Written by Will Bunch, as found at www.philly.com. Palin’s Speech to Nowhere Sarah Palin delivered a great speech tonight — for her party, for John McCain, for herself, for what she set out to accomplish. This was America’s first real glimpse at the Alaska governor, and what we saw was…
In most states the duty to defend an insured in litigation is broader than the duty to indemnify that insured. Here is a 50-state survey prepared by the highly regarded Chicago-based firm of Hinshaw & Culbertson on the duty to defend. Here is how they describe the 105-page publication: Duty…
It is not uncommon for the defense in personal injury cases to attack the character of the plaintiff. It seems to me that young defense lawyers particularly enjoy doing this to uneducated, unsophisticated plaintiffs. The defense in a products case in California introduced evidence that the plaintiff had a mistress…
A defendant is permitted to argue that the light from the setting sun hindered his vision and that he was not negligent in failing to see (and then striking) plaintiff’s car. The Kansas Supreme Court rejected the argument of the plaintiff that the defendant was negligent as a matter of…
It doesn’t necessarily represent the standard of care. It is the place to begin, not end, your medical research. But it is a great place to start. Merck Manual
Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 4.01(3) provides as follows: If a plaintiff or counsel for plaintiff (including third-party plaintiffs) intentionally causes delay of prompt issuance of a summons or prompt service of a summons, filing of the complaint (or third-party complaint) is ineffective. I don’t know what "prompt" means. Is…
A trial judge in New Jersey has ruled that a plaintiff may insist that her discovery deposition be videotaped over the objection of the defense. The judge ruled that "defense counsel’s objection is devoid of any specificity to constitute good cause. The Court does not wish to make light of…
Nursing homes continue to attempt to avoid trial by jury by requiring residents to sign arbitration ageements. And the Tennessee courts continue to insist that if nursing homes are going to do so they must follow the law. Here are two decisions that refuse to enforce arbitration provisions in nursing…
Day on Torts: A Handbook for Tennessee Tort Lawyers 2009 is almost ready to go to press. The 2009 edition will include reference to all of the Tennessee appellate cases on tort law released in the last year, add over 20 new statutes of interest to tort lawyers, and update rules…
The Tennessee Supreme Court has released the opinion in Eskin v. Bartee and expanded the scope of recovery for negligent infliction of emotional distress. The bottom line: "we have determined that it is appropriate and fair to permit recovery of damages for the negligent infliction of emotional distress by plaintiffs who…