The Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel Quarterly magazine has published an interesting article about jury questionnaires. The authors of the article are John P. Daniels and Annie L. Knafo. The article includes a sample questionnaire that can serve as a starting point for drafting your own. Read the…
Have you ever had an opponent attempt to back-out of a stipulation? This post on the Federal Evidence Review blog tells us about a new case on the subject and gathers other cases on point. The post explains that "after a stipulation is freely entered, the courts will view with…
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee has released a new administrative order concerning the use of laptops, cell phones and other electronic devices in the federal courthouses in the Middle District. The devices have to go through the screening process and cannot be used in…
From time to time, some lawyer undertakes an effort to educate other lawyers on how to conduct cross-examinations. Francis Wellman did so over 100 years ago in his excellent book, The Art of Cross-Examination. In my generation, Irving Younger’s Ten Commandments of Cross-Examination was treated by law professors as if it was handed down by…
Burchfield v. CSX Transp., Inc. , __ F.3d __ (11th Cir. March 30, 2011) (No. 09–15417), is a interesting decision that addresses the issue of the admissibility of videos made by third parties. The plaintiff objected to the defendant’s use of the video and maintained that it depicted a recreation…
When Senator Campfield slammed lawyers on March 29, 2011 in a Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Doug Overbey let it be known that he did not appreciate the unkind words of his fellow Republican. See the debate on SB 0127 here. Debate on the bill starts at 2:04:44. Campfield’s remarks begin…
The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on May 11, 2011 in Holder v. Westgate Resorts, Ltd., E2009-01312-SC-R11-C (Tenn. Ct. App. 2010). Here is the summary of the opinion prepared by the Court of Appeals: Plaintiff sustained personal injuries resulting from a fall on defendant’s premises and brought this action…
On a weekly, if not daily, basis, plaintiff’s personal injury lawyers have to deal with subrogation interests. Many of those subrogation claims involve the law of ERISA. This opinion out of the Illinois Court of Appeals addresses the issue of disputes over the amount of money to be re-paid…
Thomas Redmon gave the plaintiff herpes. He knew that he had the disease for over 25 years before he had sexual relations with the plaintiff. He knew that there was some risk in transmitting the disease even if he was lesion-free. He did not tell plaintiff that he had the…
Lawyer A is hired to bring a personal injury case on behalf of an injured person. With the consent of the injured person, Lawyer A associates Lawyer B. The contract between A and B includes a fee split arrangement. Injured person consents to fee split and the contract.…