Legal Information

January 15, 2022

How To Determine What Cases Are Pending Before the Tennessee Supreme Court

The Tennessee Supreme Court reviews very few cases in a given year. In the year ending June 30, 2020 (the last period for which information is publicly available) the High Court was asked to accept review in 569 cases. (These are the cases where the Court has the discretion whether to hear the case or allow the lower court ruling to stand. There are other types of cases that the Court is required to hear.) Out of the 569 cases it was asked to review, it accepted only 20.

In the same fiscal year, the Court issued opinions in 63 cases.

Given the case selection criteria in discretionary review matters and the types of appeal-as-of-right cases, each opinion is highly likely to materially impact Tennessee law.

December 21, 2019

North Carolina Adopts New Case Citation Format

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

North Carolina has come into the late 20th century by adopting a legal citation system that makes sense for the lawyers of today – and the public.

The state Supreme Court adopted a new format for case citations, the reference that tells the public how to find a specific court opinion. The new format adds a universal pinpoint citation with paragraph numbering so that for parallel citations opinions can be uniformly cited across different research platforms.

According to the Court, “the new citation format will include both a reference to the hardbound case reports and the new universal reference. Beginning January 1, 2021, each paragraph in a published opinion will be numbered so that particular sections can be referenced without a traditional page number. References to paragraph numbers will allow readers to more quickly and accurately identify source material in both electronic and hard copy formats.”

October 23, 2016

Upcoming Seminar – Justice Programs

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

Justice Programs will present its annual seminar program in Knoxville, Nashville and Memphis in a few weeks. Former Justice Penny White and former Judge Joe Riley and I started this seminar over a decade ago. Famed mediator Howard Vogel joins us as a participant this year.

I will be speaking about torts, comparative fault, and preparation for taking meaningful depositions. Other topics are listed on the Justice Programs website. Fifteen continuing legal education credits (which includes four ethics / professionalism / dual credits) will be awarded for those that attend the entire program

Hundreds of people attend this program every year, many coming year after year. Please join us in

January 2, 2016

2016 Rule Package Released

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

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.

February 25, 2013

2011-12 Damage Awards in Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Cases in Tennessee

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

As I mentioned in my February 17, 2013 post about Tennessee personal injury and Tennessee wrongful death court filings, the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Court has released statistics about the Tennessee’s justice system. Among the data produced is the amount of money awarded in tort trials for the year ended 2011-12.

The total amount of damages awarded by judges and juries in all personal injury and wrongful death trials in the state in the year ended June 30, 2012 was $128,312,921.

Damages of $1 to $99,999 were awarded in 158 of the 204 cases tried to judges in juries in year in which damages were actually awarded. (There were 520 trials in all – no damages were awarded in 316 of them. Damages of $100,000 to $999,999 were awarded in just 29 cases. Damages of $1,000,000 and more were awarded in 17 cases.

February 10, 2012

Tennessee Counties With No Jury Verdicts for Plaintiffs

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

What to know more about the explosion of personal injury and wrongful death jury verdicts in Tennessee? A report released by the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts revealed that the following Tennessee counties did not award one penny in damages in any tort case for the year ended June 30, 2011:

District 1 – *Johnson, *Unicoi

District 3 – Hamblen, Hancock, *Hawkins

February 9, 2012

$1,000,000 Verdicts in Tennessee Tort Cases

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

There were ten jury and non-jury awards of $1,000,000 or more in Tennessee tort cases in the year ending on June 30, 2011.

The number of million dollar verdicts was exactly the same as it was ten years earlier, a year when there were 50% more trials.

These are the counties with million dollar verdicts or judgments:

February 8, 2012

Damage Awards Decline Substantially in Tennessee Tort Cases

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

Tennessee jury verdicts were down substantially in 2010-11, according to data released by the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts.

Total damages awarded in tort cases in state court were only $32,051,326, down by a little over 60% from a year earlier, when the total damages awarded was over $91,000,000. These numbers include jury and non-jury cases.

The average verdict or judgment was $168,691, down over 600% from a year earlier, when the average verdict was over $400,000. The average verdict includes only those trials in which the fact-finder returned an award of money damages. It does not include defense or no-money awards.

February 7, 2012

Number of Jury Trials Continues to Decline in Tennessee Tort Cases

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

The number of jury trials in Tennessee tort cases continues to decline, according to data released by the Tennessee Adminstrative Office of the Courts.

In the one year period ending June 30, 2011, there were only 222 jury trials in tort cases in Tennessee state courts. Ten years ago, the period ending June 30, 2002, there were 412 jury trials in tort cases. Looking at the ratio between cases filed and cases tried to a jury, jury trials are down over 50%.

Is this trend due to mediation? I doubt it. True, there are lots of mediations in tort cases today, but mediation has been around for more than 20 years and was a firmly entrenched part of tort practice in Tennessee well over 10 years ago.

February 5, 2012

Personal Injury Filings Decline Again in Tennessee

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

New data out from the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts puts data behind what those of us who practice tort law knew: tort filings are down in Tennessee.

The AOC’s Annual Statistical Report shows that tort filings for the one year period ending June 30, 2011 were 10,576. Ten years ago, in the one year period ending June 30, 2002, there were 12,166 tort cases filed in the state.

Total tort case filings in the six counties with the largest population were as follows: