Close

Articles Posted in Civil Procedure

Updated:

Failure to file post-trial motion resulted in waiver of directed verdict argument on appeal.

Where the defendant failed to file a post-trial motion, she “waived her right to contest the trial court’s denial of her motion for a directed verdict.” In Carman v. Kellon, No. M2019-00857-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 18, 2020), the plaintiff was seriously injured when she was jogging on the side…

Updated:

Unsworn declaration created issue of fact to oppose summary judgment.

Where plaintiff filed a declaration in response to defendants’ motion for summary judgment that sought to amend her prior deposition testimony based on her nervousness during the deposition and her refreshed recollection of the incident in question, the Court of Appeals ruled that the declaration should have been considered and…

Updated:

Tennessee’s Rule 11 Will Require Email Address on Pleadings

The Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure will be changed July 1, 2021 to require the disclosure of the filer’s email address on papers filed in court.  The rule change still must be approved by the General Assembly.   UPDATE:  The proposed rule change was approved by the General Assembly on…

Updated:

Jury finding that plaintiff was 60% at fault for car accident affirmed.

  Where plaintiff and defendant gave differing versions of a car accident, the photographs of the vehicles could be interpreted to support defendant’s version of events, and the jury appeared to credit defendant by finding plaintiff 60% at fault, the Court of Appeals affirmed the jury’s verdict and the trial…

Updated:

Sanctions based on HCLA Certificate of Good Faith Denied

Where defendant pharmacists alleged comparative fault against a doctor and filed a certificate of good faith that complied with all the necessary requirements of the statute, the trial court’s decision to deny sanctions based on the allegation that the “certificate of good faith was supported by the written statement of…

Updated:

Unconscionable fee-splitting provision in arbitration agreement could be severed from agreement as a whole.

Although a fee-splitting provision in an arbitration agreement was unconscionable based on the plaintiff’s financial situation, the Court of Appeals ruled that the fee-splitting provision was severable and that defendant’s motion to compel arbitration should have been granted. In Stokes v. Allenbrooke Nursing and Rehabilitation Center LLC, No. W2019-01983-COA-R3-CV (Tenn.…

Updated:

Website comment deemed to not constitute notice for relation back purposes.

Where a plaintiff named the wrong defendant in a premises liability suit, but claimed that the proper defendant had notice of the lawsuit due to a correspondence she had sent on its website stating that she had been in contact with her legal team, the proper defendant did not have…

Updated:

Savings statute available to vicarious liability plaintiff.

When a plaintiff takes a voluntary nonsuit in a case asserting vicarious liability against an employer for its employee’s negligence, that plaintiff can re-file pursuant to the savings statute, even if the employee was voluntarily dismissed from the first case. In Helyukh v. Buddy Head Livestock & Trucking, Inc., No.…

Updated:

Appeal Fails Without Transcript or Statement of Evidence

Where plaintiff failed to file a transcript or a Rule 24 statement of the evidence with the appellate court, the “facts found by the trial court [were] conclusive on appeal” and the ruling for defendant school system was affirming in this GTLA case. In Johnson v. Millington Municipal Schools, No.…

Updated:

Class certification denied in food poisoning and contagious restaurant employees case.

Where plaintiffs tried to certify a class in a food poisoning case that included all persons who ate at defendant restaurant during a certain time period that became sick due to either ingesting contaminated well water and/or coming into contact with sick employees, as well as these customers “spouses parents…

Contact Us