Hmm. Summary judgment for a drug manufacturer is reversed? In the 21st Century? In Federal Court? Now, that is something worth writing about. In McNeil v. Wyeth, No. 05-10509 (August 22, 2006) the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals faced an appeal after summary judgment was granted in favor of the manufacturer…
The Tennessee Supreme Court has issued an extremely important decision in the field of bad faith law. In Johnson v. Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Company, No. E2004-00250-SC-R11-CV (August 28, 2006), Justice Holder, writing for an unanimous court, reversed the Court of Appeals and upheld a bad faith verdict against Tennessee…
Dr. Bill Frist, who serves both as Majority Leader of the United States Senate and Founder and CEO of APCDBAV (Association of Physicians Capable of Diagnosing Brain Activity Via Videotape), applied for renewal of his medical license in Tennessee, pledging that he met the CME requirements of the State. This article…
The case: Lavin v. Jordon, 16 S.W.3d 362 (Tenn. 2000). Author: Justice William M. Barker. Why it is a Blue Chipper: Lavin v. Jordan is the leading case on the liability of parents for the willful or malicious tortious acts of their children. It is important to note, however, that…
Former Justice Penny White, former Judge Joe Riley and I are holding our civil trial practice seminars again this Fall. We started Justice Programs three years ago with the idea that, with increasing specialization in the Bar, a large number of people would prefer to attend an "annual review" program that was…
Damage paid for personal injury claims are not taxable, right? Wrong. Damages paid for personal injury claims "“on account of personal physical injuries or physical sickness” are not taxable. 26 U.S.C. § 104(a)(2). Damages paid for purely emotional injuries are taxable, at least in the opinion of the IRS. Now,…
Another day, another article about problems in the human tissue industry. This time it is Donor Referral Services of Raleigh, N.C., a company run by a man named Philip Guyett. This North Carolina firm in the business of body part brokering allegedly used an unsterile embalming room to get usable tissue. The…
The statute of limitations is tolled when the plaintiff is of unsound mind. Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-1-106. Does the fact that a Durable Power of Attorney (executed before the incompetency) is in existence trump the tolling statute and require the attorney-in-fact to take action within the original statute? The Tennessee…
From a recent press release issued by the Tennessee Dept. of Commerce and Insurance: "Public Chapter 744, effective May 23, 2006, contains several important changes to the Medical Malpractice Reporting Law of Tennessee, (Public Chapter 902, adopted in 2004, and codified at Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-54-101). For the first time, it…
Here is an interesting site that provides a good number of links of use to tort lawyers (and others). The site is published by the Philadelphia Association of Paralegals and has more than 100 links. For instance, Omni Medical Search is a site that I was unfamiliar with that is referenced by…