Julie Danielson v. Kimberly Armstrong

                                                                                                          12/21/2023
                   IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE
                               AT NASHVILLE
                             Assigned on Briefs December 4, 2023

                  JULIE DANIELSON v. KIMBERLY ARMSTRONG

                     Appeal from the Circuit Court for Davidson County
                       No. 22C311 Amanda Jane McClendon, Judge
                         ___________________________________

                                No. M2022-01725-COA-R3-CV
                            ___________________________________


This appeal concerns the validity and enforceability of an oral loan agreement between
former business partners. Because Appellant’s brief fails to comply with Rule 27 of the
Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure and Rule 6 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals
of Tennessee, the appeal is dismissed.

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

ARNOLD B. GOLDIN, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which ANDY D. BENNETT
and KRISTI M. DAVIS, JJ., joined.

Matthew Crigger, Brentwood, Tennessee, for the appellant, Kimberly Armstrong.

Mark Freeman and Katherine Haggard, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Julie
Danielson.


                                   MEMORANDUM OPINION1


      This case involves a dispute between two former business partners as to whether
Appellee Julie Danielson and Appellant Kimberly Armstrong entered into a binding loan
agreement. Ultimately, after a bench trial in the Davidson County Circuit Court (“the trial

       1
           Rule 10 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals of Tennessee 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       “MEMORANDUM OPINION”, shall not be published, and shall not be cited or relied on for any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.
court”), the trial court found that the parties had indeed entered into a valid and enforceable
oral loan agreement. In addition to the testimony of both parties, the court relied on an
email from Ms. Armstrong to Ms. Danielson stating, in part, “My intent is to return your
26k . . . .” Based on the evidence presented at trial, judgment was entered in favor of Ms.
Danielson. This appeal followed.

       Although Ms. Armstrong’s appellate brief appears to raise two primary issues for
our review, we observe as an initial concern that the argument section of her brief fails to
include any citations to the record in support of her argument. The absence of appropriate
references to the record constitutes noncompliance with the Tennessee Rules of Appellate
Procedure as well as the rules of this Court. Indeed, Rule 27 of the Tennessee Rules of
Appellate Procedure mandates that appellate briefs contain, among other things, the
following:

       (a)    Brief of the Appellant. The brief of the appellant shall contain under
              appropriate headings and in the order here indicated:

              ....

              (7)    An argument, which may be preceded by a summary of
                     argument, setting forth:

                     (A)     the contentions of the appellant with respect to the
                             issues presented, and the reasons therefor, including the
                             reasons why the contentions require appellate relief,
                             with citations to the authorities and appropriate
                             references to the record (which may be quoted
                             verbatim) relied on[.]

Tenn. R. App. P. 27 (emphasis added). Moreover, Rule 6 of the Rules of the Court of
Appeals of Tennessee states:

       No complaint of or reliance upon action by the trial court will be considered
       on appeal unless the argument contains a specific reference to the page or
       pages of the record where such action is recorded. No assertion of fact will
       be considered on appeal unless the argument contains a reference to the
       page or pages of the record where evidence of such fact is recorded.

Tenn. Ct. App. R. 6(b) (emphasis added).

     Appropriate references to the record help facilitate this Court’s review of the
arguments made by parties in support of their raised issues, and as we have stated before,
noncompliance “with the Rules of Appellate Procedure and the rules of this Court waives
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the issues for review.” Bean v. Bean, 

 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2000). In the instant
case, because Ms. Armstrong’s argument section is entirely devoid of any citations to the
record, our ability to review the merits of the contentions made therein is frustrated. In light
of Ms. Armstrong’s noncompliance with briefing requirements and the impediment it poses
to appellate review, we conclude that she has waived her issues on appeal and that the
appeal should therefore be dismissed. See Thomas v. Bank of Am., N.A., No. M2015-01849-
COA-R3-CV, 

, at *4 (Tenn. Ct. App. July 5, 2017) (“Based upon
Thomas’s failure to comply with Tenn. R. App. P. 27 and R. Tenn. Ct. App. 6, we conclude
that Thomas has waived any issues raised, and the appeal should be dismissed.”).

                                      CONCLUSION

       Because we conclude that Ms. Armstrong has waived all her issues on appeal due
to her noncompliance with Rule 27 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure and
Rule 6 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals of Tennessee, the appeal is dismissed.



                                                        s/ Arnold B. Goldin
                                                      ARNOLD B. GOLDIN, JUDGE




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