Articles Posted in Miscellaneous

A Handbook for Tennessee Tort Lawyers 2009 has been sent to the printer.

The 2009 of the book follows the same format as the 2008 version.   It has been expanded to include 8 new chapters and 28  new sections on tort law subjects for a total of  262 sections.  Each section includes the key language of the leading case on that subject and, as appropriate, citations to other important cases on the subject.  Also included is a reference to all opinions released in the last year on tort law organized by chapter and section.

The book also includes the full text of all of the new  statutes of interest to Tennessee tort lawyers.

After over 13  years,165 editions, and no less than  1500 printed pages,  I have resigned from my position as the Editor of the Tennessee Tort Law Letter."   The September 2008 edition, mailed a couple days ago, is my final edition.

I will be taking one month off and then will launch a new tort law newsletter in November, 2008.  Brandon Bass (who  has resigned from his position as Assistant Editor of the TTLL) will be joining me in the effort. 

I will share the details on the new newsletter at a later date.  For the time being suffice it to say that the new newsletter will be a dramatically different publication and, I hope, one that helps its readers help their clients. 

The Saturday Night Live video.

 Written by Will Bunch, as found at www.philly.com.

Palin’s Speech to Nowhere

It is not uncommon for the defense in personal injury cases to attack the character of the plaintiff.  It seems to me that young defense lawyers particularly enjoy doing this to uneducated, unsophisticated plaintiffs. 

The defense in a products case in California  introduced evidence that the plaintiff had a mistress and was a bigamist.  The jury rendered a defense verdict, and the plaintiff moved to set it aside saying that the admission of the evidence unfairly prejudiced the jury against the plaintiff.  The California Court of Appeals, 2nd District agreed, saying

 Michelin’s primary basis for introducing evidence of Winfred’s illicit conduct was to contradict his deposition testimony that he could not recall who [his wife and mistress] were. But his extramarital affairs were irrelevant to the substantive issue in the case: the cause of the accident. To the extent the evidence was relevant to Winfred’s credibility, it was more prejudicial than probative. … From start to finish, Michelin painted Winfred as a liar, cheater, womanizer, and a man of low morals based principally, if not solely, on what we have concluded was inadmissible evidence.

Day on Torts: A Handbook for Tennessee Tort Lawyers 2009 is almost ready to go to press.   The 2009 edition will include reference to all of the Tennessee appellate cases on tort law released in the last year, add over 20 new statutes of interest to tort lawyers, and update rules of civil procedure, evidence, and appellate procedure.

Importantly, the 2009 edition will includes at least 20 new chapters.  Each chapter addresses the leading case on an important tort law subject.  The additional  chapters mean that the book will now include over 250 subjects.

The 2009 edition also includes a much more detailed table of contents in the "Selected Statutes" section.  We believe this change will make that section of the book even easier to use.

Many of you know that former Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Penny White, former Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Joe Riley and I have a seminar company called "Justice Programs."  We offer a 15 hour CLE program each Fall that permits attendees to meet all mandatory CLE obligations for the entire year and, more importantly, gives civil trial practioners the opportunity to gain valuable information for their practice.

Here is the outline for our course in 2008:

Tort Law / Comparative Fault – John Day

SVMIC’s position on how the new statute making it more difficult to sue physicians will impact what doctors pay for medical malpractice insurance:

"Regarding the effect of this reform on your professional liability insurance, it will be difficult to quantify what, if any, rate changes are a direct result of the reform. A multitude of factors affect the filing of suits and awards in medical malpractice cases, therefore it may be a period of time before any effect will be realized. We congratulate the TMA on their accomplishment after many years of hard work for reform."

Is anyone surprised by this?

Ok – I know I have not been posting lately.  I spent 8 days in Canada fishing and returned on Saturday night.

I am now back to work and will be back on a normal blogging pattern this week.

Thanks for coming back to the site.

Did you know that Tennessee has a specific statute addressing sex abuse claims against therapists?

The "Therapist Sexual Misconduct Victims Compensation Act" is set forth in T.C.A. Sec. 29-26-201 et seq. A "therapist" is defined as "any person who performs therapy regardless of whether the person is licensed by the state." "Therapy" is also a defined term, and includes marital counseling, substance abuse treatment, family counseling, and other treatment.   The statute of limitations is the most generous of any personal injury claim in Tennessee.