Scroggy, 725 S.W.2d 867, 869 (Ky. App. 1987) (citing Ewell v. Central City, 340 S.W.2d 479 (Ky. 1960)). In response to a pleading, a party to an action may present the defense of a failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted by a pre-answer motion. CR1 12.02(f). The General Assembly presented that defense, arguing Coleman’s complaint “does not state any cognizable legal theory related to the General Assembly and alleges no sufficient facts to support one. In fact, the Complaint 1 Kentucky Rules of Civil Procedure. -2- does not even allege any action or inaction by the General Assembly as a body or by its individual members.” (Record (R.) at 55.) Coleman argues his “declaration of rights petition did in fact state several claims, which should have rendered right to relief.” (Appellant’s Brief at 4.) However, even on appeal, Coleman fails to state any claims against the General Assembly. As he did before the Franklin Circuit Court, he again argues that certain statutes are unconstitutional but does not aver in his brief before this Court sufficient facts that would allow the General Assembly to respond with a rational, cogent answer. He asserts no specific wrongdoing by the General Assembly. Rather, he requests that this Court “evoke legislative intent [and] redact statute [sic] of controversy affecting [his] rights.” (Appellant’s Br. at 6.) Although the General Assembly did not submit an Appellee’s Brief, we take that non- response as an expression of its belief there is nothing warranting a response on appeal. While we respect Coleman’s activism, bringing an action against the General Assembly is not a means by which such change can be effectuated. Existence of an actual controversy is a fundamental component of an action. “The court will not decide speculative rights or duties which may or may not arise in the future, but only rights and duties about which there is a present actual controversy presented by adversary parties, and in which a binding judgment concluding the -3- controversy may be entered.” Foley v. Commonwealth, 306 S.W.3d 28, 31 (Ky. 2010) (quoting Veith v. City of Louisville, 355 S.W.2d 295, 297 (Ky. 1962)). “An actual controversy . . . does not involve a question which is merely hypothetical or an answer which is no more than an advisory opinion.” Barrett v. Reynolds, 817 S.W.2d 439, 441 (Ky. 1991). Coleman’s request that the Court redact certain statutes is not an actual controversy. Neither is his request that the Court actually issue an advisory opinion, which we are prohibited from rendering. Nordike v. Nordike, 231 S.W.3d 733, 739 (Ky. 2007) (citations omitted) (“It is a fundamental tenet of Kentucky jurisprudence that courts cannot decide matters that have not yet ripened into concrete disputes. Courts are not permitted to render advisory opin

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