It has been revealed that Dr. Frederick K. Goodwin, host of NPR’s "Infinite Mind," earned at least $1.3M from drug makers. He received the payments for giving lectures. NPR says it did not know about the payments, Goodwin says it did, but clearly the show’s listeners did not. Did the…
The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance has released the 2008 Medical Malpractice Claims Report. The report reveals data from medical malpractice cases settled and tried in Tennessee in calendar year 2007. The numbers: Total judgments for plaintiffs 2004 6 2005 5 2006 6 2007 7 Total settlements 2004 444 2005 461 2006 453 2007 492…
The Florida Supeme Court has relied on the Restatement (Second) of Torts to impose a duty on the manufacturer of anthrax "to avoid a an unauthorized intercepton and dissemination of the materials." The lawsuit arose out of the mailing of stolen anthrax some seven years ago that resulted in the…
Rule 37 of the TRCP makes exclusion of evidence the default sanction for failure to supplement. The trial judge can impose a lesser or greater sanction. In a recent case in Arkansas the Court of Appeals reversed a jury verdict in favor of the plaintiff when the plaintiff failed to supplement…
Brandon Bass and I are pleased to announce that the inaugural edition of Tennessee Trial Law Report – Tort Law Edition has been printed and mailed to Tennessee lawyers who we know practice tort law. Brandon and I resigned from our position as editors of the Tennessee Tort Law Letter and launched…
The Tennessee Bar Association has been kind enough to republish my "What it Takes to be a Great Trial Lawyer" series as the cover story in the November edition of the Tennessee Bar Journal. Click here to read the article.
The Fall travel schedule begins again. Many of you know that five years ago former Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Penny White, former Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Joe Riley and I establsihed a seminar company called "Justice Programs." We offer a 15 hour CLE program each Fall that permits…
One repeated argument for restricting the right to trial by jury is that we need to have a state where businesses will want to settle, thereby creating more jobs and strengthening our economy. Well, to the extent that is a relevant factor in the tort deform effort it is should…
There is alot of public outcry about the profits of Exxon Mobil for the 3rd quarter of fiscal year 2008. The company reported profits of $14.83 Billion for the three months ended September 30, a 58% increase. Exxon Mobil had revenue of $137.74 Billion during the 3rd quarter of 2008. …
A Handbook for Tennessee Tort Lawyers 2009 is scheduled to arrive in Brentwood on November 3 and will start being shipped to purchasers on November 4. The 2009 of the book follows the same format as the 2008 version. It has been expanded to include 8 new chapters and 28 new…