The Tennessee Supreme Court has asked for public comment on proposed changes to the rules of procedure and evidence. The Order asking for public comment can be viewed here. I serve on the Court’s Advisory Commission on the Rules of Practice and Procedure and I am happy to report…
Fred Fresard, author of the Litigation Cost Control blog, has written three great posts on the steps to effective phone and video-conference depositions. As Fred explains, "the suitability of a deponent for remote examination depends on the importance of the witness to the ultimate outcome of the case, and the…
I recently wrote this post about the certificate of merit law struck down by the Washington Supreme Court. Here is an editorial from The Olympian which supports the Court’s decision. Here is an excerpt: The justices were right to keep the barrier between the legislative and judicial branches of government.…
The Tennessee Supreme Court has published a proposed re-draft of Rule 27, the rule which addresses the process of judical evaluation. Set forth below is my letter to the Court that addresses one phrase in the proposed rule. NOTE: this letter was written in my individual capacity and not as…
As this article in Wednesday’s Washington Post explains, electric cars present a new type of hazard to pedestrians and those with impaired sight: you can’t hear them coming. At low speeds (under 6.2 MPH) the cars can literally sneak up on you and put you at risk of serious injury. One…
Here is an op-ed from today’s Politico titled "Putting Trial Lawyers out of Business." August was quite the month in the ongoing health care saga. Death panels. Scaring seniors. Angry mobs discovering new villains to blame for the terrible health care system we find ourselves having to fix today. And then we have…
A former patron at the Coyote Ugly Saloon in Nashville has sued the entity, claiming she was injured when she fell off a slippery bar. She claims that the bar surface should have been kept dry (and therefore safe) because she was invited to dance on it by employees.…
Rule 37.03(1) of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure is the rule that provides for sanctions for the failure to provide complete answers to interrogatories and other discovery. Here is the text of the rule: A party who without substantial justification fails to supplement or amend responses to discovery…
For decades people have spread false or half-true stories about lawsuits. Here is the latest one I heard the other day on a talk radio show: A prisoner filed a $3M lawsuit alleging that a prison guard forced him to rub his bologna sandwich on his (the prisoner’s) penis and then…
Do you have a question about comparative fault law in Tennessee? Or the interaction between comparative fault law and civil procedure? If so, you may wish to consult Tennessee Law of Comparative Fault. Donald Capparella and I wrote the original edition of the book, and John Wood joined us for the…