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…
Should a county bear any financial responsibility when it fails to release a jail inmate on time and the inmate gets injured in an altercation when he should no longer have been in jail and therefore not in the position to be harmed. The Tennessee Supreme Court recently decided such…
Tennessee Court of Appeals rules that Tennessee courts lose jurisdiction to reconsider dismissal when an aggrieved party fails to take proper action within the limited 30-day window after entry of final judgment. In Hailey v. Wesley of the South, Inc., d/b/a Wesley at Dyersburg, No. W2012-01629-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Nov. 19,…
There is a new case on how one establishes the deadline for filing medical malpractice claims against the military hospitals and other health care providers associated with the federal government under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). The case applies to FTCA claims arising in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Michigan.…