IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE

AT KNOXVILLE

April 16, 2019 Session

SCOTT TRENT, ET AL. v. MOUNTAIN COMMERCE BANK, ET AL.

Appeal from the Chancery Court for Hamblen County

No. 2017-CV-460 Jean A. Stanley, Judge1

___________________________________

No. E2018-01874-COA-R3-CV

___________________________________

In this action requesting declaratory relief, the appellants filed a petition seeking to 

reform a deed to add an additional grantor and requesting the Trial Court declare that the 

appellants hold all rights and interest to the property at issue. The Trial Court determined 

that no mutual mistake existed to support reformation of the original deed and denied the 

appellants’ petition. The Trial Court also declined to declare the appellants to be the only 

parties holding any interest in the property. Discerning no error, we affirm.

Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Chancery Court 

Affirmed; Case Remanded

D. MICHAEL SWINEY, C.J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which JOHN W.

MCCLARTY, J., joined, and THOMAS R. FRIERSON, II, J., not participating.

William E. Phillips, Rogersville, Tennessee, for the appellants, Scott Trent; Ted C. Trent, 

Civis Bank; and William E. Phillips, as trustee.

Steven C. Huret, Kingsport, Tennessee, for the appellee, First Community Bank, N.A.

Edward J. Shultz, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Mountain Commerce Bank.

 

1

Sitting by Interchange

06/24/2019
- 2 -

OPINION

Background

This appeal involves a piece of real property located along West First North Street 

in Morristown, Tennessee (“the Property”). Adren S. Greene and Pamela W. Greene 

obtained ownership of the Property as tenants by the entirety by warranty deed on 

December 6, 2007. On March 10, 2010, Adren S. Greene executed a quitclaim deed 

transferring his ownership interest of the Property to Real Estate Holdings of East 

Tennessee, L.P. (“Real Estate Holdings”). According to Adren S. Greene, he and Pamela 

Green were limited partners in Real Estate Holdings with Adren S. Greene’s brother, 

Shannon Greene, being a general partner.

On January 30, 2012, the Hamblen County Chancery Court (“Trial Court”)

entered a judgment in favor of Mountain Commerce Bank (“Mountain Commerce”)

against Adren S. Greene, Pamela W. Greene, and Lochmere Development, Inc., jointly 

and severally, in the amount of $300,000.00 as of January 25, 2012, in addition to any 

post-judgment interest to accrue at the contract rate of 7.75 percent per anum. Mountain 

Commerce recorded the judgment against Adren S. Greene and Pamela W. Greene on 

October 22, 2013. In a separate action, the Washington County Circuit Court entered a 

judgment on August 3, 2012, in favor of First Community Bank, N.A. (“First 

Community”) against Adren S. Greene, Pamela W. Greene, and Lochmere Development 

Phase IV, Inc., on two loans totaling $249,805.63, plus an award of post-judgment 

interest at the contract rate of 6.5 percent per anum and reasonable attorney’s fees.2 First 

Community recorded its judgment against Adren S. Greene and Pamela W. Greene on 

March 28, 2013. 

On August 30, 2016, Real Estate Holdings executed a deed conveying its interest 

in the Property to Scott Trent and Ted C. Trent. On March 13, 2017, Adren S. Greene 

and Pamela W. Greene executed a “Quitclaim Deed of Correction,” acknowledging that 

Pamela W. Greene’s name was not included as a grantor on the original quitclaim deed to 

Real Estate Holdings. In this deed of correction, Adren S. Greene and Pamela W. Greene

asserted that Pamela W. Greene’s name was inadvertently omitted from the original deed 

and sought to “correct[] the aforesaid error and vest [Real Estate Holdings] with all right, 

title and interest of [Adren S. Greene and Pamela W. Greene] as of March 10, 2010.” 

This deed was signed by both Adren S. Greene and Pamela W. Greene as grantors of the 

Property. 

 

2 According to the appellees’ brief, First Community operates in Tennessee under the additional

name, “People’s Community Bank, a division of First Community Bank,” which is the name 

included on its judgment against Adren S. Greene and Pamela W. Greene.
- 3 -

The underlying action was initiated when the petitioners, Scott Trent, Ted C. 

Trent, Civis Bank, and William E. Phillips, as trustee, (collectively, “Petitioners”) filed a 

petition for declaratory relief in the Trial Court on September 8, 2017, seeking a 

declaration from the Trial Court that Scott Trent and Ted C. Trent are vested with “all 

right, title, and interest” in the Property and that interest is subject only to a deed of trust 

executed in order to secure a loan with Civis Bank. Petitioners further requested that the 

Trial Court declare that neither Mountain Commerce nor First Community “have any 

contingent future interest or lien upon [the Property] by virtue of the judgments” against 

Adren S. Greene and Pamela W. Greene. Petitioners’ amended complaint specifically 

requested the Trial Court reform the March 10, 2010 deed to reflect both Adren S.

Greene and Pamela W. Greene as grantors.

The Trial Court conducted a trial on September 10, 2018, wherein Adren S.

Greene and Pamela W. Greene testified. During trial, Adren S. Greene and Pamela W. 

Greene testified that on March 10, 2010, they had executed deeds transferring several 

parcels of property to Real Estate Holdings and another entity they controlled. Both 

Adren S. Greene and Pamela W. Greene testified that they intended all their interest in 

the Property be transferred to Real Estate Holdings on March 10, 2010, and that they 

believed they had done so at the time. Adren S. Greene acknowledged that he was aware 

that foreclosure proceedings were imminent when he and his wife transferred ownership 

of the properties in March 2010. Adren S. Greene further testified that there was no sales 

contract for the Property at the time it was conveyed to Real Estate Holdings. Adren S.

Greene explained that all the transferred property had been conveyed to Real Estate 

Holdings to satisfy a debt that he and his wife owed to Shannon Greene. According to 

Adren S. Greene and Pamela W. Greene, it was years after the deed was executed before 

they discovered Pamela W. Greene’s name had been omitted from the deed.

The Trial Court entered its judgment on September 19, 2018, denying relief to 

Petitioners and dismissing with prejudice the petition for declaratory judgment. In its 

judgment, the Trial Court found and held as follows:

After the receiving of documentary evidence, hearing the testimony 

of the witnesses, hearing the arguments of counsel, and after considering 

the record as a whole, the Court determined that even though it was the 

intent of Pamela W. Greene (“Mrs. Greene”) to convey all of her interest in 

two land parcels located on West First North Street in Morristown, 

Hamblen County, Tennessee (the “Property”) on March 10, 2010 to Real 

Estate Holdings of East Tennessee, LP, the Court held that it did not have 

the power under Tennessee law to add her as a grantor to the Quitclaim 

Deed dated March 10, 2010 wherein only Adren S. Greene (“Mr. Greene”) 

conveyed all of his interest in the Property to Real Estate Holdings of East 

Tennessee, LP because there was no mutual mistake of the parties.
- 4 -

ACCORDINGLY, IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED

as follows:

1. Petitioners’ prayer that this court declare that all right, title, and interest in 

and to the Property is vested in two of the petitioners, Scott Trent and Ted 

C. Trent, subject only to the line of a deed of trust beneficially held for 

another petitioner, Civis Bank, is denied.

2. Petitioners’ prayer that this court declare that the respondents, Mountain 

Commerce Bank and First Community Bank, neither now nor in the future 

will have a contingent interest or lien upon the Property by virtue of their 

respective judgment liens is denied.

3. Petitioners’ prayer for this court to reform the Quitclaim Deed dated March 

10, 2010 wherein Mr. Greene conveyed all of his interest as a tenant by the 

entirety in the Property to Real Estate Holdings of East Tennessee, LP, 

which is of record in the Hamblen County Register of Deeds’ office in

Book 1400, Page 421, to reflect the Quitclaim Deed of Correction dated 

March 13, 2017 wherein both Mr. Greene and Mrs. Greene conveyed all of 

their interests as tenants by the entirety in the Property to Real Estate 

Holdings of East Tennessee, LP, which is of record in the Hamblen County 

Register of Deeds’ office in Book 1701, Page 397, is denied.

Petitioners timely appealed the Trial Court’s judgment to this Court.

Discussion

Although not stated exactly as such, Petitioners raise the following issue for our 

review on appeal: Whether the trial court erred by ruling that the original March 10, 

2010 deed could not be reformed to add Pamela W. Greene as a grantor due to mutual 

mistake.

Our review is de novo upon the record, accompanied by a presumption of 

correctness of the findings of fact of the trial court, unless the preponderance of the 

evidence is otherwise. Tenn. R. App. P. 13(d); Kelly v. Kelly, 445 S.W.3d 685, 692 

(Tenn. 2014). A trial court’s conclusions of law are subject to a de novo review with no 

presumption of correctness. Kelly v. Kelly, 445 S.W.3d at 692.

Regarding reformation of deeds, this Court has stated:

“Reformation is an equitable doctrine by which courts may correct a 

mistake in a writing ‘so that it fully and accurately reflects the agreement of 

the parties.’” Lane v. Spriggs, 71 S.W.3d 286, 289 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2001) 
- 5 -

(quoting 22 Tenn. Jur. Rescission, Cancellation and Reformation § 46 

(1999)). This Court has previously explained:

A court of chancery in Tennessee has the power to reform and 

correct errors in deeds produced by fraud or mistake. To be 

the subject of reformation, a mistake in a deed must have 

been mutual or there must have been a unilateral mistake 

coupled with fraud by the other party, such that the deed does 

not embody the actual intention of the parties.

Wallace v. Chase, No. W1999-01987-COA-R3-CV, 2001 WL 394872, at 

*3 (Tenn. Ct. App. Apr. 17, 2001) (internal citations omitted). Indeed, we 

have described this principle as “well settled law in this state.” Bank of 

Am., Nat’l Ass’n v. Meyer, No. M2014-01123-COA-R3-CV, 2015 WL 

1275394, at *3 (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. 17, 2015).

Still, we have also held that reformation on the basis of mistake is 

only appropriate where the intent of both parties is clear and is the same. 

Hunt v. Twisdale, No. M2006-01870-COA-R3-CV, 2007 WL 2827051, at 

*8 (Tenn. Ct. App. Sept. 28, 2007). And, mistake must be shown by “clear, 

cogent, convincing evidence.” Lane, 71 S.W.3d 289-90 (quoting Dixon v. 

Manier, 545 S.W.2d 948, 950 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1976)); see also Sikora v. 

Vanderploeg, 212 S.W.3d 277, 287 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2006) (“Because the 

law strongly favors the validity of written instruments, a person seeking to 

reform a written contract must do more than prove a mistake by a 

preponderance of the evidence. Instead, the evidence of mistake must be 

clear and convincing.”).

Sipes v. Sipes, No. W2015-01329-COA-R3-CV, 2017 WL 417222, at *3-4 (Tenn. Ct. 

App. Jan. 31, 2017).

In the present case, both Adren S. Greene and Pamela W. Greene were owners of 

the Property at issue. On March 10, 2010, Adren S. Greene executed a deed conveying 

all his interest in the Property to Real Estate Holdings. Pamela W. Greene’s name was 

not included in the body of the March 10, 2010 deed identifying her as a grantor, and the 

deed did not contain a signature line for Pamela W. Greene. Pamela W. Greene was not a 

party to the original deed executed on March 10, 2010. 

Tennessee law allows reformation of a deed when the instrument does not “reflect 

the true intent of the parties (emphasis added).” Holiday Hosp. Franchising, Inc. v. 

States Res., Inc., 232 S.W.3d 41, 51 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2006). The only parties to the 

original deed were Adren S. Greene and Real Estate Holdings. At the time the deed was 

executed, Adren S. Greene intended to transfer all of his interest in the Property to Real 
- 6 -

Estate Holdings, and Real Estate Holdings intended to receive said interest. This is 

precisely what the March 10, 2010 deed accomplished. As such, there was no mutual 

mistake between the grantor and grantee of the March 10, 2010 deed. Even if Pamela W. 

Greene had intended to transfer her interest to Real Estate Holdings, Pamela W. Greene

was not a party to the March 10, 2010 deed and cannot be added subsequently as a 

grantor based on her mistake. Because no mutual mistake existed between the parties to 

the deed, reformation of the deed is not permitted.

Additionally, Petitioners requested that the Trial Court declare that the Property 

was not encumbered by the judgments obtained by Mountain Commerce or First 

Community. On March 13, 2017, upon discovery that Pamela W. Greene’s name was 

absent from the original quitclaim deed and that she had not conveyed her interest to Real 

Estate Holdings, Adren S. Greene and Pamela W. Greene executed a “Quitclaim Deed of 

Correction” asserting that her name was left off the deed as a grantor due to 

“inadvertence” and seeking to convey all of Adren S. Greene and Pamela W. Greene’s 

interest in the Property to Real Estate Holdings effective March 10, 2010. However, 

prior to Pamela W. Greene’s execution of a deed conveying her interest to Real Estate 

Holdings, Mountain Commerce and First Community each obtained separate judgments

against Adren S. Greene and Pamela W. Greene in January 2012 and August 2012

respectively. Mountain Commerce recorded its judgment with the Register of Deeds on 

October 22, 2013, and First Community recorded its judgment on March 28, 2013. At 

the time Mountain Commerce and First Community obtained and recorded their

judgments against Adren S. Greene and Pamela W. Greene, Pamela W. Greene had not 

executed any instrument conveying her interest in the Property. Therefore, Mountain 

Commerce and First Community acquired their interest in the Property prior to execution 

of the March 13, 2017 quitclaim deed conveying Pamela W. Greene’s interest in the 

Property to Real Estate Holdings.

Conclusion

The judgment of the Trial Court denying Petitioners’ request for reformation of 

the deed and declaratory relief is hereby affirmed. This cause is remanded to the Trial 

Court for collection of the costs assessed below. The costs incurred on appeal are 

assessed against the appellants, Scott Trent; Ted C. Trent; Civis Bank; and William E.

Phillips, as trustee, and their surety, if any.

_________________________________

D. MICHAEL SWINEY

CHIEF JUDGE