Where plaintiffs included wife’s claim for loss of consortium in their complaint with the Tennessee Claims Commission, but the wife had not given notice of her loss of consortium claim to the Division of Claims Administration within the applicable statute of limitations, dismissal of the wife’s claim was affirmed. In…
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.…
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.…
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…
Tennessee’s Governor has extended authority for remote notarization and remote witnessing of documents, subject to compliance with certain procedures, through Sept. 30. The order also encourages users of these tools to make preparations to implement best practices for a safe return to in-person transactions beginning Oct. 1. Recall too that…
The Texas Supreme Court has announced a rule change to permit courts to authorize electronic service of a summons and complaint when traditional efforts to serve have been unsuccessful. Before approving electronic service, a court must consider if evidence shows the defendant uses a social media profile frequently enough that…
When summary judgment in a previous suit was based on the statute of limitations, a malicious prosecution action cannot be based on that previous suit. In Horizon Trades, Inc. v. Givens, No. M2019-01876-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Aug. 20, 2020), defendant was the attorney for Shermane Stuart in a previous action…
Where plaintiff did not serve defendants until 89 days after summonses were issued, but defendants failed to present evidence that the delay was intentional, the Court of Appeals reversed dismissal of the case. In Eskridge v. NHC Healthcare Farragut, LLC, No. E2019-01671-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Aug. 6, 2020), plaintiff filed…
The Legislature has approved the following changes to the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure: Click to access order_adopting_rules_amendments_to_adm2019-01444_eff_07-01-2020.pdf
Here is an excellent decision supporting the right of a party to take depositions by remote video despite an objection raised by the opposing party. The court’s order references many of the issues that arise during remote video depositions and thus is a great resource for lawyers who are unfamiliar…