The Tennessee Supreme Court has issued an opinion in Bennett v. Trevacca Nazarene University. The summary: "We accepted this appeal of a premises liability case to determine whether the “independent contractor rule” adopted in Blair v. Campbell, 924 S.W.2d 75 (Tenn. 1996), relieves a premises owner from liability when a premises…
Larry’s recent column on the med mal issue. Update: link repaired.
The President’s daughter Jenna has written a book that she "very, very modestly" hopes will have the influence of Anne Frank’s The Diary of Anne Frank. Like Jenna, I too find myself tightly bound by humility. Her willingness to reveal her hopes despite her extreme modesty compel me to reveal one of my…
Here is an article that talks about the negotiations concerning the med mal legislation currently pending in the General Assembly. This excerpt tells it all: ""Basically [the potential compromise] was done between the legislators themselves representing probably both sides of the interests," Miller [VP of the TMA] said. "One of…
State Volunteer Mutual Insurance Company , the doctor-owned medical malpractice insurance carrier, continues to enjoy profitability, according to my review of its 2006 Annual Report that was recently filed with the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance. A few highlights: * Surplus, the insurance industry equivalent of net worth, increased $33,000,000…
Vioxx is back in the news. Merck won one and lost one in New Jersey and is on trial in Illinois. In New Jersey, the jury condemned the pre- April 2002 label but approved the label issued that month. The verdict was under New Jersey’s consumer law fraud, which has…
The Tennessean published an op-ed piece I wrote today. Read it here.
The bill to limit health care provider’s responsibility for their errors comes up in Senate Judiciary tomorrow afternoon. Here is a list of some recent posts on the issue: "The Great Medical Malpractice Hoax" Another Aspect of the Big Lie Top Ten Medical Malpractice Verdicts – 2000-2005 More on the…
The Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure have been amended. The amendments are effective on July 1, 2007. See the amendments here. The two most significant changes are to Rule 15 and Rule 56. Rule 15.01 has been amended to add the following language: "For amendments adding defendants pursuant to Tenn.…
This South Carolina case reminds us of our responsibilities when receive money on behalf of a client and are aware that a portion of the proceeds have been assigned to a third party. The Court found that the lawyer was aware of the assignment and went on to say as…