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Plaintiffs’ claim for tortious interference with a business relationship based on an email written by defendant abated upon defendant’s death.

In Stockdale v. Helper, No. M2022-00846-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. May 8, 2024), plaintiffs worked as employees of a police department. After a department investigation, defendant District Attorney wrote an email to the city manager stating that she would not be able to prosecute cases based solely on investigations done by plaintiffs. Based on this email, the city manager terminated plaintiffs.

After filing a federal suit in which the federal court declined to exercise jurisdiction over the state claims, plaintiffs filed this case. Plaintiffs asserted claims for (1) tortious interference with a business relationship and prospective business relationships and (2) official oppression under a negligence per se theory. The trial court dismissed the claims, ruling that defendant was entitled to absolute immunity and qualified immunity. Plaintiffs filed an appeal, and defendant died while the appeal was pending. Defendant’s personal representative was substituted into the case, and the personal representative argued that the claims abated upon defendant’s death.

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The following graphs demonstrate the resolution of personal injury, wrongful death, and other tort cases in Loudon County, Tennessee during the last six fiscal years ending June 30, 2023.

BirdDog Law shares this information for every county in Tennessee. Click on BirdDog’s County Pages, go to the county of choice, and click on Court Statistics.

Click on the link for more information on the Loudon County court system.

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A claim that asserted defendant attorneys acted in their own self-interest when they represented another party in multiple lawsuits against plaintiffs fell within the ambit of the Tennessee Public Protection Act.

In Garner v. Thomason, Hendrix, Harvey, Johnson & Mitchell, PLLC, No. W2022-01636-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Apr. 15, 2024), plaintiffs had been involved in over ten years of trust litigation. Defendant attorneys represented plaintiffs’ brother in the filing of these trust lawsuits against plaintiffs, and plaintiffs were successful in defending all the claims.

After plaintiffs and the brother apparently reconciled, plaintiffs filed this suit against the attorneys who filed the trust lawsuits on the brother’s behalf. Plaintiffs alleged that the attorneys acted in their own self-interest hoping to eventually recover a contingency fee, that they mislead the brother, that they threatened the brother to continue the litigation, and that plaintiffs were accordingly damaged. (Note that the brother filed a very similar lawsuit at the same time, wherein the Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled that a legal malpractice claim can fall within the TPPA).

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A trial court’s ruling for plaintiff was overturned where plaintiff stepped off a curb between parked cars, not in a crosswalk, and was hit by a truck while attempting to cross the road.

In Easley v. City of Memphis, No. W2023-00437-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. May 1, 2024), plaintiff attempted to cross the street in the middle of a block. A crosswalk existed forty feet away, but plaintiff failed to use it. Instead, plaintiff stepped off the curb between parked cars and was hit by a city employee driving a truck. Plaintiff filed this case against the city as the driver’s employer pursuant to the GTLA.

At trial, plaintiff’s testimony shifted. While she initially testified that the driver was looking at his phone, she also testified that she could not see where he was looking. She also stated that the driver stopped to allow pedestrians to cross, but then testified that he stopped due to a red light.

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The following graphs demonstrate the resolution of personal injury, wrongful death, and other tort cases in Dickson County, Tennessee during the last six fiscal years ending June 30, 2023.

BirdDog Law shares this information for every county in Tennessee. Click on BirdDog’s County Pages, go to the county of choice, and click on Court Statistics.

Click on the link for more information on the Dickson County court system.

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Cover-TRCP-TRE-199x300
Who needs to haul the  Tennessee Supreme Court rules,  the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure, etc.  to a trial court?  No one.

That is why I created a new book that contains only the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure and Evidence (Courtroom Edition).  It has the rules you need on motion day or in trial, and no other rules that only add only bulk.

The Courtroom Edition includes rule changes effective July 1, 2024.

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The Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of a personal injury case because the defendant qualified as a statutory employer of plaintiff under Tennessee’s workers’ compensation laws.  Under the “exclusivity doctrine” in worker’s compensation law, an employee cannot sue his or her employer under  tort law.  Instead,  the exclusive remedy for the employee is under worker’s compensation law.

In Coblentz v. Tractor Supply Company, No. M2023-00249-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Apr. 26, 2024), plaintiff worked as a sales representative for a hardware company. The hardware company supplied certain products to defendant retail store. Plaintiff’s job therefore included visiting defendant store, along with many other stores, to check its inventory. While at the store, plaintiff would determine whether additional inventory from his hardware company should be sent, stock any new product, and generally straighten the area where his company’s products were displayed. Plaintiff typically visited defendant store every four to six weeks.

During one visit, a large barn door fell off its track and hit plaintiff. Plaintiff filed a workers’ compensation case against the hardware company he worked for, which was settled. He also filed this personal injury case against defendant retail store. Defendant moved for summary judgment, arguing that it was a statutory employer under Tennessee’s workers’ compensation laws, and that workers’ compensation was therefore plaintiff’s exclusive remedy. The trial court agreed, granting summary judgment to defendant, and the Court of Appeals affirmed.

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The following graphs demonstrate the resolution of personal injury, wrongful death, and other tort cases in Roane County, Tennessee during the last six fiscal years ending June 30, 2023.

BirdDog Law shares this information for every county in Tennessee. Click on BirdDog’s County Pages, go to the county of choice, and click on Court Statistics.

Click on the link for more information on the Roane County court system.

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Where plaintiff offered only circumstantial evidence consisting of witnesses’ opinions of what might have caused a car accident, summary judgment for defendants was affirmed.

In Wright v. Doe, No. W2023-00084-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Apr. 17, 2024), plaintiff filed suit against a tow truck driver and the company for which he worked. During the underlying car accident, plaintiff was stopped on the right shoulder of the interstate behind a disabled vehicle. The tow truck was in front of the disabled vehicle, and though it was parked on the shoulder, it also protruded into the far right lane. While the tow truck was present, an unidentified driver left the roadway and struck plaintiff’s vehicle, injuring plaintiff, then fled the scene.

Plaintiff filed this suit, asserting that the accident was caused by the negligence of the tow truck driver. Plaintiff claimed negligence, negligence per se, and negligent hiring, supervision and training against defendants, all of which require “proof of both causation in fact and proximate cause.”

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There has been lots of confusion in Tennessee over how to obtain medical records of a deceased person.

Some providers require that an estate be opened and a HIPAA-compliant authorization be signed by the personal representative of the estate before they will turn over medical records.  This is a ridiculous position – no one should have to go to the expense of opening an estate simply to gain access to medical records.

The Tennessee General Assembly came up with a fix.  A new statute, embodied in Public Chapter 739, amends TCA Section 68-11-304 by deleting  subdivision (a)(1) and substituting the following:

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