IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE

AT NASHVILLE

November 15, 2023

ANGELLETTE BATTS-RICHARDSON v. JEREMIAH RICHARDSON

Appeal from the Circuit Court for Rutherford County

No. 76369 Bonita Jo Atwood, Judge

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No. M2023-00395-COA-R3-CV

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This appeal involves a mother’s post-divorce petition for modification of alimony and child 

support. Because the trial court has not disposed of all of the claims raised in the mother’s

petition, we dismiss the appeal for lack of a final judgment. 

Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Appeal Dismissed

FRANK G. CLEMENT, JR., P.J., M.S., W. NEAL MCBRAYER, and JEFFREY USMAN, JJ.

James Daniel Marshall, III, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Angellette Lashone 

Batts-Richardson.

William Stanley Bennett, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, for the appellee, Jeremiah Ibrahim 

Richardson.

MEMORANDUM OPINION1

Jeremiah Ibrahim Richardson (“Father”) and Angellette Lashone Batts-Richardson 

(“Mother”) were divorced in January of 2020. The final decree of divorce incorporated a 

marital dissolution agreement that awarded Mother transitional alimony and child support.

In April of 2022, Mother filed a petition seeking an extension of transitional alimony, an 

increase in child support, a determination of child support arrearages, attorney’s fees, and 

that she be allowed to claim one of the parties’ children on her income tax return.

Father moved to dismiss Mother’s petition under Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 

12.03. On March 31, 2023, the trial court dismissed Mother’s request for modification of 

 

1 Under Tennessee Court of Appeals Rule 10, a case decided by memorandum opinion shall not be 

published and shall not be cited or relied on for any reason in any unrelated case.

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transitional alimony and her request to claim one child on her tax return. However, the 

trial court declined to dismiss Mother’s request to modify child support and granted Mother

permission to amend her petition. There is no indication from the record that Mother ever 

filed an amended petition. Mother filed a notice of appeal with the clerk of this Court on 

March 16, 2023. 

A party is entitled to an appeal as of right only after the trial court has entered a final 

judgment. Tenn. R. App. P. 3(a). A final judgment is a judgment that resolves all the 

claims between all the parties, “leaving nothing else for the trial court to do.” In re Estate 

of Henderson, 121 S.W.3d 643, 645 (Tenn. 2003) (quoting State ex rel. McAllister v. 

Goode, 968 S.W.2d 834, 840 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1997)). An order that adjudicates fewer than 

all the claims between all the parties is subject to revision at any time before the entry of a 

final judgment and is not appealable as of right. Tenn. R. App. P. 3(a); In re Estate of 

Henderson, 121 S.W.3d at 645. Here, the trial court has not disposed of Mother’s requests 

to modify child support, for a determination of child support arrearages, or for attorney’s 

fees.

The clerk received the record on appeal on June 2, 2023. After reviewing the record, 

this Court determined that the March 31, 2023 order was not a final judgment because the 

trial court had not disposed of all the claims raised in Mother’s petition. On July 25, 2023, 

this Court ordered the parties either to obtain a final judgment disposing of the remaining 

claims within ninety days or else to show cause why the appeal should not be dismissed.

Although more than ninety days have passed, no final judgment has been received, and the 

parties have not otherwise responded to the show cause order. 

The appeal is hereby dismissed for lack of a final judgment. The dismissal is 

without prejudice to the filing of a new appeal once a final judgment has been entered. The 

case is remanded to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. 

PER CURIAM