The opinion
FILED
Dec 04, 2025
01:07 PM(ET)
TENNESSEE COURT OF
WORKERS' COMPENSATION
CLAIMS
TENNESSEE BUREAU OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
IN THE COURT OF WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIMS
AT KNOXVILLE
ROBERTA DENNIS, ) Docket No. 2024-30-6745
Employee, )
v. ) State File No. 860387-2024
KNOX COUNTY SCHOOLS, )
Employer. ) Judge Pamela B. Johnson
COMPENSATION ORDER GRANTING SUMMARY JUDGMENT
Knox County filed a motion for summary judgment. The issue is whether Knox
County demonstrated Ms. Dennis’s evidence is insufficient to establish an essential
element of her claim. Roberta Dennis did not respond. For the reasons below, the Court
holds that Knox County is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law.
Claim History
Ms. Dennis worked as a custodian for Knox County. On July 26, 2023, she was
using a machine to strip the floors. As she finished, she picked up a cord covered with the
chemical used to strip the floors and allegedly suffered chemical burns to her hands.
In support of its summary judgment motion, Knox County filed a statement of
undisputed material facts with citations to the record in compliance with Tennessee Rules
of Civil Procedure 56.03 (2024). It also relied on Ms. Dennis’s responses to its requests for
admissions. The relevant facts are summarized below:
Ms. Dennis alleges that she suffered injuries to both hands due to a chemical
exposure at work on July 26, 2023. She alternatively alleges that she suffered bilateral
carpal tunnel syndrome due to her employment. Drs. John McElligott and Benjamin
Rogozinski were her authorized treating physicians.
Ms. Dennis admitted that Dr. McElligott determined, within a reasonable degree of
medical certainty, the symptoms that she attributes to her alleged work-related chemical
exposure did not arise primarily out of and in the course and scope of her employment.
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Similarly, Ms. Dennis admitted that Dr. Rogozinski also concluded, within a
reasonable degree of medical certainty, that her carpal tunnel symptoms did not arise
primarily out of and in the course and scope of her employment.
The Court entered a Preliminary Scheduling Order requiring Ms. Dennis to disclose
the names and exchange reports of all medical experts by July 31, 2025. Additionally, Knox
County served expert interrogatories on Ms. Dennis, and she answered on April 23 that she
had not made any decision regarding the expert witnesses she would call but agreed to
timely supplement her response. However, she did not supplement her response or identify
any expert witnesses.
Knox County argues that Ms. Dennis’s evidence is insufficient to establish the
essential element of causation required for her claim. It also asserts that the opinions of
Drs. McElligott and Rogozinski affirmatively negate the essential element.
Ms. Dennis acknowledges that she was unable to secure an expert witness opinion
that her injuries and symptoms are work related. Ms. Dennis also moved for a voluntary
dismissal during the summary judgment motion hearing
Analysis
Motion for Voluntary Dismissal
A motion for voluntary dismissal is governed by Tennessee Rules of Civil
Procedure 41.01(1) (2025) and Tennessee Compilation Rules and Regulations 0800-02-
21-.24(1) (2023). These rules explicitly prohibit a trial court from granting a motion for
voluntary dismissal if a motion for summary judgment is pending. See Thomas v. Duracell-
Cleveland, 2024 TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 11, at *10 (Mar. 11, 2024).
Here, a motion for summary judgment is pending. Thus, under these rules, the
request for voluntary dismissal is denied.
Motion for Summary Judgment
Summary judgment is appropriate “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to
interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there
is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment
as a matter of law.” Tenn. R. Civ. P. 56.04. To prevail, Knox County must do one of two
things: (1) submit affirmative evidence that negates an essential element of Ms. Dennis’s
claim, or (2) demonstrate that Ms. Dennis’s evidence is insufficient to establish entitlement
to benefits. Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-16-101 (2024); see also Rye v. Women’s Care Ctr. of
Memphis, MPLLC, 477 S.W.3d 235, 264 (Tenn. 2015). If Knox County is successful in
meeting this burden, Ms. Dennis must then establish that the record contains specific facts
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upon which the Court could base a decision in her favor. Rye, 477 S.W.3d 235 at 265.
Rule 56.03 imposes specific requirements that both the party filing and the party
opposing summary judgment must meet. Thomas v. Zipp Express, 2017 TN Wrk. Comp.
App. Bd. LEXIS 22, at *11 n.4 (Mar. 15, 2017).
Specifically, Rule 56.03 requires that Knox County file a statement of undisputed
facts with citations to the record in support of its motion. Knox County did so. Ms. Dennis
must then file a response to that statement of facts, stating either her agreement or
disagreement with the facts. However, she did not.
Although Ms. Dennis’s failure to respond does not automatically entitle Knox
County to summary judgment, it does prevent her from disputing any of the facts in Knox
County’s statement of material facts. See United Servs. Inds., Inc. v. Sloan, 1988 Tenn.
App. LEXIS 592, at *4 (Tenn. Ct. App. Sept. 28, 1988) (An adverse party’s failure to
respond to a motion for summary judgment does not relieve the moving party of the burden
of establishing an entitlement to judgment as a matter of law; rather, an absence of response
only precludes factual disputes.). Therefore, the facts in this case are undisputed.
However, the analysis does not stop here, as the Court must determine whether
under Rule 56.06 summary judgment is “appropriate.”
The essential element at issue comes from Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-
6-102(12)(A)-(D), which requires an expert medical opinion that the injury, identifiable by
time and place, arose primarily out of and in the course and scope of employment.
Knox County met its initial burden of demonstrating that Ms. Dennis’s evidence is
insufficient to establish entitlement to benefits because the authorized treating physicians
determined her alleged exposure symptoms and carpal tunnel syndrome were not primarily
related to her work. The burden then shifted to Ms. Dennis to present specific facts upon
which the trial court could rule in her favor. She did not do so. See Williamson v. Prof.
Care Servs., 2018 TN Wrk. Comp. App. Bd. LEXIS 43 (Aug. 13, 2018) (The employer
offered sufficient evidence at the summary judgment stage to show that the employee could
not prove an essential element of her case (causation), and the employee failed to produce
evidence of a disputed issue of material fact.).
Thus, because no genuine issue of material facts exists, Knox County is entitled to
summary judgment as a matter of law.
IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED as follows:
1. Ms. Dennis’s claim is dismissed with prejudice.
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2. Unless appealed, this order shall become final in 30 days.
3. The Court assesses the $150.00 filing fee against Knox County, for which execution
might issue as necessary. Knox County shall pay the filing fee to the Court Clerk
within five business days of the order becoming final.
4. Knox County shall file Form SD-2, Statistical Data Form, with the Court Clerk
within five business days of this order becoming final.
ENTERED December 4, 2025.
______________________________________
JUDGE PAMELA B. JOHNSON
Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I certify that a copy of this order was sent as shown on December 4, 2025.
Name Mail Email Service sent to:
Glen B. Rutherford, X grutherford@knoxlawyers.com
Employee’s Attorney
Evan E. Hauser, X evan.hauser@knoxcounty.org
Employer’s Attorney
_________________________________
PENNY SHRUM, COURT CLERK
wc.courtclerk@tn.gov
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Right to Appeal:
If you disagree with the Court’s Order, you may appeal to the Workers’ Compensation
Appeals Board. To do so, you must:
1. Complete the enclosed form entitled “Notice of Appeal” and file it with the Clerk of the
Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims before the expiration of the deadline.
If the order being appealed is “expedited” (also called “interlocutory”), or if the
order does not dispose of the case in its entirety, the notice of appeal must be filed
within seven (7) business days of the date the order was filed.
If the order being appealed is a “Compensation Order,” or if it resolves all issues
in the case, the notice of appeal must be filed within thirty (30) calendar days of
the date the Compensation Order was filed.
When filing the Notice of Appeal, you must serve a copy on the opposing party (or attorney,
if represented).
2. You must pay, via check, money order, or credit card, a $75.00 filing fee within ten calendar
days after filing the Notice of Appeal. Payments can be made in-person at any Bureau office
or by U.S. mail, hand-delivery, or other delivery service. In the alternative, you may file an
Affidavit of Indigency (form available on the Bureau’s website or any Bureau office)
seeking a waiver of the filing fee. You must file the fully-completed Affidavit of Indigency
within ten calendar days of filing the Notice of Appeal. Failure to timely pay the filing
fee or file the Affidavit of Indigency will result in dismissal of your appeal.
3. You are responsible for ensuring a complete record is presented on appeal. If no court
reporter was present at the hearing, you may request from the Court Clerk the audio
recording of the hearing for a $25.00 fee. If you choose to submit a transcript as part of your
appeal, which the Appeals Board has emphasized is important for a meaningful review of
the case, a licensed court reporter must prepare the transcript, and you must file it with the
Court Clerk. The Court Clerk will prepare the record for submission to the Appeals Board,
and you will receive notice once it has been submitted. For deadlines related to the filing of
transcripts, statements of the evidence, and briefs on appeal, see the applicable rules on the
Bureau’s website at https://www.tn.gov/wcappealsboard. (Click the “Read Rules” button.)
4. After the Workers’ Compensation Judge approves the record and the Court Clerk transmits
it to the Appeals Board, a docketing notice will be sent to the parties.
If neither party timely files an appeal with the Appeals Board, the Court Order
becomes enforceable. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-239(d)(3) (expedited/interlocutory
orders) and Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-239(c)(7) (compensation orders).
For self-represented litigants: Help from an Ombudsman is available at 800-332-2667.