Court Opinion

ID: 9953879
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-03-22 22:10:47.440885+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:10:18.551938
License: Public Domain

03/22/2024
                    IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE
                               AT KNOXVILLE
                                              March 21, 2024

              KEITH LEE LIEBERMAN v. BELINDA RENEE WILSON

                       Appeal from the Circuit Court for Greene County
                          No. CC23CV115 Beth Boniface, Judge
                          ___________________________________

                                 No. E2024-00137-COA-R3-CV
                             ___________________________________

Because the order from which the appellant has filed an appeal does not constitute a final
appealable judgment, this Court lacks jurisdiction to consider this appeal.

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

THOMAS R. FRIERSON, II, J.; D. MICHAEL SWINEY, C.J.; AND JOHN W. MCCLARTY, J.

Belinda Renee Wilson, Chuckey, Tennessee, Pro Se Appellant.

Crystal Goan Jessee, Greeneville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Keith Lee Lieberman.

                                    MEMORANDUM OPINION1

       The pro se appellant, Belinda Renee Wilson (“Appellant”), filed a notice of appeal
with this Court in January 2024, which states that Appellant is appealing the December 27,
2023 order of the Greene County Circuit Court (“the Trial Court”). The Trial Court Clerk
notified this Court that no final judgment has been entered in this case. The December 27,
2023 order was provided to this Court and reflects that a final trial has not occurred in this
matter. The Trial Court Clerk initially informed the Appellate Court Clerk’s Office that a
trial was scheduled to occur on February 9, 2024. This Court, therefore, entered an order

1
    Rule 10 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals provides:

          This Court, with the concurrence of all judges participating in the case, may affirm, reverse
          or modify the actions of the trial court by memorandum opinion when a formal opinion
          would have no precedential value. When a case is decided by memorandum opinion it
          shall be designated “MEMORANDUM OPINION,” shall not be published, and shall not
          be cited or relied on for any reason in any unrelated case.
on February 8, 2024, directing Appellant to obtain a final judgment within thirty days or
show cause why this appeal should not be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
Appellant did not file a response to this Court’s show cause order. The Trial Court Clerk
now has informed the Appellate Court Clerk’s Office that a trial did not occur on February
9, 2024 and that the trial in this matter is currently scheduled for April 19, 2024.

        A party is entitled to an appeal as of right only after the trial court has entered a final
judgment that resolves all the claims between all the parties, leaving nothing else for the
trial court to do. Tenn. R. App. P. 3(a); In re Estate of Henderson, 121 S.W.3d 643, 645
(Tenn. 2003); State ex rel. McAllister v. Goode, 968 S.W.2d 834, 840 (Tenn. Ct. App.
1997). Without a final judgment, this Court does not have subject matter jurisdiction to
adjudicate an appeal as of right. See Bayberry Assocs. v. Jones, 783 S.W.2d 553, 559
(Tenn. 1990) (“Unless an appeal from an interlocutory order is provided by the rules or by
statute, appellate courts have jurisdiction over final judgments only.”).

      The court order from which Appellant seeks to appeal does not constitute a final
appealable judgment. Therefore, this Court lacks jurisdiction to consider this appeal. The
appeal is hereby dismissed.2 Costs on appeal are taxed to the appellant, Belinda Renee
Wilson, for which execution may issue.

                                                                   PER CURIAM

2
 We note that Appellant filed a motion to proceed as indigent in this appeal. However, Appellant’s alleged
indigency does not relieve her from paying the court costs associated with this appeal. See Tenn. Code
Ann. § 20-12-127(b) (stating that the filing of a civil action upon a pauper’s oath “does not relieve the
person filing the action from responsibility for the costs or taxes but suspends their collection until taxed
by the court”). Therefore, Appellant’s motion is DENIED as moot.
                                                   -2-