Important Comparative Fault Case to Be Argued in May

The Tennessee Supreme Court has announced that it is going to hear oral argument in a very important case on Wednesday, May 7th, 11:00 a.m. in Knoxville.  The case is Tennie Martin et al. v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co. et al. (Franks,  author) (Susano, dissenting) – E2006-01021-SC-R11-CV.  The issues are:

1. Whether the Court of Appeals’ majority erroneously affirmed the summary judgment granted to the Respondents where it relied on contributory negligence cases and did not analyze the parties’ comparative fault under Eaton v. McLain, 891 S.W.2d 587 (Tenn. 1994).

2. Whether the Court of Appeals’ majority erred by concluding that there were no genuine issues of material fact in determining that the decedent was more than fifty percent at fault.

This is a railroad crossing case and both issues will help answer important questions concerning the role of the trial judge hearing a motion for summary judgment in a comparative fault case where the plaintiff’s fault is at issue.  Watch here for more information.