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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE AT NASHVILLE
Assigned on Briefs August 11, 2003 TERESA McEWEN v. TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF SAFETY
Appeal from the Chancery Court for Davidson County No. 01-1165-I Irvin H. Kilcrease, Jr., Chancellor

No. M2002-02884-COA-R3-CV - Filed March 22, 2005

This appeal involves the forfeiture of personal property seized incident to a criminal investigation into the illegal sale of controlled substances. The owner of the property filed a claim for its recovery with the Tennessee Department of Safety. The Appeals Division of the Department of Safety, overruling an administrative law judge's initial order, ordered the forfeiture of all the seized property except a pickup truck. Thereafter, the owner filed a petition in the Chancery Court for Davidson County seeking judicial review of the Appeals Division's forfeiture order. The trial court affirmed the forfeiture order, and the owner of the property appealed. Although we disagree with the trial court's reasoning,1 we likewise affirm the forfeiture order. Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Chancery Court Affirmed WILLIAM C. KOCH , JR ., J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which WILLIAM B. CAIN and PATRICIA J. COTTRELL, JJ., joined. Charles R. Ray and Jeffery S. Frensley, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Teresa McEwen. Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter, and Michael A. Meyer, Assistant Attorney General, for the appellee, Tennessee Department of Safety. OPINION I. Between October 3 and December 4, 1997, a confidential informant working with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department purchased controlled substances from Teresa McEwen and William Robert Allen on eight separate occasions. The informant wore a recording device during these transactions and recorded telephone calls involving other illegal drug transactions
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The Court of Appeals may affirm a judgment on different grounds than those relied on by the trial court when the trial court reached the correct result. Continental Cas. Co. v. Smith, 720 S.W .2d 48, 50 (Tenn. 1986); Arnold v. City of Chattanooga, 19 S.W .3d 779, 789 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1999); Allen v. National Bank of Newport, 839 S.W .2d 763, 765 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1992); Clark v. Metropolitan Gov't, 827 S.W .2d 312, 317 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1991).

between Ms. McEwen and Mr. Allen and other customers. The informant also personally observed drug transactions between Ms. McEwen and Mr. Allen and other customers. At one point, Ms. McEwen bragged to the informant that she and Mr. Allen could obtain and sell as many illegal drugs as the informant desired. On December 5, 1997, Officer Greg Jones arrested Ms. McEwen two blocks from her home. Officer Jones discovered $455 in cash and Schedule IV controlled substances in her purse. The authorities then arrested Mr. Allen at the residence he shared with Ms. McEwen. When Mr. Allen was arrested, he possessed $1,505 in cash and a quantity of marijuana. The authorities searched the residence pursuant to a search warrant and seized marijuana, Diazepam and Clonazepam, various items of drug paraphernalia, two firearms, $1,960 in currency, many pieces of gold and silver jewelry, audio and video equipment, a coin collection, other items of personal property, and financial records belonging to Ms. McEwen and Mr. Allen. They also searched Mr. Allen's garage adjacent to the residence and seized eight vehicles, two race cars, two trailers, a go-cart, various automobile parts, and automotive tools and equipment. When Ms. McEwen was arrested, she was working for Keepsake, Inc. and was earning approximately $3,800 per year. She also earned $35 per week helping Shelley Phillips clean her house.2 Ms. McEwen was also receiving food stamps and was on TennCare. Mr. Allen apparently earned some money repairing motor vehicles, drag racing, moving houses, and other odd jobs. The amount of his income was unclear because he had not filed an income tax return for twenty years. Despite their meager incomes, their household records indicated that they had spent approximately $64,000 from January through June 1997, over and above their expenditures for food, fuel and other vehicle expenses, clothing, healthcare expenses, and other similar expenses. On January 2, 1998, Ms. McEwen filed a petition with the Tennessee Department of Safety seeking to recover all of the property seized on December 5, 1997. An administrative law judge conducted hearings on September 7 and November 19, 1999, and on April 20, 2000 filed an initial order directing the forfeiture of $1,960 in currency and a .22 caliber pistol and ordering the return of the remainder of the property. On May 5, 2000, the State appealed the initial order to the Appeals Division of the Department of Safety.3 On February 13, 2001, the Appeals Division issued an order reversing the administrative law judge and directing the forfeiture of all of the seized property except for a 1989 Chevrolet pickup truck that Ms. Phillips had given Ms. McEwen.

Ms. McEwen apparently worked for M s. Phillips off and on for nine years. According to Ms. Phillips, she paid Ms. McEwen $500 per month for two of those years, but Ms. Phillips, who was "really bad on dates," could not remember when those years were. Ms. Phillips testified that she loaned Ms. McEwen money to purchase clothes for Ms. McEwen's children. She also stated that she gave valuable gifts to Ms. McEwen, including $3,000 to replace the roof on her house and a pickup truck to replace her old automobile. Agencies may designate others to review initial orders. Tenn. Code Ann.

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