The following graphs demonstrate the resolution of personal injury, wrongful death, and other tort cases in Hancock 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 Hancock County court system.

The following graphs demonstrate the resolution of personal injury, wrongful death, and other tort cases in Lake 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 Lake County court system.

The sudden physical incapacitation doctrine was a defense to the plaintiff’s negligence claim in Elliott v. Monger, No. W2023-01783-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 10, 2024).

In Elliott,  the plaintiff and defendant were involved in a car accident. The defendant was preparing to turn left onto an exit ramp, and the plaintiff was driving in the opposite direction. The defendant’s vehicle struck the plaintiff’s, and the plaintiff filed this negligence claim against the defendant and the defendant’s employer.

Both defendants filed motions for summary judgment based on the sudden physical incapacitation doctrine. In support of their motions, the defendants attached the transcript of the defendant driver’s deposition, as well as an affidavit from a cardiologist. In the affidavit, the cardiologist opined that the defendant’s medical records showed that the defendant suffered a heart attack immediately before the accident. The plaintiff provided no expert proof in response to the defendants’ motion for summary judgment, which the trial court granted. Summary judgment based on the sudden physical incapacitation doctrine was affirmed on appeal.

Where a case was dismissed pursuant to the defendant’s Rule 12 motion, the trial court should not have held a subsequent hearing on and granted dismissal under the defendant’s separate TPPA petition. In Horst v. Gaar, No. W2023-00442-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 4, 2024), the plaintiff was the former son-in-law of the defendant. Plaintiff ran an investment business, and while plaintiff and defendant’s daughter were divorcing, defendant allegedly made statements to one of plaintiff’s clients that caused the client to move his investments to a different firm. The complaint alleged that defendant told the client that plaintiff was leaving Memphis and moving to Las Vegas, and that such a move would “jeopardiz[e] the service and expertise that [client] was used to getting from [the business] locally.” Based on these statements, plaintiff filed this action for tortious interference with a business contract, intentional interference with a business relationship, and a violation of the TCPA.

Defendant filed a motion to dismiss under Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 12, asserting that plaintiff’s complaint failed to state a claim for relief. Defendant also filed a petition to dismiss under the Tennessee Public Protection Act (“TPPA”). The rule 12 motion was set for hearing, and the trial court granted dismissal. In the order granting dismissal, the trial court stated that “it would retain jurisdiction over the unheard TPPA petition to dismiss.” Some time later, the trial court held a hearing and granted the TPPA petition to dismiss. The trial court also awarded costs, attorney’s fees and expenses in the TPPA dismissal order. On appeal, dismissal pursuant to Rule 12 was affirmed, but the Court of Appeals vacated the decision to grant dismissal under the TPPA.

A Rule 12 motion to dismiss challenges the sufficiency of the complaint, and the Court of Appeals agreed that dismissal was appropriate here. Looking first to the interference with contract claim, the Court noted that a plaintiff asserting a common law or statutory claim for interference with contract must prove certain elements, including that a breach of contract occurred. The plaintiff’s contract with the client at issue permitted the client to move his money at any time for any or no reason. Because of this language, the Court agreed with the trial court that the client did not breach the contract. Without a breach of contract, plaintiff could not state a claim for tortious interference with contract and dismissal was appropriate.

The following graphs demonstrate the resolution of personal injury, wrongful death, and other tort cases in Clay 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 Clay County court system.

The following graphs demonstrate the resolution of personal injury, wrongful death, and other tort cases in Perry 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 Perry County court system.

Because an HCLA (Medical Malpractice) plaintiff is required to prove the elements of his claim through expert testimony, summary judgment was affirmed after the trial court applied the cancellation rule to plaintiff’s expert’s conflicting testimony regarding damages.

In Simmons v. Islam, No. M2023-01698-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 3, 2024), the plaintiff filed an HCLA claim alleging that the defendant psychiatrist had engaged in improper, sexualized conduct directed toward the plaintiff. When his claim was filed, the plaintiff relied on Expert 1, but Expert 1 dropped out of the case after depositions.

The defendants filed a motion for summary judgment, asserting that without Expert 1 plaintiff could not prove his case. The plaintiff requested more time to identify a new expert, which the trial court granted. The plaintiff then disclosed Expert 2. In Expert 2’s affidavit, she stated that the plaintiff suffered damages as a result of the defendant’s conduct. During her deposition, however, she testified that you would expect damages and that they were possible, but that she “didn’t go into damages. I just basically put that you would expect damages, damages can be reignited.”

Plaintiff construction company should not have been allowed to file a deposition transcript related to its argument against dismissal under the TPPA after the TPPA hearing had concluded.

In Kedalo Construction, LLC v. Ward, No. M2024-00224-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Nov. 26, 2024), the plaintiff construction company and the defendant store owner disagreed about construction work done by the plaintiff pursuant to a contract between the parties. The defendant created a website and Facebook page detailing her experience with the plaintiff company, and she left multiple reviews online “accusing the company of misconduct,” including the theft of tiles.

The plaintiff construction company filed this suit for defamation, and the defendant responded with a petition to dismiss under the TPPA. After substantial delays and a hearing, the trial court denied the petition to dismiss, ruling only that “Defendants [had] not met their burden.” On appeal, this ruling was reversed.

The following graphs demonstrate the resolution of personal injury, wrongful death, and other tort cases in Houston 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 Houston County court system.

The following graphs demonstrate the resolution of personal injury, wrongful death, and other tort cases in Trousdale 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 Trousdale County court system.

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