In Choate ex rel. Clayton v. Vanderbilt Univ., No. M2014-00630-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan. 25, 2016), the Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for a property owner when a patient was injured while attempting to get on a scale at a dialysis clinic. Plaintiff was the decedent patient’s former spouse…
The Tennessee Bar Association has published my article about the recent Moreno decision and the unintended consequences of that decision. The article is titled “Donald Margolis, “Moreno,’ and Unintended Consequences.” An excerpt: Every decision (and every failure or refusal to decide) — from a court or otherwise — has consequences, some…
The Tennessee Supreme Court has sent a package of rule changes to the Tennessee General Assembly for review. The proposed changes will be sent to the judiciary committee in each house. Click on the link to see the proposals.
Dr. Roger Herrin, upset that he had to share money with those who were injured in a car wreck that also took his son’s life, paid the $500,000 he owed in quarters. 7,500 hundred pounds of quarters. Why quarters? "Because I couldn’t do it in pennies," Herrin reportedly said.…
Tennessee personal injury lawyers know that the Tennessee General Assembly is a far different place than it used to be. The Legislature is determined to change the rules of tort litigation for the benefit of defendants and those who would be defendants. What follows is a second list of legislation enacted…
As mentioned yesterday, the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts has released the 2009-2010 Annual Report of the Judiciary. The Report Contains statistical data about our court system. Today we look at information about tort cases that were filed or tried in state court in Tennessee. "Tort cases" includes medical…
ABA Journal.com reports that "in 1996, a Delaware hospital conducted an internal investigation of a pediatrician accused of inappropriate conduct with young patients and concluded he had done nothing wrong. Hence, administrators reportedly never informed the state’s medical disciplinary board or law enforcement authorities of the allegations." Now, the hospital…
What is the principle place of business for a corporation for purposes of determining whether a federal court has diversity jurisdiction under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1332(c)(1)? Well, what you thought you knew is no longer the law. The United States Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the phrase "principal place…
Yep. That is what Richard Fields is doing. He is the chief executive of Juridica Capital Management, an organization which runs a fund that invests in one side of a lawsuit in exchange for a share of any winnings. The company invests in commercial litigation. This article in the New…
A defense firm has been threatened with severe sanctions for allegedly engaging in a pattern of fraudulently removing cases from state court to federal court in Louisiana. Sanctions on the table? Not only a financial penalty but also also barring members of the firm from practicing in federal court. Here…