The team at Dodson Parker Behm & Capparella, PC shares updates and thoughts on developments in the law.
Court of Appeals Reverses Multiple Summary Judgments and Allows Plaintiff to Move Forward in Mesothelioma Suit.
Plaintiff worked as a mechanic at the Tennessee Eastman chemical plant for nearly 30 years. While employed there, he was responsible for repairing and maintaining the equipment. Due to the corrosive nature of the chemicals at the plant, the equipment required daily repairs and maintenance. When he made repairs to the equipment in carrying out his job duties, and when worn components on the...
read moreAmazon Can Be Liable for Negligent Assumption of Duty to Warn for Website Sale of Dangerous Product
In 2015, online retailer Amazon, Inc. sold more than 250,000 hoverboards through its website. By November 2015, Amazon knew that these products presented a risk of explosion. Amazon stopped selling the hoverboards and emailed customers with an “Important Product Safety Notification” that mentioned news reports of safety issues and offered information on how to return the product,...
read moreHarmless Error Doctrine Extends to Rule 12.02(6) Motion
The Tennessee Court of Appeals recently released an opinion that provides a compelling insight into the sticky wicket of civil procedure. The facts of the case involve an otherwise pedestrian dispute between homeowners and their contracted buyer on one hand and an HOA on the other. The ruling, however, ultimately touches on the joinder doctrine and the relation back rule, the harmless error...
read moreCourt of Appeals Provides Guidance on Statutory Summary Judgment Standard
The Tennessee Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Rye v. Women’s Care Ctr. of Memphis, MPLLC, 477 S.W.3d 235 (Tenn. 2015) established that Tennessee generally follows the federal standard where summary judgment motions are concerned, but left many open questions–particularly regarding the interplay between the Rye decision and the pre-existing Tennessee statutory summary judgment...
read moreDance Party Results in Injuries But No Liability
The Court of Appeals recently examined potential liability from a deck collapse during a party attended by “a ridiculous amount” of high school students. The upshot? It seems like a determination that having lots of people jumping and dancing on a deck doesn’t make it forseeable that the deck could break and hurt people… This negligence action arose following a high...
read moreTort Law Blog: How is Pleading Vicarious Liability Like Skinning a Cat?
Every once and a while, a court case will serve as a helpful refresher on some concepts that attorneys may have not thought of since law school. The Tennessee Court of Appeals’ ruling in Bowman v. Benouttas includes a helpful primer on various theories of vicarious liability: respondeat superior, joint venture, and implied partnership. In other words, there’s more than one way to...
read moreCourt of Appeals Addresses Nonsuits in Healthcare Liability Actions (Again—-and Again!)
This fall, two opinions, issued two days apart and from different sections of the Tennessee Court of Appeals, have explored the same essential question: should a plaintiff in a health care liability action be permitted to voluntarily dismiss his lawsuit without prejudice in the face of a motion to dismiss arising from an inadequate certificate of good faith? Since the advent of the complex...
read moreSometimes a slip and fall is really just a slip and fall…
The doctrine of res ipsa loquitur is a rule of evidence intended to assist the plaintiff who has no direct evidence of negligence by providing a way to have circumstantial evidence considered when a plaintiff is trying to proof negligence. The doctrine won’t save a case where there is simply no evidence of negligence, though. Case: Karla J. Dennis, et al. v. Donelson Corporate Centre I,...
read moreInjured Patron Can’t Sue; Membership Agreement Waived Right
An exculpatory clause waives the right to sue. A recent Court of Appeals case shows that it the waiver can be far broader than you may realize. Case Sandra Gibson v. Young Men’s Christian Association of Middle Tennessee Background Plaintiff Sandra Young fell after she tripped on an allegedly uneven or cracked sidewalk just outside the entrance of her local YMCA where she was a member. Ms....
read moreCollateral Source Rule under Attack
This article by Donald Capparella originally appeared in the Tennessee Tort Law Letter. The Court of Appeals recently decided a case that will affect every personal injury case in Tennessee… Background Jean and Fred Dedmon filed a personal injury lawsuit against John T. Cook to recover medical expenses resulting from a car accident between the parties. This dispute arose regarding the...
read morePremises Liability Case Falls Short
Premises liability cases are often difficult, and the recent case of Mooney v. Genuine Parts Company d/b/a National Automotive Assoc. illustrates This premises liability case arose from a plaintiff’s fall at an auto parts store where she was inquiring about a job opening. Plaintiff Carol Mooney visited the NAPA Auto Part in Alamo, Tennessee, to apply for a job but after determining that the...
read moreNew Dog Bite Case Law in Tennessee
Dog bite cases can be particularly tricky. A recent Tennessee Court of Appeals ruling in the case Moore v. Gaut, No. E2015-00340-COA-R3-CV provides a good overview of the law on the subject and points to the simmering debate of whether specific breeds are inherently dangerous… The plaintiff was at the Defendant’s home to service a satellite dish for his employer. The defendant...
read moreExamining How Smith v. UHS of Lakeside Is Impacting Summary Judgment
In July 2014, the Tennessee Supreme Court issued its opinion in Smith v. UHS of Lakeside, Inc., 439 S.W.3d 303 (2014). The opinion addressed the correct procedure for a trial court to rule on summary judgment motions. In beginning its analysis, the Supreme Court noted that the appeal required it to address three important procedural principles: 1.) The principle reflected in Tennessee Rule of...
read more
