Day on Torts

Here is an interesting case out of the DC Circuit that warns us that an oral motion to amend is not appropriate in federal court and therefore it was not error to deny it.

This speech, by the General Counsel of Boeing to Boeing executives, is a fine example of a lawyer who is trying to steer his employer in an appropriate direction. One sample: “We as the leaders of the Boeing Company get to choose what kind of culture we are going to…

President George W. Bush attacked “greedy trial lawyers” again Saturday, explaining that frivilous lawsuits caused millions of Americans not to have ready access to Krispy Kreme and other brands of doughnuts. Speaking at the 114th annual National Association of Doughnut Manufacturers and Retailers Convention in Sweetwater, Texas, the President explained…

William Childs, author of the Torts Prof Blg, assembled the thoughts of several bloggers concerning the President’s comments about the lack of OBs in rural areas. He was kind enough to include my prior post on the subject.

Drake Holliday, a Legal Aid attorney in Nashville for 30 years, died February 2. Drake was one of those people who refused to turn his back on the poor. When President Reagan cut back on legal services to the poor, Drake stuck it out and continued to help thousands and…

Read here about the indictment the executive of the charter company that operated the bus that exploded Sept. 23 on Interstate 45 in Texas, killing 23 residents of a Bellaire nursing home who were fleeing Hurricane Rita. If he is found guilty, what will his punishment be? Will it be…

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has cut a punitive damage award in a products liability case. A jury determined that the defendant produced a defective product that caused the death of the occupant of it. The jury awarded, and the trial judge affirmed, a $3,000,000 punitive damage award. The…

I attended and spoke at the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association’s Mid-Winter Convention yesterday. Gary Gober of Nashville was the Program Chair and put together a fine program, as usual. Gary is but one example of many plaintiffs’ lawyers who are “givers” rather than “takers.” Gary was President of TTLA over…

We all know that that a person who suffers from an “unsound mind” gets the benefit of a tolling of the statute of limitations under T.C.A. Section 28-1-106, which states that “[i]f the person entitled to commence an action is, at the time the cause of action accrued, either within…

Last night I attended a reception for the General Assembly that was sponsored by the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association. Several state senators told me that they thought that the legislative special session could end in a couple days. The House and Senate have passed different “ethics” bills, which means that…