In Steele v. Primehealth Med. Center, P.C., No. W2015-00056-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 22, 2015), the Tennessee Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for defendant in a premises liability case, “concluding that the plaintiffs presented insufficient evidence to demonstrate that the sidewalk [at issue] was unreasonably dangerous.” Plaintiff was an…
What is it with drillers and spoliation of evidence cases? First it was Cincinnati Ins. Co. v. Mid-South Drillers Supply, Inc. which is a Tennessee leading case on the subject. And now, we have a new spoliation case with a different drilling company, Griffith Services Drilling, LLC v. Arrow Gas…
A Florida appellate court has recently restricted largely unfettered discovery from the Facebook account of a personal injury plaintiff who was filing suit because of injuries to her minor son. She also asserted her own claim for loss of parental consortium. Root v. Balfour Beatty Construction LLC, 2014 WL 444005…
The Montana Supreme Court has ordered that a trial court may not order a Rule 35 psychological examination of a personal injury plaintiff who has asserted a typical pain and suffering claim. In Lewis v. 8th Judicial District, OP 12-0401 (Mont. S. C. Sept. 11, 2012) Lewis brought a claim…
I am in a lawsuit and had to answer interrogatories. I didn’t tell the truth about some things and the other side found out about it. Can I get sent to jail for not tellling the truth? There is a risk of jail or a fine because interrogatories are answered…
What burden should be placed on a party seeking a new trial if the losing party discovers that the winning party engaged in deliberate discovery misconduct? In Duart v. Dep’t of Correction, No. 18476 (Conn. Jan. 24, 2012), the Connecticut Supreme Court said the movant must establish the following: (1) There…
A New York Appellate Court has ruled in Patterson v. Turner Construction that a defendant in a personal injury case does not have an unfettered right to access the plaintiff’s Facebook account. Instead, the defendant can seek only to that which is “relevant, in that it contradicts or conflicts with…
The Fourth District Court of Appeals for Florida has ruled that a non-settling defendant cannot obtain a court order forcing disclosure of confidential settlements between the plaintiff and settling defendants. Plaintiffs were involved in an auto accident that was allegedly caused by tire failure. They sued the car…
Evan Shaeffer wrote a book called Deposition Practice Tips. Certain excerpts from the book appear here. I want to focus on Section 1.111, which Evan titled "Can You Wing It At A Deposition?" Here, in bold print, is his work: Can you wing it at a deposition? Undoubtedly,…
Plaintiff’s accident reconstructionist (Webb) in an auto defect case was deposed about his proposed testimony. Thereafter, Webb signed an errata sheet that changed four of the variables he used to make his calculations. Among the changes were a change in the angle of the subject vehicle from 22 degrees to 44 degrees and an…