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…
President Obama announced yesterday that the government will set aside $25 million to support state grants for pilot programs to reduce medical malpractice lawsuits. ABC News describes the grant process this way: The Department of Health and Human Services will oversee the process for states to launch and test initiatives…
The Georgia Legislature imposed a cap on noneconomic damages in meritorious medical malpractice cases in 2005. The cap is $350,000. In a case tried in Fulton County several years ago, the jury’s verdict exceeded the cap, and the Georgia Supreme Court is now considering whether the cap is…
The Washington Supreme Court has struck down the filing of a certificate of merit in medical malpractice cases in Washington state. The certificate is required by RCW 7.70.150. The opinion said that the statute was unconstitutional because it violated the separation of powers between the Legislature and the Judiciary and…
Food Safety News is a new publication sponsored by food safety expert Bill Marler and his firm Marler Clark. It contains information on the food safety issues of the day, whether they pertain to foodborne illness outbreaks, recalled products, or food politics. The online newspaper has bureaus in Seattle, Denver, and Washington,…
Florida AP reports that a federal judge declared a mistrial last Friday in a trial over whether Merck & Co.’s former blockbuster osteoporosis drug, Fosamax, causes painful jaw bone destruction. The trial, which is the first of many concerning Fosamax, started Aug. 11 in U.S. District Court for the Southern…