### IN THE CO URT OF APPEALS OF TE NNE SS EE AT KNO XVILL E Ass ig ne d o n B rie fs May 4, 20 12



### DAWN LOU IS E B URNE TT v. DEN NIS ERVIN B URNE TT

A p p e a l f r o m t h e C i r c u i t C o u r t f o r M o n r o e C o u n t y N o . V 1 1 2 0 2 P L a w r e n c e H o w a r d P u c k e t t , J u d g e

N o . E 2 0 1 1

- 0 2 2 9 7

- C O A

- R 3

- C V

- F I L E D

- M A Y 2 2 , 2 0 1 2

T h is case in v o lv es th e su f f icien cy o f n o tice g iv e n t o an in carcerated p arty in a d iv o rce p ro ceed in g

. Wif

e f iled f o r d iv o rce a n d s e n t H u sb an d n o tice o f a h earin g f o r ap p ro v al o f Wif e’s tem p o rary p aren tin g p lan . A lth o u g h F ath er w as n o t p resen t at th e h earin g , th e trial

co u rt en tered a f

in al d ecree o f d iv o rce in f av o r o f Wif

e, assig n in g th e m aj o rity o f th e m arital d eb t to H u sb an d

. H u sb an d ap p ealed
, assertin g th at h e w as n o t p ro p erly n o t i f ied th at th e h earin g w o u ld co n cern issu es o th er th an a tem p o rary p aren tin g p lan

. V acated an d rem an d ed

.

T e n n . R

. A p p . P

. 3

. A p p e a l a s o f R i g h t ; J u d g m e n t o f t h e C i r c u i t C o u r t V a c a t e d a n d R e m a n d e d

J

. S T E V E N S T A F F O R D , J

. , d e l i v e r e d t h e o p i n i o n o f t h e C o u r t , i n w h i c h A LA N E

. H IG H E R S , P

. J

. , W

. S

. , a n d D A V ID R

. F A R M E R , J

. , j o i n e d

.

D e n n i s E

. B u r n e t t , M o u n t a i n C i t y , T e n n e s s e e , f o r t h e a p p e l l a n t , p r o s e

.

D o r i s A

. M a t t h e w s , M a d i s o n v i l l e , T e n n e s s e e , f o r t h e a p p e l l e e , D a w n L o u i s e B u r n e t t

.

M E M O R A N D U M O P I N I O N 1

P lain tif f /A p p ellee D aw n L o u ise B u rn ett an d D ef en d an t/A p p ellan t D en n is E rv in

Rul e 10 of

th e Rul es of the Cour t o f Ap pea ls of T enn ess ee pro vides : 1

T his Cour t, wit h the con cur re nce of al l j udges par ti ci pat ing in the cas e, m ay af fi rm, re verse
or m odi fy the act ion s of the tr ia l cou rt by m emorand um opi nio n when a for m al opi nio n woul d have no pre ced ent ia l value. Wh en a cas e is dec ide d by m emorand um opi nio n it sha ll be des ignat ed “M EMORANDUM OPI NI ON,” sha ll not be publ is hed
, and sha ll not be ci te d

or re li ed o n f

or any re aso n i n an y unrel at ed c ase

.B u rn ett w ere m arried o n A p ril 8 , 2 0 0 0 . T h ey h av e o n e ch ild , b o rn in 1 9 9 4

.

M s. B u rn ett f

iled a c o mp l a i n t f

o r ab so lu te d iv o rce o n Ju n e 7
, 2 0 1 1
, alleg in g th e g ro u n d o f in ap p ro p riate m arital co n d u ct. T h e co m p lain t ask ed th at M r. B u rn ett b e o rd ered to p ay all h is b u sin ess an d p erso n al d eb ts. A t th e tim e o f th e d iv o rce, an d th ro u g h o u t th is ap p eal, M r. B u rn ett h as b een in carcerated at N o rth east C o rrectio n al C o m p lex
, in M o u n tain C ity , T en n essee.

With h er co m

p lain t, M o th er su b m itted a p ro p o sed tem p o rary p aren tin g p lan seek in g

so le cu sto d y o f th e co u p le’s ch ild

. A cco rd in g ly
, o n Ju n e 7
, 2 0 1 1
, M s. B u rn ett f iled a n o tice,

w h ich w as sen t to M r. B u rn ett, n o tif y in g h im th at a h earin g f

o r ap p ro v al o f

M s. B u rn ett’s p ro p o sed tem

p o rary p aren tin g p lan w as sch ed u led f o r A u g u st 2 9 , 2 0 1 1

.

O n Ju ly 1 1
, 2 0 1 1
, th e circu i t c o u r t c l erk f iled M r. B u rn ett’s p ro se resp o n se to th e

co m p lain t f o r d iv o rce. T h e resp o n se d en ied th e m aterial alleg atio n s co n t a i n ed in th e

co m p lain t, an d sp ecif

ically ask ed th at all p ro p erty an d d eb ts in cu rred d u r i n g t h e m arriag e b e d iv id ed eq u ally

. M r. B u rn ett also ask ed th at th e trial c o u r t “ n o t mo v e f o rw ard o n th is

cau se at th is tim e u n til all issu es are m et.” With reg ard to th e p aren tin g p l a n , M r. B u rn ett raised m an y o b

j ectio n s, in clu d in g th e f

act th at M s. B u rn ett h ad alleg ed ly n o t allo w ed M r. B u rn ett to co n tact th e ch ild v ia th e telep h o n e o r th ro u g h th e m ail.

T h e h earin g w as h eld o n A u g u st 2 9
, 2 0 1 1

. M r. B u rn ett w as n o t p resen t. A lth o u g h th e

n o tice stated th at th e h earin g co n cern ed m erely th e en try o f a tem p o rary p aren tin g p lan
, th e trial co u rt h ea r d t h e en tire d iv o rce co m p lain t. A cco rd in g ly
, th e trial co u rt en tered a f in al d ecree o f d iv o rce in f

av o r o f M s. B u rn ett. M s. B u rn ett w as aw ard ed so le cu s t o d y o f th e ch ild
, an d all p ro p erty

o f th e m arriag e th at w as n o t in M r. B u rn ett’s p o ssessio n , in clu d in g th ree v eh icles, an d all eq u ip m en t, to o ls an d p ro d u cts asso ciated w ith M r. B u rn ett’s g ran ite b u sin ess. M s. B u rn ett w as o rd ered to p ay th e o u tstan d in g d eb t o n o n e o f th e v eh icles

aw ard ed to h er. M r. B u rn ett w as o rd ered to p ay all h is in d iv id u al, b u sin ess, an d tax d eb ts. 2

M r. B u rn ett tim ely ap p ealed

. T h e so le issu e o n ap p eal is w h eth er th e trial co u rt erred in en terin g a f

in al d iv o rce d ecree af

ter th e A u g u st 2 9
, 2 0 1 1 h earin g w h en M r. B u rn ett w as

n o tif ied o n ly th at th e h earin g co n cern ed th e en try o f a tem p o rary p aren tin g p lan

. We

co n clu d e th at it d id

.

R u le 5 .0 1 o f

th e R u les o f

C iv il P ro ced u re p ro v id es, in p ertin en t p art:

T he tr ia l cou rt ’s ord er doe s not re fl ect whet her the tr ia l cou rt con si der ed the bus ine ss and ta x deb ts 2

m ar it al or se par at e pr ope rt y.

-2-U n less th e C o u rt o th erw ise o rd ers, ev ery o rd er req u ired b y its term s to b e serv ed ; e v e ry p lead in g su b seq u en t to th e o rig in al

co m p lain t; ev ery p ap er relatin g to d isco v ery req u ired to b e

serv ed o n a p arty ; ev ery am en d m en t; ev ery w ritten m o tio n o th er th an o n e w h ich m ay b e h eard ex p arte; an d
, ev ery w ritten

n o tice
, ap p earan ce, d em an d
, o f f er o f j u d g m en t, d esig n atio n o f

reco rd o n ap p eal, an d sim ilar p ap ers sh all b e serv ed u p o n each

o f th e p arties . . . .

(em p h asis ad d ed ). A cco rd in g ly
, R u le 5 .0 1 req u ired M s. B u rn ett to sen d n o tice o f th e h earin g

o n th e d iv o rce co m

p lain t to M r. B u rn ett. Wh ile n o tice w as sen t to M r. B u rn ett, th e n o tice

co n v ey ed o n ly th at th e trial co u rt w as to co n sid er th e en try o f a tem p o rary p aren tin g p lan

. H o w ev er, “[ b ] asic d u e p ro cess req u ires ‘n o tice reaso n ab l y calcu lated u n d er all th e circu m stan ces, to ap p rise in terested p arties o f th e p en d en cy o f th e actio n an d af f o rd th em

an o p p o rtu n ity to p resen t th eir o b j ectio n s.’” K

eislin g v. K

eislin g , 9 2 S .W.3 d 3 7 4
, 3 7 7 (T en n

. 2 0 0 2 ) (q u o tin g M

u lla n e v. C

en tra l H a n o ver B a n k & T

ru st C o . , 3 3 9 U .S

. 3 0 6
, 3 1 4
, 7 0 S .C t. 6 5 2
, 9 4 L .E d

. 8 6 5 (1 9 5 0 )). R easo n ab le n o tice is n o tice “su ch as o n e d esiro u s o f actu ally in f o rm in g th e ab sen t p arty

m ig h t reaso n ab ly ad o p t.” B u rd en v. B u rd

en , 3 1 3 S .W.2 d 5 6 6
, 5 7 0 (T en n . C t. A p p . 1 9 5 8 ) (citin g M u lla n e , 3 3 9 U .S . at 3 1 4 ). N o tice th at th e trial co u rt is g o in g to co n d u ct a h earin g o n a tem p o rary p aren tin g p lan is n o t n o tice reaso n ab ly calcu lated to in f o rm M r. B u rn ett th at th e trial co u rt is g o in g to h ear all th e issu es in th e d iv o rce.

A lth o u g h M r. B u rn ett is in carcerated
, h e is still en titled to “reaso n ab le access to th e

co u rts.” B ell v. T

o d d
, 2 0 6 S .W.3 d 8 6
, 9 1 (T en n . C t. A p p

. 2 0 0 5 ). R easo n ab le access t o th e

co u rts req u ires th at M r. B u rn ett “b e af f o rd ed a f air o p p o rtu n ity to p resen t h is [ ] sid e o f th e

co n tro v ersy .” Id

. (citin g K

n ig h t v. K

n ig h t , 1 1 S .W.3 d 8 9 8
, 9 0 3 (T en n

. C t. A p p

. 1 9 9 9 )). B ecau se M r. B u rn ett d id n o t receiv e p ro p er n o tice th at th e trial co u rt w o u ld ad j u d icate all issu es in th e d iv o rce at th e A u g u st 2 9
, 2 0 1 1 h earin g , M r

. B u r n e tt w as n o t af f o rd ed a f air

o p p o rtu n ity to p resen t h is sid e o f th e co n tro v ersy

. A cco rd in g ly , h e w as d en ied reaso n ab le access to th e co u rts. 3

On re m and
, Mr

. Burn et t sho uld be al lowe d a fa ir oppo rt uni ty to pre sen t his si de of the con tr oversy. 3 However, the m ann er and ext ent to whic h Mr. Burne tt m ay be all owed to par ti ci pat e in this pro cee din g on

re m and is le ft to the dis cr et ion of the tr ia l cou rt

. As thi s cou rt st at ed in Knig ht v. Knig ht
, 11 S

. W

. 3 d 898 (T enn . Ct. App. 1 999) :

T he cou rt ' s dis cr et ion sho uld be exe rc i s e d a f te r bal anc ing the int er est of the pri son er agains t the i n t e r est s of the oth er par ti es and the st at e, i ncl udi ng the aut hor it ie s ha ving cust ody of t he p ri son er

. . . . (c ont inu ed.. .)

-3-E v en M s. B u rn ett ag rees th at M r. B u rn ett w as n o t g iv en p ro p er n o tice in t h i s case.

O n N o v em

b er 1 0
, 2 0 1 1
, M s. B u rn ett f iled a m o tio n w ith th is C o u rt, ask in g th at th e m atter b e rem an d ed to th e trial co u rt f o r f u rth er co n sid eratio n

. F u rth er, in h er b rief , M s. B u rn ett 4
acq u iesces in r e ma n d i n g t h is m atter f o r reco n sid eratio n in o rd er to allo w M r. B u rn ett to receiv e p ro p er n o tice. A cco rd in g ly , w e v acate th e f in al d ecree in th is case an d rem an d f o r

reco n sid eratio n o f th e d iv o rce an d p ro p erty issu es af ter M r. B u rn ett is af

f o rd ed p ro p er n o tice

o f th e h earin g

. 5

T h e j u d g m en t o f th e C ircu it C o u rt o f M o n ro e C o u n ty is v acated an d th is cau se is

rem an d ed f

o r f u rth er p ro ceed in g s in acco rd an ce w ith th is o p in io n

. C o sts o f th is ap p eal are tax ed to A p p ellee D aw n L o u ise B u rn ett, f o r w h ich ex ecu tio n m ay

issu e if n ecessary

.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ J

. S T E V E N S T A F F O R D
, J U D G E

(... con ti nue d) 3 “I n m aking his det er m ina ti on the [] j udge sho uld ta ke int o acc ount the cos ts and inc onveni enc e o f tr ans por ti ng a pri son er fr om his pla ce of inc ar cer at ion to the cou rt roo m , any pot ent ia l dan ger or sec uri ty ri sk whic h the pre sen ce of a par ti cul ar inmate woul d po s e to the cou rt , the sub st ant ia li ty of the m at te r at is sue , the nee d for an ear ly det er m ina ti on of the m at te r, the pos si bil it y of del aying tr ia l unt il the pri son er is re le ase d, the pro bab il it y of suc ces s on the m er it s, the int egrit y of the cor re ct ion al syste m , and the int er est s of the inmate in pre sen ti ng his te st imony in per son ra the r tha n by dep osi ti on.”

Id. at 904 –05 (qu oti ng Sto ne v . M orr is , 546 F.2d 730 , 735 –36 (7t h Ci r. 1 976) ).

By ord er of Novem

ber 21, 2011
, t h i s Cour t def er re d rul ing on Ms

. Burn et t’ s m oti on unt il af te r 4
tr ans m is si on of the re cor d. M r. Bu rne tt al so r equ est ed t hat th is Cour t r emand th e matte r o n Novem ber 28, 2011

. By ord er of Dece m ber 21, 2011
, thi s Cour t li kewise def er re d con si der at ion of Mr

. Burn et t’ s re que st

.

We not e tha t the chi ld at is sue is no lon ger a m ino r. As suc h, the tr ia l cou rt nee d not re con si der the 5
per m ane nt par ent ing pl an.

-4-