Where plaintiff failed to produce a photograph of an accident scene in response to requests for production, despite a consent order compelling a response to the discovery requests, the Court of Appeals affirmed the exclusion of a portion of defendant’s deposition testimony that plaintiff wanted to use at trial as…
Articles Posted in Civil Procedure
“Cancellation Rule” Leads to Dismissal of Case
Where plaintiffs could not prove that a trucking company owned the tractor that caused an accident, and instead offered directly contradictory evidence on the issue, summary judgment for defendants was affirmed. In Affainie v. Heartland Express Maintenance Services, Inc., No. M2019-01277-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. April. 1, 2020), plaintiffs were the…
Suing a Deceased Defendant in Tennessee
Where a plaintiff filed a personal injury action against the personal representative of the estate of the deceased tortfeasor, but the estate had already been closed and the statute of limitations had run by the time the plaintiff sought to extend the time to file correctly, dismissal based on untimeliness…
Summary Judgment and Rule 56.03 Statements
Where plaintiff presented a statement of undisputed material facts that called into question the check cashing policies of defendant, but that statement of facts was ignored by the trial court in granting summary judgment for defendant, summary judgment was reversed. In Great American Insurance Company v. Pilot Travel Centers, LLC,…
Where Can A Product Manufacturer Be Sued?
Under what circumstances can a product manufacturer be hauled into state court to defend a products liability claim when the injury occurred in that state ? Or, as put by Ford Motor Company in Ford Motor Company v. Montana Eighth Judicial District Court: Whether the “arise out of or relate…
Dismissal based on intentional delay of service of process affirmed.
Where a plaintiff knew how to properly serve a defendant yet chose to delay service of process until after the statute of limitations on his claims had run, summary judgment for defendant was affirmed. In Fuller v. Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, No. E2018-02267-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Feb.…
Who Decides the What Issue Is Subject to Arbitration: A Judge or Arbitrator?
It is, as the Second District Court of Appeals of Florida said, a “rather arcane”issue: who decides whether a dispute is subject to an arbitration provision – a judge or an arbitrator. Under the facts presented, the appellate court concluded that because the contract (a clickwrap agreement on AirBNB’s website) …
Tennessee Considers Extent of Specific Personal Jurisdiction
Under what circumstances can a Tennessee court insist that an out-of-state defendant submit to the jurisdiction of a Tennessee state court? The Tennessee Supreme Court is facing this issue in Crouch Railway Consulting, LLC v. LS Energy Fabrication, LLC. The case arose when the plaintiff, a Tennessee civil engineering company, …
Denial of Motion to Alter or Amend Reinstated by Supreme Court
The Tennessee Supreme Court recently reversed a Court of Appeals opinion and reinstated a trial court’s refusal to grant a motion to alter or amend. The trial court had granted defendant’s summary judgment motion based on plaintiff’s HCLA expert being unqualified to testify as to causation and plaintiff not obtaining…
Day on Torts Nugget: Service on Companies That Have Not Appointed A Registered Agent in Tennessee.
Sometimes companies that do business or cause harm in Tennessee have not registered to do business in Tennessee or have not appointed a registered agent in the state. If you want to sue them in a civil action (but not a worker’s compensation action), on whom to you serve the…