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BirdDog Law is the leading resource center for Tennessee trial lawyers and paralegals.  Among the free information included on the site is 95 databases, one for each county in Tennessee, which contain information about the court system in each county.   In addition to information about court clerks, local rules, local forms, and more, each county’s database includes information about tort jury and non-jury trials.  Here is the information for Williamson County, Tennessee:

Thus, readers can see that in Williamson County for the five year period ending June 30, 2021 (the most recent date statistics are available  (a) there have been only fourteen jury trials; (b) eight nonjury trials; (c) of those twenty-two trials the plaintiff has been awarded damages in twelve of them, which in turn tells us that (d) the defense outright won ten of the twenty-two trials.

For more information about personal injury and wrongful death trials in your county, click here, go to the “Court and Other Information for Each of Tennessee’s 95 Counties bar, find your county, and look under the “Case Statistics” tab.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has agreed to review two new cases, Commercial Painting Company Inc. v. The Weitz Company LLC, and Welch v. Oaktree Health and Rehabilitation Center LLC D/B/A Christian Care Centers of Memphis.

Commercial Painting addresses the applicable of the economic loss doctrine in a construction project and an attorney’s fee award issue.

Welch concerns health care powers of attorney,  Tennessee Health Care Decisions Act, Tenn. Code Ann. § 68-11-1801 to -1815, and  arbitration agreements in nursing home contracts.

Only a few days remain for the opportunity to register for the  Fundamentals of Civil Litigation in Tennessee seminar!  This is a two-day program designed to help new lawyers grasp practical matters of civil litigation.  In addition to hearing lectures on many substantive and procedural aspects of Tennessee civil litigation, you will be provided with useful forms, checklists, and other documents to help you in your daily practice.  You will learn how to organize your case and how to prepare for all aspects of litigation with efficiency and excellence.  The seminar is not slanted towards any particular type of litigation or side of the case.  Rather, the course focuses on basic information and techniques for all civil litigators.

This seminar is sponsored by the Law Offices of John Day, P.C. to share our collective years of experience in courtrooms across Tennessee.  We believe that “a rising tide lifts all boats” and that the public and profession are best served by reducing the learning curve faced by all new lawyers when entering the practice of law. Attendance for the seminar is limited to enhance opportunities for interaction between the speakers and attendees, and registration at the door cannot be accommodated.  The cost to attend is $199.99.  We hope you will join us on August 24 – 25, 2022 at the Nashville School of Law for this program.

Here is the schedule:

The Law Offices of John Day, P.C. is pleased to announce that we’re back with our Fundamentals of Civil Litigation in Tennessee seminar!  This is a two-day program designed to help new lawyers grasp practical matters of civil litigation.  In addition to hearing lectures on many substantive and procedural aspects of Tennessee civil litigation, you will be provided with useful forms, checklists, and other documents to help you in your daily practice.  You will learn how to organize your case and how to prepare for all aspects of litigation with efficiency and excellence.  The seminar is not slanted towards any particular type of litigation or side of the case.  Rather, the course focuses on basic information and techniques for all civil litigators.

This seminar is sponsored by the Law Offices of John Day, P.C. to share our collective years of experience in courtrooms across Tennessee.  We believe that “a rising tide lifts all boats” and that the public and profession are best served by reducing the learning curve faced by all new lawyers when entering the practice of law. Attendance for the seminar is limited to enhance opportunities for interaction between the speakers and attendees, and registration at the door cannot be accommodated.  The cost to attend is $199.99.  We hope you will join us on August 24 – 25, 2022 at the Nashville School of Law for this program.

Here is the schedule:

On July 1, 2022 there are changes to the rules of civil procedure, evidence, appellate procedure, and criminal procedure.  Click on the link to see the court order setting forth the changes.

BirdDog Law offers free access to the rules, available 24/7/365 on your desktop, notebook, or phone.  The rules have been updated on BirdDog to reflect the changes effective July 1.

Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure

Where plaintiff’s complaint asserting a claim for conversion alleged that she was the lessee of a vehicle, she failed to “establish the required element that [defendant’s] retaking of the automobile was in ‘defiance of the true owner’s rights to the chattel,’” and dismissal was affirmed. (internal citation omitted).

In Meade v. Paducah Nissan, LLC, No. M2021-00563-COA-R3-CV, 2022 WL 2069160 (Tenn. Ct. App. June 9, 2022), plaintiff and defendant husband were in the process of getting divorced. Defendant husband was the managing agent for defendant car lot, and the complaint alleged that plaintiff and defendant had entered into an oral agreement at the beginning of their relationship that plaintiff would lease one of defendant’s demonstrator vehicles, and said lease would be renewed each year. During the divorce proceedings, defendant allegedly asked plaintiff to sign a written agreement to continue the lease, which plaintiff refused to sign because it was “onerous, high risk, and legally ineffective.” Defendant subsequently “repossessed” the vehicle, leaving plaintiff to drive a much smaller vehicle.

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Readers know that we have launched BirdDog Law, a website for Tennessee lawyers and paralegals that (a) hosts three of my books and makes them available by subscription on a monthly or annual basis; and (b) provides a large number of free resources to help lawyers more efficiently serve their clients.

BirdDog recently launched a new free product – 95 databases containing data about the court systems of each of Tennessee’s 95 counties.  Each database includes information about court clerks, judges, filing fees, local rules, local forms, demographic information, the county’s history, and more.  The databases also provide you access to information about the status of e-filing and on-line records in each county.

Click to see the Davidson County database.

Problem:  Locating reliable information about court-related issues in counties other than your “home” county (and sometimes even in your “home” county).  There is information available on the Internet, but it is spread over multiple different websites, some of it is contradictory, and there can a question about reliability of the information.

Solution: BirdDog Law’s new free resource.  BirdDog has compiled important information for trial lawyers and their teams about court operations in all 95 counties.  The information includes:

• contact information for all court clerks.

On June 1 the Tennessee Supreme Court issued an opinion in State v. Linville, a case that required interpretation of the “drug-free zone” statutory provisions.

So, why bring that up in a tort law blog?  First, some of our readers also do criminal defense work, so a brief note about the decision is helpful to them.

Second, the new opinion gives me another opportunity to remind you of the free resource offered by my company “BirdDog Law.”  Our “Status of Cases Pending Before the Tennessee Supreme Court ” book gives you not only a list of the cases pending before the court but also lets you know the status of them.   And it’s free!

Where the gravamen of plaintiff’s complaint was his tort claim for defamation seeking unliquidated damages, the chancery court did not have subject matter jurisdiction and the case should have been transferred to circuit court.

In Lowery v. Redmond, No. W2021-00611-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. May 23, 2022), plaintiff filed a petition in chancery court related to various allegedly defamatory statements made by defendants. Plaintiff alleged that defendants “defamed his character in an attempt to ensure that he would not succeed in his bid for election to public office, by distributing defamatory information about him to prospective voters.” Plaintiff’s complaint sought compensatory damages for defamation, false light invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. It also sought punitive damages, injunctive relief, and a declaratory judgment that defendants had violated certain statutes.

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