Day on Torts

March 12, 2026

Damages based on fraud not limited by contractual language.

Where the trial court found that the defendants committed fraud, not breach of contract, the damages awarded were not limited by language in the parties’ contract.

In Amonett’s Eagle Auction & Realty, LLC v. Norris Bro. Properties, LLC, No. E2024-01931-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 17, 2025), the plaintiff was an auction company that contracted to sell real property at auction for the defendants. During the auction, the individual defendants bid on the property themselves to increase the price, and they caused a shill bidder to also take part and increase the price. An LLC owned by the defendants won the auction, but it refused to complete the sale.

The plaintiff auction company filed this suit, asserting various tort claims. The trial court found that the defendants committed fraud and intentional misrepresentation, and it awarded the plaintiff over $91,000 as compensation for the plaintiff’s damages for not having the sale completed, lost time, lost sales expenses, and attorneys’ fees. While the defendants did not appeal the finding of fraud, they did appeal the damages awarded.

March 12, 2026

Plaintiff needed expert testimony to support claim that mold in vehicle caused personal injury

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

A plaintiff who claimed personal injuries based on mold which grew in her car due to negligent repairs needed expert proof on the issue of causation.

In Mullis v. SAI Chattanooga N, LLC, No. E2024-00443-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 22, 2025), the plaintiff noticed that her SUV roof was leaking. She took the vehicle to the defendant dealership several times for repairs, but the leak continued. Four years later, she began experiencing health problems, “including a chronic cough, joint pain, left foot and shoulder pain, anxiety, a nodule in her lung, and heart palpitations.” At this time, she discovered that mold had grown in her SUV.

The plaintiff filed this suit for personal injuries and property damages against the dealership based on its negligent repair of the leak. The plaintiff asserted that the mold was caused by the faulty repairs, and the mold in turn caused her health issues.

March 11, 2026

Tennessee legal malpractice claim required expert proof of standard of care.

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

The plaintiff could not prove his Tennessee legal malpractice claim without expert proof that the defendant law firm breached the standard of care.

In Mamadou v. Gatti, Keltner, Bienvenu & Montesi, P.C., No. CT-3240-23 (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 22, 2025) (memorandum opinion), the plaintiff was represented by the defendant law firm in a workers’ compensation case. In a trial before an administrative judge, the plaintiff was awarded around $101,000. That amount was increased slightly by the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. The last sentence of the commission’s opinion stated that the “matter [was] remanded to the Administrative Judge for all further proceedings as may be necessary in this claim.” When the award was disbursed to the plaintiff, he signed a document stating that he was satisfied with the services he received from the defendant law firm. Later, the plaintiff filed a pro se complaint claiming that the defendant’s representation in the workers’ compensation claim fell below the applicable standard of care.

The defendant law firm submitted an affidavit from one of its attorneys stating that they complied with the standard of care. The defendant filed a motion for summary judgment on several bases, including that the plaintiff did not have the required expert proof to support his claim. The trial court agreed and granted the motion, and the Court of Appeals affirmed in a memorandum opinion.

March 10, 2026

Summary judgment for Kroger store in Tennessee snow and ice case reversed

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

A low-quality security camera video that failed to show the plaintiff walking anywhere obviously covered with snow, or show that the parking lot was definitively safe, was not enough to support the trial court’s grant of summary judgment or finding of comparative fault by plaintiff in this snow and ice premises liability case.

In Jones v. Kroger Limited Partnership I, No. M2024-01417-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan. 6, 2026), the plaintiff slipped and fell in the parking lot at defendant grocery store after a snow storm. The area had received heavy accumulations of snow and ice a couple of days prior to the incident, but no snow or ice had fallen on the morning of the plaintiff’s injury. Portions of the parking lot and sidewalk had been cleared, but areas of snow and ice remained. Plaintiff entered the store without incident, but when returning to his car by a slightly different route, he fell and was injured. This premises liability suit followed.

The defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing that the plaintiff could not prove that they breached a duty because the “parking lot had been scraped to provide a safe path to enter and exit the store.” In support of this motion, they submitted a low-quality security video that showed the plaintiff walking from his car into the store without issue. They also argued that the plaintiff was 50% or more at fault for his injuries because, rather than taking the exact same route back to his car, the plaintiff walked a different route when exiting the store. The plaintiff responded with expert testimony regarding how much de-icing material should have been used on the parking lot, which was significantly more than was actually used by the defendants.

March 9, 2026

Jury verdict awarding car accident plaintiff only part of medical expenses affirmed

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

Where a jury awarded a car accident plaintiff damages related to the first portion of her medical treatment only, the award was withing the range of reasonableness and was affirmed.

In Adams v. Fields, No. W2025-00311-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan. 13, 2026), the defendant rear-ended the plaintiff on an interstate entrance ramp. The plaintiff claimed she was stopped on a single lane ramp waiting for traffic to clear when she was struck. The defendant claimed that the plaintiff suddenly stopped on a two-lane ramp for no reason. Google maps confirmed that the ramp consisted of two lanes.

During a jury trial, the plaintiff presented evidence regarding lengthy medical treatment, including a back surgery that occurred approximately eighteen months after the accident. The plaintiff relied on testimony from both her treating physician and an expert witness. The testimony showed that the plaintiff received initial treatment in the few months following the accident with a cost of around $8,000, and then additional treatment some months later with a cost of around $40,000.

March 8, 2026

Tennessee Medical Malpractice Trial Statistics – 2024-2025

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts has released data on HCLA (medical malpractice) cases in Tennessee for the one-year period ending June 30, 2025. Data for other torts is summarized here.

Here are the highlights:

There were 324 HCLA cases filed in the year.

March 8, 2026

Tennessee Tort Statistics 2024-25

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts has released data on tort cases in Tennessee for the one-year period ending June 30, 2025. Medical malpractice (HCLA) data is reported separately.

Some highlights:

There were 10,980 tort claims filed for the entire year. The number of filings have been basically flat for the last eight years (although they dropped slightly during the pandemic).

March 8, 2026

Is Evidence of Remarriage Admissible in A Tennessee Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

Under Tennessee law, most wrongful death lawsuits are filed by the decedent’s surviving spouse. Sometimes, several years pass before the wrongful death lawsuit comes to trial and, in the meantime, the surviving spouse who filed the wrongful death lawsuit remarries. Is evidence of the re-marriage admissible at the trial of the wrongful death lawsuit?

A recent decision of the Tennessee Court of Appeals indicates that the answer to this question may be “yes.” In Davis v. Ellis, 2025 WL 3296175 (Tenn. Ct. App. Nov. 26, 2025), the late Ms. Sylvia Davis of West Tennessee died in January 2011, allegedly because of the medical errors of Dr. Ellis. The case did not go to trial until the Spring of 2024 and the wrongful death case filed by her husband was rejected by a jury.

Husband appealed the jury result to the Tennessee Court of Appeals, alleging multiple errors by the trial court. One of the alleged errors was that the trial court improperly allowed the jury to learn (and the defendant doctor to comment on) the fact that the plaintiff husband remarried one year after Sylvia Davis’s death.

September 23, 2025

Summary judgment on HCLA claim based on overtreatment of cancer affirmed.

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

Where a patient signed a consent form for a double mastectomy after being told about multiple options for treating her breast cancer, summary judgment on her HCLA claim against the surgeon based on surgical overtreatment and lack of informed consent was affirmed.

In Oakes v. Fox, No. E2024-00453-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Aug. 22, 2025), the plaintiff patient was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer and met with defendant surgeon to discuss treatment options. According to the defendant and the notes in the plaintiff’s file, the defendant discussed multiple options with the plaintiff, including a lumpectomy and a double mastectomy. The parties agreed that the plaintiff asked the surgeon what he would choose for his wife, and he responded that he would choose the double mastectomy. The plaintiff expressed a desire to avoid radiation treatment, which the doctor informed her could likely be avoided with the mastectomy. The plaintiff chose to move forward with the double mastectomy.

On the day of the surgery, the plaintiff signed a consent form stating that she expressly consented to the double mastectomy and the removal of lymph nodes. A few months after the surgery, the plaintiff experienced lymphedema. She opted to undergo an elective revision surgery with a different doctor.

September 18, 2025

Promissory fraud based on promise to pay future costs.

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

Where a town asserted that an individual member of an LLC had promised that the LLC would pay a certain amount towards a road improvement project, but that the LLC never intended to pay that amount, the town had stated a cause of action for promissory fraud against the individual.

In CCD Oldsmith Henry, LLC v. Town of Nolensville, No. M2024-01102-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Aug. 21, 2025), Plaintiff LLC asked Defendant town to rezone property so that the LLC could develop residential units. Plaintiff LLC had two members—Smith and Olderman. Both Smith and Olderman attended the rezoning hearing, but Olderman did not speak during the hearing. When the discussion turned to improvements to a nearby intersection that would be required by the rezoning, Smith stated that “we can contribute the difference” in reference to the amount remaining after the state contributed. After additional discussion, the board approved the rezoning and “limited [the LLC’s] contribution to no more than 50% of the costs.”

At some point following the meeting, the town sent a bill to the LLC, and the LLC refused to pay the amount requested. The town then refused to issue building permits, and the LLC filed suit. The town filed a counterclaim against the LLC, as well as a motion to join Smith and Olderman individually, alleging that Smith and Olderman “fraudulently and negligently misrepresented what Oldsmith was willing to pay.” The trial court denied the motion to add Smith and Olderman as individuals, ruling that there was no personal liability on their parts. On appeal, that ruling was overturned as to Smith.