The Tennessee Court of Appeals recently affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s premises case in Smith v. Stanley, No. E2013-00886-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. May 12, 2014). Plaintiff visited a cabin with her sister and cousin. The cabin was owned by defendants, who are plaintiff’s aunt and uncle. Plaintiff was the first…
Day on Torts
No Special Requirements for Pre-Suit Notice on the State of Tennessee In Medical Malpractices Cases
In Tennessee, before a party may file a lawsuit against a healthcare provider for medical malpractice, the party must give 60 days’ pre-suit notice pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-121(a). In Brown v. Samples, No. E2013-00799-COA-R9-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Apr. 29, 2014), the State of Tennessee was granted permission…
Failure to Read a Motion is Not Excusable Neglect under Tennessee Law
Rule 60.02(1) of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure allows the court to relieve a party from a final judgment or order on grounds of “mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect.” This is the rule that the plaintiffs attempted to rely on to set aside an order dismissing their case…
Failure to Timely Appeal Results in Dismissal
In Wright v. Dunlap, No. M2014-00238-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. April 30, 2014), a jury rendered a defense verdict in plaintiff’s car crash case. The trial court entered a judgment dismissing the case, and then Plaintiff’s case was dismissed on appeal because of her failure to take appropriate action within 30…
Article on Countering Adverse Authority
Each one of us has, from time to time, picked up a brief written by an opponent and felt a sharp pain in the chest – our opponent has landed what seems to be a mortal blow. This article – "The Best Lawyers Demonstrate the Best Ways to Attack Adverse…
Tennessee Certificate of Good Faith Statute – Extension of Time To File Amended Certificate Granted
The Tennessee Court of Appeals has affirmed a trial court’s decision to grant an extension to file certificate of good faith in a medical malpractice case, finding “good cause” based on parties’ confusion on Tennessee case law. In Stovall v. UHS of Lakeside, LLC , No. W2013-01504-COA-R9-CV (Tenn. Ct. App.…
Delaware Court Reminds Tennessee Lawyers That Causation Must be Established in Cancer Malpractice Cases
Our office is fortunate to be sought out in a large number of Tennessee medical malpractice cases involving cancer. Most of the cases involve a delay in the diagnosis of cancer, that is, that the patient presented with certain symptoms or physical findings that should have triggered a diagnosis…
Tolling of Statute of Limitations Not Lost by Failure to Comply with Return of Process Rule
Although Rule 4.03 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure requires return of process within ninety days of its issuance, a plaintiff failing to comply with this standard may still keep his or her case alive under Rule 3. In the recent case of Monday v. Thomas, the Tennessee Court of…
You’ll Get Nothing and Like It!
It is a classic line in the movie Caddyshack, but it quickly sums up the end result in this case too. This is a two car, intersection case in which both drivers sought damages from the other. After a two day trial, the jury returned a verdict finding both the…
How NOT to Handle an ERISA Subrogation Lien
Georgia lawyer David T. Lashgari thought it was a good idea to distribute $500,000 in personal injury settlement proceeds knowing that there was an ERISA-protected subrogation interest for $180,000. Then he thought it was a good idea to fight an effort by the subrogee to get the money from him and his client. …