Law Blog - Dodson Parker Behm & Capparella, PC

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

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...

Tort Law Blog: Is the Common Knowledge Exception Obsolete?

Last month we wrote about the common knowledge exception, and it crops up again this month. Lawyers, be warned: Even if the common knowledge exception applies in a health care liability case so that expert testimony is not required, the failure to file a certificate of good faith may still be fatal… Background This health care liability action was filed following a fall by Plaintiff, Vicki...

Big Changes to Appellate Procedure in Tennessee

Big changes are coming to Tennessee’s appellate courts in 2017. While news of the move to electronic filing is not new, the recently filed proposed amendments to the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure have some significant changes to make way for the change….The biggest change is that the notice of appeal will be filed with the Appellate Court Clerk’s office and not the trial court...

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...

“Common Knowledge” Exception Insufficent to Save MedMal Case

In Unitta Sue Newman v. Guardian Healthcare Providers, Inc., the Tennessee Court of Appeals addressed the “common knowledge” exception – an exception to the requirement of expert testimony in certain medical malpractice actions. Spoiler alert: the exception almost never applies… Background The plaintiff in the case is the surviving widow of Billy Joe Newman who was attacked and killed by...

When Your Civil Suit Intersects with a Criminal Prosecution

A version of this article originally appeared as the Monthly Spotlight Article in the Tennessee Tort Law Letter. DPBC attorneys Donald Capparella, Tyler Chance Yarbro, and Elizabeth Sitgreaves serve as editors. To learn about subscribing click here. If you are a tort law practitioner, then it is not unusual to have a criminal case pending alongside a tort case you are handling. This...

Court Rules on Parent Liability for Acts of Adult Son Living at Home

Parents of “boomerang kids” take note: the Tennessee Court of Appeals has noticed that the number of young adults ages 18 to 34 living with their parents climbed to over 32% in 2014. Read on to see what the Court determined in Riggs v. Wright and what this means for your potential liability for their actions. Background Defendant Richard Wright, the adult son of Larry and Marianne...