Thomas v. State

742 S.W.2d 649, 1987 Tenn. App. LEXIS 2942
CourtCourt of Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedSeptember 30, 1987
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 742 S.W.2d 649 (Thomas v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Thomas v. State, 742 S.W.2d 649, 1987 Tenn. App. LEXIS 2942 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinion

OPINION

TODD, Presiding Judge.

On January 15, 1987, the Tennessee Claims Commission dismissed the claim of Clara L. Thomas against the State of Tennessee for damages resulting from a collision of a vehicle operated by plaintiff and a State vehicle operated on State business by Trooper Gossett.

On February 13,1987, plaintiff filed with the Tennessee Claims Commission a “notice of appeal” in the form customarily used in appealing from the decision of a trial court under T.R.A.P. Rule 3.

Nothing was filed with the Clerk of this Court until May 18, 1987, when the record was filed.

T.R.A.P. Rule 12 provides in pertinent part as follows:

The procedure for a statutory direct review of orders of an administrative agency by the Court of Appeals shall be as follows.
(a) Petition for Review. — Review is instituted by filing a petition for review with the clerk of the Court of Appeals. The petition for review shall specify the party or parties seeking review and shall designate the respondent and the order to be reviewed. The agency and all other parties of record shall be named as respondents. The petition for review filed with the clerk of the Court of Appeals shall be accompanied by petitioner’s or his counsel’s address and a list of the names and addresses of the parties or counsel upon whom service is required. The clerk of the Court of Appeals shall docket the proceeding and serve notice of the docketing as provided in Rule 5(c).
(b) Service of the Petition. — The petitioner shall serve the petition for review on the agency and all other parties of record to the proceeding before the agency in the manner for serving and proving service of a notice of appeal in civil actions prescribed in Rule 5(a).

No provision is found in T.R.A.P. for appeal to this Court from an administrative decision by the filing of a notice of appeal.

There is no record that a petition for review was ever filed with the Clerk of this Court or served upon the Claims Commission.

Inasmuch as briefs have been filed and the appeal has been submitted for decision without any complaint as to the means whereby the case reached this court, the irregularity will be waived, but the parties would do well to familiarize themselves with T.R.A.P. Rule 12.

The collision in question occurred in the intersection of Spring Street and East Main Street in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Traffic through said intersection is controlled by a traffic signal which, by displaying red or green lights permits or forbids movement of traffic through the intersection. Plaintiff’s vehicle was southbound on Spring Street, and the State vehicle was eastbound on East Main Street. As plaintiff’s vehicle passed through the intersection, it was struck in the left "rear corner by the right front corner of the State vehicle.

Other details of the circumstances of the collision are disputed.

Plaintiff testified as follows:

... And just as I got about halfway up on Spring Street, on South Spring, the light turned green.
Q. And you say halfway up. What do you mean halfway?
A. I was — I was about 15 or 20 feet away from the light when it turned green.
Q. Go ahead and tell me what happened.
[651]*651A. And I proceeded to go on through cause my light was green and as I got under it the rear of my car was hit ...
[[Image here]]
Q. Mrs. Thomas, do you recall what your approximate speed was prior to this collision?
A. Well, I’d say not over 15 or 20 miles an hour because I had stopped at the light prior to that one and I didn’t have time to get up much speed.
Q. And approximately how far were you from that traffic light when it turned green for you?
A. About 15 feet away.
[[Image here]]
Q. Mrs. Thomas, did you hear any siren or flashing light — or see any flashing lights—
A. No, sir.
Q. —before you entered the intersection?
A. No, sir.
Q. After you entered the intersection, do you ever recall hearing the siren or seeing the flashing lights?
A. No, sir.
Q. At the point of impact do you recall hearing or seeing those?
A. No, sir.
[[Image here]]
Q. Mrs. Thomas, do you have any problems with your hearing?
A. No, sir.
[[Image here]]
Q. But you never heard Trooper Gos-sett’s siren during any of the time that— while you were waiting for the previous light to change or as you slowly approached the intersection?
A. No, ma’am.
Q. And you didn’t see Trooper Gossett’s bluelights on as you entered the intersection, did you?
A. No, ma’am.
Q. But you didn’t look before you entered the intersection, did you?
A. No. I had the light. It was green and I proceeded to go through.

Trooper Gossett testified as follows: In response to radio instructions he was eastbound on East Main Street with blue flashing lights and siren operating. As he approached the intersection of Spring Street, he was faced with a red signal and slowed down. When he was about 25 feet from the intersection the signal changed to green and he proceeded into the intersection at about 30 miles per hour. He did not see plaintiffs vehicle until it was practically in front of him. He regarded the intersection as dangerous because “the line of sight for this intersection is not the most advantageous to all of the drivers.”

Shirley Elliott, an eyewitness testified as follows: She saw the State vehicle approaching, but could not say whether the siren or the sound of his engine attracted her attention. Plaintiff could not see the approach of the State vehicle because of a building on the corner but should have heard the State vehicle and should have stopped.

The testimony of other witnesses need not be summarized for the purpose of this opinion.

The Commission found:

... Each vehicle, from the lack of extended skid marks and from the indications of the speed of the vehicles drove into the intersection as though each had the green light. The testimony of each party was that the light had changed from red to green for him or her and each had accelerated as they proceeded through the intersection. There is no evidence that the traffic light was malfunctioning. As the two parties approached the intersection, there is a bank located on the corner such that it blocks the vision of either vehicle of the other as they approach the intersection until they get fairly close to the intersection itself.
...

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
742 S.W.2d 649, 1987 Tenn. App. LEXIS 2942, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thomas-v-state-tennctapp-1987.