Where decedent was survived by two children, and those two children filed a wrongful death claim pro se purporting to assert claims on their own behalf and on behalf of the other four children, the complaint was only proper to the extent the two plaintiffs were asserting their own right under the wrongful death statutes.

In Grose v. Stone, No. W2023-00090-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. April 25, 2024), decedent died in a car accident. Thereafter, two of decedent’s six children filed a wrongful death claim. The complaint stated that plaintiffs were acting on their own behalf, and on behalf of decedent’s other four children as administrators of decedent’s estate.

After multiple opportunities to hire counsel and several court dates, the trial court ultimately dismissed the complaint as a whole. The trial judge found that the complaint was void ab initio and constituted the unauthorized practice of law by the two plaintiffs. Plaintiffs appealed this ruling, and the Court of Appeals reversed dismissal, finding that the complaint was partially proper.

The following graphs demonstrate the resolution of personal injury, wrongful death, and other tort cases in Coffee County, Tennessee during the last six fiscal years ending June 30, 2023.

BirdDog Law shares this information for every county in Tennessee. Click on BirdDog’s County Pages, go to the county of choice, and click on Court Statistics.

Click on the link for more information on the Coffee County court system.

The following graphs demonstrate the resolution of personal injury, wrongful death, and other tort cases in Carter County, Tennessee during the last six fiscal years ending June 30, 2023.

BirdDog Law shares this information for every county in Tennessee. Click on BirdDog’s County Pages, go to the county of choice, and click on Court Statistics.

Click on the link for more information on the Carter County court system.

The following graphs demonstrate the resolution of personal injury, wrongful death, and other tort cases in Hawkins County, Tennessee during the last six fiscal years ending June 30, 2023.

BirdDog Law shares this information for every county in Tennessee. Click on BirdDog’s County Pages, go to the county of choice, and click on Court Statistics.

Click on the link for more information on the Hawkins County court system.

The following graphs demonstrate the resolution of personal injury, wrongful death, and other tort cases in Cumberland County, Tennessee during the last six fiscal years ending June 30, 2023.

BirdDog Law shares this information for every county in Tennessee. Click on BirdDog’s County Pages, go to the county of choice, and click on Court Statistics.

Click on the link for more information on the Cumberland County court system.

The following graphs demonstrate the resolution of personal injury, wrongful death, and other tort cases in Tipton County, Tennessee during the last six fiscal years ending June 30, 2023.

BirdDog Law shares this information for every county in Tennessee. Click on BirdDog’s County Pages, go to the county of choice, and click on Court Statistics.

Click on the link for more information on the Tipton County court system.

The Tennessee Public Protection Act applies to legal malpractice claims in Tennessee in certain circumstances.

In Cartwright v. Hendrix, No. W2022-01627-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. April 15, 2024), defendants represented plaintiff in multiple lawsuits related to the administration of a trust. Defendants worked for plaintiff on a contingency fee basis.

After over ten years of unsuccessful litigation on the trust, plaintiff filed this legal malpractice case against defendants. Plaintiff asserted many theories, alleging that he did not know how many suits were filed; that defendants advanced a scheme to ultimately collect a contingency fee from him; that defendants continued to file claims after admitting that such claims were time-barred; and that defendants misled plaintiff to believe he was having success in the trust litigation.

The following graphs demonstrate the resolution of personal injury, wrongful death, and other tort cases in Hamblen County, Tennessee during the last six fiscal years ending June 30, 2023.

BirdDog Law shares this information for every county in Tennessee. Click on BirdDog’s County Pages, go to the county of choice, and click on Court Statistics.

Click on the link for more information on the Hamblen County court system.

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Who needs to haul the  Tennessee Supreme Court rules,  the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure, etc.  to a trial court?  No one.

That is why I created a new book that contains only the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure and Evidence (Courtroom Edition).  It has the rules you need on motion day or in trial, and no other rules that only add only bulk.

The Courtroom Edition includes rule changes effective July 1, 2024.

Proof related to potential damages alone are insufficient to sustain a legal malpractice claim in Tennessee.

In Cox v. Vaughan, No. E2023-00930-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. April 10, 2024) (memorandum opinion), plaintiff filed a legal malpractice claim against defendant attorney. Plaintiff and defendant previously contracted for defendant to represent plaintiff in claims related to an automobile accident. Defendant never filed any claim and avoided communicating with plaintiff. After plaintiff filed a complaint with the Board of Professional Responsibility, defendant returned plaintiff’s retainer fee.

Plaintiff subsequently filed this legal malpractice suit, alleging that she suffered damages due to defendant’s failure to follow through on her case. Defendant moved for summary judgment. He asserted that, pursuant to the representation agreement, the scope of his representation of plaintiff was limited to “claims against GMC for breach of contract of implied and express warranties.” Because the statute of limitations for such claims is six years, defendant argued that the claims still existed and plaintiff suffered no damage.

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