The Tennessee Court of Appeals recently issued an important decision regarding the interplay between the savings statute and tolling agreements. The facts of Circle C Const., LLC v. Hilson, M2013-02330-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. App. Jul. 29, 2014), are a bit convoluted but critical to understanding the case. Plaintiff had a judgment entered against…
Tthis is a premise liability case arising from the collapse of a bench in a handicap shower at the defendant’s hotel. Upon checking into their handicap room at the Holiday Inn Express, the Parkers noticed the bench in the handicap shower appeared to be loose. The brackets were pulled away…
The Tennessee Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion dealing with a circumstance when service of process was designed “unclaimed” by the U.S. Postal Service. In Goodman v. Ocunmola, No. E2014-00045-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Sept. 4, 2014), wife sued husband for divorce and served husband with a summons and complaint…
The recent Tennessee Court of Appeals opinion n Davis v. Covenant Presbyterian Church discussed a host of issues. What is Required to Properly Allege Vicarious Liability? The Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of vicarious liability claims against two religious organizations (one unincorporated and one a nonprofit corporation). The plaintiffs’ allegations against…
When a party pleads a prima facie cause of action and obtains a default judgment on liability, a damages inquiry should necessarily follow, and during the damages determination the trial court should not reconsider liability issues. In Tennison Brothers, Inc. v. Thomas, No. W2013-01835-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Aug. 6, 2014),…
Under what circumstances can a franchisor be held vicariously liable for torts that occur on the premises of a franchisee? A relatively recent court opinion has an excellent discussion of the law in this area, addressing not only the law of the state where the cause of action arose (New Mexico) but…
This appeal arises from a medical malpractice case that went off the rails when the defense sought to discover financial information from plaintiff’s liability expert. On further consideration, since the procedural history involves four motions for sanctions, two trial continuances, a denied interlocutory appeal, a dismissal and this appeal, perhaps…
My newest book, Tennessee Law of Civil Trial, examines the law of trying civil cases in Tennessee state courts. Here is the Table of Contents: Chapter 1: Scheduling Orders Chapter 2: Final Pretrial Conferences Chapter 3: Motions in Limine Chapter 4: Jury Selection Chapter 5: The Rule Chapter 6: Opening…
This case arises from the housing market crash. First Community Bank had purchased asset-backed securities primarily in the form of collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) and residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBSs) from a number of entities including First Tennessee Bank, Morgan Keegan & Company, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., Bear Stearns…
This appeal arises from a healthcare liability action. At issue is the adequacy of the pre-suit notice, whether the partial summary judgment on the non-healthcare liability claims should have been set aside due to alleged concealment by the defendant, whether the plaintiff should have been permitted to amend the complaint…