Can you recover punitive damages in Tennessee for breach of contract? It is difficult, but not impossible. Moreover, there is little published case law on the subject, and, as discussed below, there is one major question about punitive damages in breach of contract cases which has yet to be fully…
Articles Posted in Insurance Litigation
Court of Appeals of Tennessee Sets Aside Punitive Damages Award Against Insurance Company
In a recent insurance policy case, Lance. v. Owner’s Insurance Company, the Court of Appeals of Tennessee set aside a jury’s award of punitive damages in the amount of $267,500 against Owner’s Insurance Company (a subsidiary of Auto-Owner’s Insurance Company). The case involved the complete destruction of the Plaintiff…
Recovering Life Insurance Policy Benefits in Tennessee When the Life Insurance Company Denies Payment for Alleged Misrepresentations
Many people who are entitled to benefits under a life insurance policy are denied the benefits by the insurance company on the basis that the insured (the person whose life was covered) made a misrepresentation. In life insurance cases where the insurance company denies payment on the basis of misrepresentation,…
Statutes of Limitations in Tennessee Breach of Contract Cases: An Overview of the Basics
Step One: Determining Which Statute of Limitations Applies The Six Year Statute of Limitations Applies Most of the Time Most breach of contract cases in Tennessee will be subject to the six (6) year statute of limitations codified at T.C.A. §28-3-109. There is one (1) other possible statute of limitations…
Recovering Pre-Judgment Interest in Tennessee Breach of Contract Cases
Pre-judgment interest is the interest which accrues from the date an obligation is due to the plaintiff until the day the judge or jury enters a verdict in favor of the plaintiff. Given that a breach of contact case or other commercial litigation case may take a year or more…
Joint Accounts with Rights of Survivorship and Payable on Death Designations
In Tennessee, a bank account, certificate of deposit, money market account, or other type of financial account may be maintained as a joint account with a right of survivorship. Such accounts may also be maintained as single owner accounts, but be made payable on death to a named beneficiary. Payable…
Lessons from Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking Fast and Slow
Daniel Kahneman’s bestseller, Thinking Fast and Slow, is not only a fascinating read, but also, it contains insights that can be an immense help to clients in making decisions about their cases, choosing lawyers, negotiating settlements, and evaluating the advice of their lawyers. Here is what clients (and trial lawyers)…
Long Term Disability Claims for Employer Provided Insurance
There are, generally speaking, two types of long term disability insurance policies. There are “private” policies which are not obtained through employment. There are also long term disability policies which are obtained as the result of employment. If you have a long term disability policy through your employer’s group long…
Are Forum Selection Clauses Enforceable in Tennessee?
Forum selection clauses are prevalent in contracts entered into by Tennessee companies and residents. Often, the purpose of a forum selection clause in a contract is to force another party to litigate in a particular court in a particular state. For example, companies which are based somewhere other than Tennessee,…
Tennessee Breach of Contract Cases: What Issues Are Juries Allowed to Decide?
If you file a breach of contract case in Tennessee and demand a jury, what are the chances that the jury will actually decide if there was a contract, and/or if it was breached? In my experience, in many Tennessee breach of contract cases, those issues are decided before they…