Miscellaneous

August 31, 2009

September 2009 Tennessee Trial Law Report is in the Mail

The September 2009 edition of the Tennessee Trial Law Report is in the mail.

The lazy days of summer are upon us – this edition includes a summary of just 10 different cases addressing various aspects of the law of torts, civil procedure, evidence and trial as decided by Tennessee appellate courts between July 15 and August 15, 2009. (This is about 1/2 of the normal volume of decisions released in a given month.) The newsletter totals 34 pages, including 16 pages containing the full-text (in addition to our summary) of the most important opinions issued last month.

The newsletter also includes (a) my continuing series on The Law of Trial (this month’s article is “Opening Statements and Closing Arguments;” and (b) a summary of the status of 12 cases of interest to tort lawyers that are pending before the Supreme Court of Tennessee.

August 27, 2009

New Judicial Selection Commission Members

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

The new members of the Tennessee Judicial Selection Commission have been announced.

Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey appointed the following people:

Miles Burdine, President and CEO of the Kingsport Area Chamber of Commerce
Christopher Campbell, a Memphis attorney
Christopher Clem, a Chattanooga attorney
William Jenkins, Jr., a Dyersburg attorney
Teresa Lee, Senior VP and CLO for Eastman Chemical in Kingsport
Thomas Lawless, a Nashville lawyer
Jack Lowery, a Lebanon lawyer
William Young, GC of BCBS in Chattanooga

Speaker Williams appointed the following people:

David Bautista, an attorney and ETSU professor
Mary Helen Beard, a lawyer with Fed Ex in Memphis
Ana Escobar, a Nashville attorney
Russell Johnson, DA in Loudon County
Ed Martindale, a Jackson attorney
Scott Sims, a Nashville attorney
Denise Stapleton, a Morristown attorney
Barry Ward, a Memphis attorney

The speakers jointly appointed Verna Anne Wyatt of Nashville, the ED of the group You Have the Power, a crime victims advocacy group.

August 12, 2009

Thank You

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

OrderForm (2)(1) Last week I received a letter informing me that I had been selected for inclusion in the 2010 edition of Best Lawyers in America. I have been fortunate to have been included among this distinguished group of lawyers since 1993.

This year I have been listed in the specialties of Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Medical Malpractice Law, Personal Injury Litigation, and Product Liability Litigation.

Best Lawyers surveys lawyers to determine who should be included in the publication. Thus, I fully realize that I would not be included in this book if it were not for the votes I received from my fellow lawyers, many of whom deserve equal or even greater recognition for their service to their clients and to the profession. I also realize that I would not be a part of this publication without the wonderful support I receive from every member of our firm, each of whom works diligently every day to serve our clients.

August 11, 2009

New Tennessee Legislation of Interest to Tort Lawyers – Post 7

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

Here is Post 7 of recent changes to statutory law in Tennessee that I think will be of interest to tort lawyers. As I have said in the last six posts, you can read about additional changes in the law under the Legislation 2009 category.

Public Chapter 206 changed the Governmental Tort Liability Act to include Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 29-20-101 et seq, to specifically include "community action agenc[ies] [and] nonprofit corporation[s] which administer[] the Head Start or Community Service Block Grant programs" as entities covered under the Act.

I believe that this legislation is a result of a case our firm handled against such an organization in East Tennessee earlier this year. We argued that the entity was not covered by the Act (and therefore the damage caps did not apply) because the type of entity was not specifically mentioned in the Act. I predicated at the time we identified the issue that a legislative change would be forthcoming, and this is it.

August 5, 2009

New Tennessee Legislation of Interest to Tort Lawyers – Post 5

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

This is the fifth in a series of posts about changes in Tennessee statutory law of interest to tort lawyers. For other changes click on the Legislation 2009 category.

Tennessee has a "Ski Area Safety and Liability Act" codified at TCA Section 68-114-101 et seq. Public Chapter 85 changes the definition of skier to include "any person present in a ski area for the purpose of engaging in the sport of skiing, Nordic, freestyle, or other types of ski jumping, and who is using skis, or a sled, tube, or snowboard." It also increases the minimum insurance limits for each "ski area operator responsible for a passenger tramway" to $1,000,000.

Click on the link to read Public Acts, 2009 Public Chapter 85.

July 29, 2009

Suing Drug Dealers

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

As you would expect, the Tennessee General Assembly is not particularly fond of drug dealers. But did you know that the General Assemby had passed what they call the "Drug Dealer Liability Act?"

The Act, codified at TCA 29-38-101 et seq, permits the recovery of damages caused by drug dealers. We just used this Act to add an additional cause of action against a man who we alleged engaged in inappropriate conduct with two pre-teen females and from time to time used a drug to help accomplish his actions. The use of the Act was important because (a) it gave us a claim for attorney’s fees and (b) it provides for prejudgment attachment of assets of the defendant.

The Act contains several sections, but this is the section that creates the cause of action, identifies who can file suit, and states what damages can be recovered.

July 21, 2009

Justice Programs 2009

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

Penny White, Joe Riley and I are on the road again this Fall for the 2009 Justice Programs seminars. This two-day, 15-hour is designed for Tennessee lawyers who do civil litigation.

We will be in Nashville November 19 and 20, Chattanooga on December 3 and 4, Memphis on December 10 and 11, and Knoxville on December 17 and 18.

Learn more about the program here. Register here.

July 17, 2009

For Sale

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

The American Conservative Union, the nation’s oldest conservative lobbying organization, has firmly held core beliefs. Those core beliefs are apparently for sale to the highest bidder, even if the highest bidder is on the opposite side of the issue than the other potential bidder.

Credibility free-fall.

July 13, 2009

David Mills Does It Again – A Reader Supplies the Caption

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

stickman-richie

David Mills, appellate lawyer and cartoonist from Ohio, supplied the cartoon. A reader supplied the caption. In fact, lots of readers suggested captions, and David choose this one.

I must admit that I was a fan of a caption suggested by Kpawss ("Surprisingly, a lineal descendant appeared during probate.") but I certainly cannot disagree with David’s choice written by J. Whitney.

Thanks, David, for sharing your work with us. See more of David’s work at Courtoons.

July 6, 2009

A Tort Lawyer Looks at the Death of Steve McNair UPDATE NO. 2

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

Nashville is mourning the death of Steve McNair, former quarterback of the Tennessee Titans.

McNair was murdered during the early morning hours of Saturday, July 4. It is not completely certain who murdered him, but news reports indicate that the police are not looking for suspects and appear to be exploring whether McNair’s 20-year old girlfriend, Sahel Kazemi, killed McNair and then shot herself in the head. Apparently, the gun was found under Kazemi’s body.

USA Today has reported that the handgun recovered at the scene was recently purchased by Kazemi. The Tennessean has a similar story. Federal law prohibits those under 21 from purchasing a handgun from a licensed dealer. The identity of the gun seller has not been released to the public (if it is even known).