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BirdDog Law offers a large variety of free information to Tennessee lawyers and paralegals.  Among the free resources are 95 databases, one for each Tennessee county, that share information about the operation of the court system in that county.   Each database is set up in the same format for ease of use.

For example, click on the link for Sumner County.  The opening page will give you population and demographic information for the county.  The “Court Clerks and Related Information” has contact information for each court clerk, the clerks’ websites, the local rules of court, e-filing information, docket information, and filing fee information for all six courts.

The “Judges” tab has biographical and contact information for all eight judges in the county.

Where plaintiff tripped on an uneven sidewalk and brought a GTLA premises liability suit against defendant city, plaintiff could not show constructive notice because she could not show how long the condition had existed.

In Mitchell v. City of Franklin, Tennessee, No. M2021-00877-COA-R3-CV, 2022 WL 4841912 (Tenn. Ct. App. Oct. 4, 2022), plaintiff was leaving a church service and walking on sidewalks owned by defendant city when she tripped and fell. Plaintiff alleged that her fall was caused by an “abrupt change of elevation caused by a raised portion of the sidewalk.” Plaintiff filed a GTLA case against the city, and the trial court ultimately entered judgment in favor of the city, which was affirmed in part and reversed in part on appeal. Of note, the city remediated this sidewalk condition after plaintiff’s fall, and no measurement of the height variation was taken at any time prior to the remediation.

Two sections of the GTLA were potentially implicated in this action. Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-20-205 “removes immunity for injury caused by the negligence of a public officer or employee,” but the statute lists several exceptions, including that immunity is not removed for the performance or failure to perform a discretionary function (subsection (1)) or for the failure to make or negligent performance of an inspection (subsection (4)). The trial court granted summary judgment under this statute, finding that plaintiff could not prove liability due to these exceptions, and review of this issue was waived on appeal. The Court of Appeals pointed out, however, that “liability for injuries under section 29-20-203 caused by a defective, unsafe, or dangerous condition is not subject to the exceptions of section 29-20-205” and that “the City’s immunity may still be removed under section 29-20-203 even though it retained immunity under section 29-20-205.” (internal citation omitted).

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The Tennessee Court of Appeals has ruled that where a vegetation management company contracted by the county electric service was only contractually responsible for a maintaining a certain area, and the diseased tree that allegedly fell and caused a fire was outside that area, the vegetation management company “owed no duty to prune” the tree and was not liable for the fire or the damages caused thereby.

In Allstate Property & Casualty Insurance Company v. Sevier County Electric System, No. E2021-01085-COA-R3-CV, 2022 WL 3589838 (Tenn. Ct. App. Aug. 23, 2022), several insurance companies filed suit against the City of Sevierville, Sevier County Electric System (SCES), and Wolf Tree, who was SCES’s vegetation management contractor (the cases filed by the insurance companies were consolidated). Plaintiffs asserted claims for negligence, nuisance and trespass based on damage to property they insured caused by a fire which was allegedly started when a diseased tree fell on an electrical service conductor. Continue reading

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.