Opinion ID: 2342242
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Chancellor's Assessments of Live Witness Testimony

Text: The TBR first insists that no deference should be afforded the live testimony presented at the Chancery trial because many of the recognized reasons for according deference to trial court findings of fact are absent. Specifically, the TBR points out that while the Chancery Court observed several witnesses who testified on Dr. Wells' behalf, including Dr. Wells himself, it never saw nor heard the vast majority of witnesses in this case and that it did not observe any of the witnesses who had testified on behalf of the TBR. Because the Chancellor did not observe the demeanor of all the witnesses, the TBR asserts that the court's credibility findings are not entitled to deference. We find this argument to be contrary to well-settled law. Unlike appellate courts, trial courts are able to observe witnesses as they testify and to assess their demeanor, which best situates trial judges to evaluate witness credibility. See State v. Pruett, 788 S.W.2d 559, 561 (Tenn.1990); Bowman v. Bowman, 836 S.W.2d 563, 566 (Tenn. Ct. App.1991). Thus, trial courts are in the most favorable position to resolve factual disputes hinging on credibility determinations. See Tenn-Tex Properties v. Brownell-Electro, Inc., 778 S.W.2d 423, 425-26 (Tenn.1989); Mitchell v. Archibald, 971 S.W.2d 25, 29 (Tenn. Ct. App.1998). Accordingly, appellate courts will not re-evaluate a trial judge's assessment of witness credibility absent clear and convincing evidence to the contrary. See Humphrey v. David Witherspoon, Inc., 734 S.W.2d 315, 315-16 (Tenn.1987); Bingham v. Dyersburg Fabrics Co., Inc., 567 S.W.2d 169, 170 (Tenn.1978). In contrast, appellate review of documentary proof, such as depositions or other forms of testimony presented to the trial court in a cold record, differs considerably. When reviewing documentary proof, all impressions of weight and credibility are drawn from the contents of the evidence, and not from the appearance of witnesses and oral testimony at trial. See Orman v. Williams Sonoma, Inc., 803 S.W.2d 672, 676 (Tenn.1991); Landers v. Fireman's Fund Ins. Co., 775 S.W.2d 355, 356 (Tenn.1989). As a result, appellate courts may make an independent assessment of the credibility of the documentary proof it reviews, without affording deference to the trial court's findings. See Corcoran v. Foster Auto GMC, Inc., 746 S.W.2d 452, 456 (Tenn.1988). This rule is premised on the fact that appellate courts are in just as good a position as the trial court to judge the credibility of witnesses who provided the proof. See Elmore v. Travelers Ins. Co., 824 S.W.2d 541, 544 (Tenn.1992). The TBR is correct that the Chancellor heard only the testimony of witnesses testifying on Dr. Wells' behalf. Yet the TBR seems to ignore the fact that it was also in a position to ask the Chancellor to put on live witnesses at the Chancery Court trial. Had it chosen to do so, the TBR would have also secured the Chancellor's assessment of the credibility of those witnesses and the considerable deference afforded that assessment on appeal. Because the TBR did not present witnesses at trial, we must now review a record consisting of, on the one hand, live witness testimony submitted by Dr. Wells, and the Chancellor's assessment of that testimony, and, on the other hand, the cold testimony contained in the administrative record submitted by the TBR. According to well-settled law, we must afford strict deference only to the trial court's credibility assessments of the witnesses it actually observed, and not to its findings with regard to the administrative record it considered, of which we may make our own independent review. See Elmore v. Travelers Ins. Co., 824 S.W.2d at 544. Our review of the transcript of the Chancery proceedings, as well as a reading of applicable case law, indicates that the TBR was not without opportunity to present live witness testimony at the Chancery hearing. In defining the scope of evidence admissible in a de novo review of a tenure termination, we observed in Frye v. Memphis State Univ., 671 S.W.2d at 470, that the General Assembly intended that there be a broad review in the chancery court with the right of the parties to offer additional evidence if desired. We do not believe that the General Assembly intended to confine review to the record made at the administrative level or to limit additional evidence at the chancery level only to alleged procedural irregularities or improprieties in the administrative process. Although [t]he Chancellor may, of course, confine new evidence to that which is truly supplemental or additional and is not required to hear all of the evidence anew if he does not find it necessary . . . ., id. at 469, we made it clear that the Chancellor has broad discretion in allowing additional evidence at the de novo review, even if the evidence had already been included in the record at a prior administrative hearing. See id. at 469. In this case the Chancellor did not preclude the TBR from presenting live witnesses. The Chancellor began the hearing by asking each party whether it had additional proof to offer. Dr. Wells' counsel alone indicated his intent to put on witnesses. Counsel for the TBR then objected to the witnesses on the ground that their testimony would be redundant and cumulative of testimony that had been submitted at the prior administrative hearings. Even though the Chancellor overruled the objections and allowed Dr. Wells' witnesses to testify, the TBR made the decision to confine its own proof to the administrative record. We acknowledge that counsel for the TBR may have interpreted Frye v. Memphis State Univ., 671 S.W.2d 467, as restricting Dr. Wells from presenting witnesses at the Chancery hearing whose testimony would be redundant of that presented at prior administrative hearings. However counsel was aware that Dr. Wells did not testify at the prior hearing before the faculty committee, and that his testimony may therefore have been considered additional by the Chancellor and permissible under the Frye decision. Furthermore, the record indicates that counsel for the TBR was made aware that Dr. Wells planned to put on as many as eighty-one witnesses at the Chancery hearing. In sum, by confining its proof at trial to the administrative record, despite Dr. Wells' presentation of additional witnesses, the TBR knew or should have known that on appeal, this Court would strictly defer to the Chancellor's credibility determinations with regard only to the witnesses it actually heard, and not to the testimony contained in the administrative record, of which we may make an independent credibility assessment. In reversing the decision of the TBR, the Chancellor specifically found Dr. Wells' testimony to be credible, and we adhere to that assessment due to the absence of clear and convincing proof to the contrary. See Bingham v. Dyersburg Fabrics Co., Inc., 567 S.W.2d 169, 170 (Tenn.1978); Thompson v. Creswell Indus. Supply, Inc., 936 S.W.2d 955, 957 (Tenn. Ct. App.1996).