By: Christopher Myatt Liability waivers are commonplace in modern society. We sign them as part of various agreements and before engaging in all sorts of activities. Nearly always, we sign away these substantive rights without giving it a moment’s thought. Moreover, summer camp operators, trampoline parks, and countless others ask parents to waive their children’s …Read More

Jared Renfroe, an attorney in Spicer Rudstrom’s Memphis office, recently secured a defense judgment in favor of his client in the Tennessee Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims at Nashville. The decision was not appealed, so it has become a final judgment. The facts of the case involve a 10-year employee of a truck stop who …Read More

By: Jacob Strawn Following Gardner v. R & J Express, LLC As explained by Doug Bergeron, attorney in Spicer Rudstrom’s Knoxville office, the Tennessee Supreme Court, in Tathum v. Bridgestone Ams. Holding, Inc., 473 S.W.3d 734 (Tenn. 2015), held that intentional action is no longer a prerequisite for the imposition of sanctions against a party …Read More

By: John Barry Most trial lawyers have had the unfortunate experience of having a disclosed and engaged medical doctor expert to deliver opinions or conclusions that are damaging to their side of the case when that expert is deposed by the adversary attorney.  When that occurs, the adverse counsel will doubtless want to read the …Read More

By: Courtney Paterson Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-242 – provides that in “extraordinary cases” in which the injured worker is entitled to increased benefits pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-207(3)(B), the employee may be entitled to up to 275 weeks of benefits multiplied by his or her compensation rate instead of being awarded the …Read More

By: Darrick O’Dell College is a time of exploration and discovery in many young adults’ lives.  Vigorous study of Physics and Sociology often salted with alcohol-fueled socializing and awkward sexual encounters.  When you populate a community with young adults exploring their sexuality in a fashion often exacerbated by intoxicants, you find a hotbed of risk …Read More

By: Julie-Karel Elkin On several occasions over the past few weeks I found myself asking, “why do they still have that data?” and there was never a good answer to my query.  In one case, the data being sought was over 10 years old, on a server from an old network, sitting under some dusty …Read More

By: Steve Collins If you want to be heard, don’t whistle into the wind.  From this common-sense observation comes the idiom “whistling in the wind.”  The meaning of that idiomatic phrase is that such an effort is all for not and is not calculated to effect any change. The exclusive way for a whistleblower lawsuit …Read More

By: Albert McLean HISTORY OF E-AGREEMENTS  As more and more individuals and businesses utilize electronic commerce, more and more companies are using e‑signatures to execute agreements. To the “old school” folks who are still catching up with the advances of the computer age (like me), the question of the legality and enforceability of contracts executed …Read More

By: Jack Shelton Over the last several days, headlines have been made regarding the US Commerce Department’s sanctions against Chinese telecom giant, ZTE Corporation. In this article, we will provide a brief overview of the regulatory issues at play, and the facts of the case as reported by the US Commerce Department (to be clear, …Read More

By: David Barry With summer fast approaching, undoubtedly many reading this blog are preparing to travel for vacations or other recreational getaways across the country. For most if not all, this travel will involve crossing state lines. Some of those traveling may choose to travel with their firearms as well, whether for personal protection or …Read More

By: Nick Stevens     DO’S: 1.Be certain that divorce is what you want Ask yourself if your marriage is truly broken with no chance of saving it; or whether you can salvage the relationship and make your marriage work. Look down the road and consider how it would affect your family unit and kids …Read More

The 2018 Spring edition of Paradigm, a publication for International Society of Primerus Law Firms, includes a special feature by Lance Thompson. Read the full article here: Paradigm – Are Your Business Secrets Really a Secret?

By: Newton Anderson According to the Statista web site, www.statista.com, the number of dogs that lived in households as pets in the United States as of 2017 was 89.7 million, up from 65 million in 2002.  While it would appear that most are fairly well habituated to human beings, injuries from dogs do occur.  The …Read More

By: Cameron Watson Tina Lynn Davis Newell v. First State Bank, Inc., et al., No. W2017-01209-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 7, 2017) Spicer Rudstrom attorneys Christopher M. Myatt and Cameron M. Watson recently secured dismissal for their client, Elite Beach Tanning Co. in a suit where a customer sued for personal injuries after slipping and …Read More

By: Doug Bergeron What is spoliation in the legal context?  In law, spoliation of evidence is the intentional or negligent withholding, hiding, altering, or destroying of evidence relevant to legal proceedings.  Tennessee Courts have been tasked with dealing with claims of spoliation.  Courts have both express and inherent authority to impose sanctions for spoliation. There …Read More

By: Brent Usery In the coming months, the Tennessee Supreme Court may address an appeal of a recent Court of Appeals decision that reversed a $200 million dollar judgment in favor of the owner of the Opry Mills Shopping Mall in Nashville, Tennessee against several of its insurance companies.  A high-stakes insurance dispute like this …Read More

By: Tom LeQuire When defending government officials from constitutional claims for money damages, it is extremely important to understand the extent to which qualified immunity shields those officials from such claims.  In two recent cases, the U.S. Supreme Court has emphatically stated the extent to which the qualified immunity doctrine specifically protects law enforcement officers …Read More

By: Jake Strawn Uninsured Motorist coverage is a very important way to protect yourself and your family in the event of an accident. If you are an attorney who handles accident claims, chances are you have handled many cases involving an uninsured/underinsured motorist claim. Typically, unless the tortfeasor’s liability limits are equal to or exceed …Read More

By: John D. Barry Many insurance defense lawyers are asked to take examinations under oath of insureds by an insurance company client.  Typically this occurs when the insurance company has a belief that the insured may have participated in the loss to obtain the benefits of the insurance policy.  The usual examples are arson committed …Read More