No Attorney’s Fee Award Permitted in Trespass Case
Attorney’s fees are not recoverable in a claim for trespass in Tennessee. In Perlaky v. Chapin, No. E2017-01995-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. July 27, 2018), plaintiff owned land on a mountain with...
View ArticleNo Response to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts Results in Loss
In a case based on an altercation that occurred while a worker was attempting to recover an unreturned cable modem, defendant cable company filed a motion for summary judgment with supporting proof...
View ArticleAre Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Awards Subject to Federal Income Tax?
The taxability of Tennessee personal injury and Tennessee wrongful death settlements and judgments is governed by Section 104 of the Internal Revenue Code. Generally, compensatory damages for personal...
View ArticleSummary Judgment on Negligence Claim Overturned
Where a reasonable juror could have found that defendant allowed sewage to flow into a malfunctioning septic tank under plaintiff’s property for at least a short period of time after the issue was...
View ArticleSuicide and Foreseeability
Where a defendant (who happened to by a psychiatrist) knew of decedent’s past suicide attempt, knew he had just ended his relationship with her, and let the decedent stay in his home alone with an...
View ArticleNuisance Can Occur on Property Owned by Neither Plaintiff Nor Defendant
A defendant can be liable for nuisance damages even when the nuisance occurred on property that neither plaintiff nor defendant owned. In Ryan v. Soucie, No. E2018-01121-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App....
View ArticlePayments to Professionals Who Were Fact Witnesses For Case and Discovery...
The Florida Supreme Court ruled that it is appropriate for a lawyer to pay professionals who were fact witnesses in a commercial litigation controversy for their assistance directly related to case and...
View ArticleEconomic Loss Doctrine Bars Plaintiff’s Fraud Claim
Where a commercial plaintiff suffered only economic damages due to the purchase of allegedly defective trucks, its fraud claim was barred by the economic loss doctrine. In Milan Supply Chain Solutions...
View ArticleNo Trespass Claim Where Unmanned Truck Rolled Into House
Where defendants’ truck rolled into a duplex owned by plaintiff causing real property damage, a directed verdict for defendants on all but plaintiff’s negligence claim as well as a jury verdict for...
View ArticleSummary Judgment Affirmed on Negligent Misrepresentation Claim
Where an attorney working for a bank gave the bank president advice about his resignation but also recommended that he seek independent counsel, the Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment on a...
View ArticleFalse imprisonment statute of limitations begins to run when imprisonment ends.
The Tennessee Court of Appeals recently held that “the statute of limitations for false imprisonment claims does not begin to run until the imprisonment ends.” In Lovell v. Warren County, Tennessee,...
View ArticleProperty owner not liable when employee of independent contractor was injured.
Where a plaintiff was injured while working on a construction site owned by defendant, but the trial court ruled that plaintiff was actually an employee of an independent contractor retained by...
View ArticleSue Employer in Tort For Coronavirus-Related Death? Not in Tennessee
We have seen several wrongful death lawsuits filed the the families of deceased employees, claiming that the employers negligently caused the death of the decedents by, for example, “knowing” about the...
View ArticleNew Executive Order on Notarizing Documents
Tennessee’s Governor has issued Executive Order 26, which permits the remote notarization and witnessing of documents. The Executive Order outlines the procedure that must be followed for the remote...
View ArticleNuisance claim arising from construction fails
Where plaintiff claimed that defendant created a nuisance by allowing debris to drain onto her land and by causing a sewage smell, but the only evidence consisted of conflicting witness testimony with...
View ArticleLarge jury award affirmed in negligence case against Kroger
Where plaintiff fell and broke her hip in a grocery store due to her shopping cart missing a wheel, yet she mostly recovered from the injury, a jury verdict of approximately $90,000 in medical expenses...
View ArticleNo misrepresentation based on acreage where accurate plat was public record.
Where the correct acreage of a piece of real property was contained on a publicly recorded plat, plaintiffs could not maintain a cause of action for misrepresentation or concealment based on the seller...
View ArticleDefamation claimed barred by ecclesiastical abstention doctrine
Where plaintiff’s tort claims against the church and church elders where he was previously pastor were all connected to the church’s termination of plaintiff as pastor and his resistance to that...
View ArticleLandlord liable for negligent misrepresentation based on false statement that...
Where the landlord misrepresented the state of a building’s roof at the time the lease was executed, knowing that it could not be quickly repaired and that previous repair attempts had failed, the...
View ArticleLack of Evidence on Value of Property Damage Dooms Tennessee Case
Where plaintiff only presented proof that his property was damaged during shipment but did not present any proof sufficient to allow the trial court to assess his damages, involuntary dismissal was...
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