Law Blog - Dodson Parker Behm & Capparella, PC

The team at Dodson Parker Behm & Capparella, PC shares updates and thoughts on developments in the law.

Legislative (Non)Update: Legislative Lack of Interest

Pending legislation can often be a harbinger of change, even if it doesn’t pass the first time around. This legislative session has seen several bills that, while unsuccessful this time, might still be of interest to legislators and lawyers next session… Third time wasn’t the charm for an idea first proposed in 2015 and revisited again in 2016 and 2017 that seeks to move...

Settlement Agreement Enforceable; Attorney Emails Are the Proof

This case is a good example of why attorneys should always demonstrate professionalism in their communications. You never know when your email to opposing counsel is going to turn up as an exhibit… Background This case concerns the enforcement of a settlement agreement following a car accident that occurred on August 22, 2008. The opinion excerpts a number of the e-mails between counsel,...

No Liability for Fall on Defective Sidewalk

This is a good example of why lawyers need to develop (and use!) checklists for trial. When you file suit after a fall on a defective sidewalk, you need to be sure you can elicit testimony not just that the sidewalk was defective but that it caused the fall… This premises liability action arose following the fall of Shirley Lurks on a sidewalk. Mrs. Lurks and her husband filed a...

Court 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...

Dance 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...

Wrongful Death Claims Present Challenges for Surviving Family Members

The recent Tennessee Court of Appeals case Nelson v. Myres, offers a succinct and helpful analysis as to who has the priority right to bring a wrongful death claim, particularly in the situation where the surviving spouse may bear some responsibility for the death. Sharon Myres died following a car accident. She was a passenger in a car being driven by her husband Charles Myres, and there were...

Legislative Update

The General Assembly is back in session and that means that more than a few items of interest will be considered in the next few months. Here are some matters under consideration that will impact the legal system and the ability of Tennesseans to have access to justice. Patients’ Compensation System Legislation proposed in 2015 and revisited in 2016 that seeks to move medical malpractice claims...

Employer Not Responsible For Injuries to Employee Who Was Sent Home For Suspicion of Drug Use

In a negligent entrustment action, the employer’s ability to control the employee when he leaves the premises is the essential issue. Knowledge of the employee’s incompetency is also important. Here, the facts didn’t establish that the employer was at fault. Background Plaintiff Christopher Dylan Thompson filed a negligent entrustment alleging that Best Buy was “negligent in allowing him...

Jury Verdict Reversed; Personal Injury Claim Reinstated

For personal injury claims, exacerbation of previous injuries are fraught with peril. This recent Tennessee Court of Appeals case offers a bit of hope… Background On October 14, 2011, Plaintiff Steven Kempson was traveling in his Toyota Tundra on I-24 in Chattanooga when he was rear ended by a Chevrolet van driven by Pamela Casey. Kempson and his wife filed suit against Casey. Casey...

Auto Insurance Statutes Unclear Where Rentals are Concerned

Renting a car can be complicated. Unwinding the insurance issues when a rental in involved in an accident requires untangling the intersection of state and federal law. A new Tennessee Supreme Court ruling gives some guidance. Tennessee’s Financial Responsibility statutes, Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-12-101 et seq., mandate that Tennessee motorists have auto insurance. Specifically, a Tennessee...

Tort 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...

Court 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...

Insurance Company Can’t Have It Both Ways, Estopped From Statute of Limitations Defense

In the recent case of Clark v. Powers, the Tennessee Court of Appeals determined that an insurance company couldn’t avoid liability under a statute of limitations defense by arguing lack of service of process when it had allowed a co-defendant to enter into a written agreement to delay service. The lawsuit arose from a car accident that occurred on July 6, 2012. Plaintiffs Sandra and...