Lisa Schnur v. James William Sherrell, III, E2016-01338-COA-R3-CV

Mother (Schnur) filed a petition for an order of protection (ex parte temporary order entered) alleging Father (Sherrell) punched their 13-year-old son Will in the mouth while drunk during a family vacation.
Trial on the petition occurred June 13–14, 2016; after hearing, the trial court dismissed the petition for failure to meet Mother’s burden.
Key testimony: Will testified Father hit him and he was afraid to report it; several family witnesses (including paternal grandmother) gave testimony inconsistent with Will’s account (grandmother said she babysat, observed Father give good-night hugs, and saw what looked like a cold sore).
The trial court found Will’s testimony not credible and inconsistent with other witnesses and photographic evidence, and orally stated reasons from the bench though it used a form dismissal order.
Mother appealed, arguing the trial court failed to make written findings of fact and that the evidence preponderates against the dismissal; Father argued the appeal was frivolous and sought fees.
The Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal, declined to award attorney’s fees to Father, and assessed appellate costs against Father under the applicable statute.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Subject-matter jurisdiction: is the dismissal appealable?	Schnur proceeded; case is final and appealable.	Sherrell argued the order was not final because custody case remained pending.	Court: appealable — OP dismissal was a separate final order under Tenn. R. App. P. 3(a).
Trial-court findings: failure to make written findings under Tenn. R. Civ. P. 52.01	Schnur argued court erred by not making written findings.	Sherrell defended trial court’s oral findings and form order.	Court: oral findings from bench were sufficient to ascertain rationale; no remand required.
Weight/credibility of evidence	Schnur argued the evidence preponderates against dismissal.	Sherrell argued trial court properly discredited Will; bench has deference on credibility.	Court: affirmed — no clear and convincing evidence to overturn credibility findings.
Attorney’s fees and appellate costs	Schnur opposed fees and argued appeal not frivolous.	Sherrell sought fees under Tenn. Code for frivolous appeal; asked costs if allegations known false.	Court: denied attorney’s fees (appeal not frivolous); assessed appellate costs against Sherrell under statutes.

Armbrister v. Armbrister, 414 S.W.3d 685 (Tenn. 2013) (standard of review de novo with presumption of correctness for trial court factual findings)
Kelly v. Kelly, 445 S.W.3d 685 (Tenn. 2014) (questions of law reviewed de novo without presumption)
State v. Binette, 33 S.W.3d 215 (Tenn. 2000) (trial court’s superior position to assess witness demeanor and credibility)
Wells v. Tennessee Bd. of Regents, 9 S.W.3d 779 (Tenn. 1999) (appellate courts should not re-evaluate credibility absent clear and convincing evidence)
Furlong v. Furlong, 370 S.W.3d 329 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2011) (statutory standard for taxing costs when petitioner knew allegations were false)