Where the trial court found in a bench trial that plaintiff was 20% at fault for a motor vehicle accident and the bus driver was 80% at fault, that ruling was affirmed based on the testimony of the witnesses and findings of fact of the trial judge. In Cook v.…
Where an HCLA pre-suit notice was sent by decedent’s mother, but the notice failed to mention decedent’s two minor children who were the proper parties to bring the action, the trial court should have granted defendant hospital’s motion to dismiss. In Denson v. Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, No.…
Plaintiff’s argument that defendant was equitably estopped from asserting a statute of limitations defense based on vague statements by defendant’s insurance carrier adjuster that a limitations defense would not be raised and that there was no rush in providing releases was rejected. In Barrett v. Garton, No. M2022-01064-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct.…
You have undoubtedly read about (and perhaps even used) a personal vehicle sharing program (also known as a peer-to-peer car sharing program) like Turo, which allows you to rent another person’s car for a defined period of time. Turo puts car owners together with people who have a short-term need…
Statements made in a meeting between defendant hospital and decedent’s family were not privileged and did not fall under the QIC statute. In Castillo v. Rex, No. E2022-00322-COA-R9-CV (Tenn. Ct App. Oct. 4, 2023), plaintiff filed an HCLA suit after the death of her husband. Her husband died shortly after…
My other blog, Practical Procedure and Evidence, has an updated post discussing the law of damages for frivolous appeal. The post includes citations to cases where damages for frivolous appeal appeal have been granted and denied in the last four months. Writing a brief on appeal? Save yourself at least…
Where surveillance videos of plaintiff were obtained in preparation for litigation and were thus work product, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision to require defendant to only produce those surveillance videos he intended to use at trial for impeachment purposes. In Locke v. Aston, No. M2022-01820-COA-R9-CV (Tenn.…
Check out Practical Procedure and Evidence for a post about a fight over the meaning of “double spacing” in the local rules for the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.
BirdDog Law is my creation to help Tennessee lawyers help their clients. The site is full of free resources. For example, use these links to access the following: Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure Adapted for use in the Tennessee Claims Commission Tennessee Rules of Evidence…
Where a car accident plaintiff filed suit, had service issued but not served, and then failed to have new process issued within one year from the issuance of the first service, the plaintiff could not rely on the fact that defendant received a traffic citation in the accident to extend…