Successfully bringing suit in Tennessee for an injury or death allegedly caused by the acts or omissions of a governmental employee is more difficult than a claim against a private citizen or business. Consider, for example, the case of Lynch v. Loudon Cnty., No. E2013-00454-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 17,…
Who should pick up the tab for costs incurred in responding to a subpoena to a non-party under Rule 45 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure? This case arises from a probate matter. Five years after the decedent’s estate had been closed for the second time, it was reopened again…
Tennessee courts recognize a claim for intentional interference with business relations, but this multi-year dispute did not end well for the claimant. In Stratienko v. Chattanooga-Hamilton County Hospital Authority, No. 2011-01699-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Nov. 21, 2013),the Tennessee Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of a plaintiff doctor’s claim for intentional…
Remittiturs are court-ordered reductions in a jury verdict because the trial judge thought that the jury awarded too much money in compensatory or punitive damages. They are a common sense, common law "tort reform" measure, designed to permit a judge who actually heard the evidence (or, in rare cases, the judges…
Lawyers in Tennessee see more and more arbitration clauses in contracts and thus more and more people trying to avoid these provisions by arguing that the provision was waived or invalid because the contract requiring arbitration was a contract of adhesion. In Skelton v. Freese Construction Company, Inc. the Tennessee Court of…
The Kentucky Supreme Court has reversed a verdict for the defendants in a medical malpractice (health care liability) case because the trial judge failed to grant a request of the patient’s lawyer to strike two jurors for cause. The reversal was granted notwithstanding the fact that the lawyer for the…
The Tennessee Supreme Court recently ruled that two voluntary dismissals – one in a California state court and one in a Tennessee federal court – do not preclude a plaintiff from re-filing an action based on the same claims in a Tennessee state court. In Cooper v. Glasser, the court…
An important component of any jury trial is the instructions that will be given to the jury about the law that applies to the particular case, how to analyze the evidence, and how to assess the credibility of witnesses. To avoid appeals on the basis of erroneous jury instructions, the best…
The Court of Appeals clarified the requirements for an amended complaint to relate back to the filing date when the plaintiff mistakenly sues the wrong defendant. In Ward v. Wilkinson Real Estate Advisors, Inc., No. E2013-01256-COA-R3-CV, (Tenn. Ct. App. Nov. 30, 2013) Plaintiff sued Glazers for a slip and fall…
Plaintiff Martin was an apprentice lineman for Upper Cumberland Electrical Membership Cooperative. He agreed to help a neighbor move an electrical line to a barn. As the plaintiff climbed the electrical pole which had been installed by the neighbor, the pole fell over and the Plaintiff sustained serious injuries from…