Any joint owner of real estate has the right to file a lawsuit to have the property sold and to have the proceeds distributed or to have the property divided (if that is even possible which, in my experience, most of the time it is not). So, who pays the…
In Tennessee eminent domain cases, also referred to as condemnation cases, it occurs sometimes that the governmental authority seeks to take property which is currently used and zoned as residential, but which has the potential for commercial development. It is also frequently the case that the property has a substantially…
Two fairly recent Tennessee undue influence cases prove a point: To win an undue influence case, the plaintiff (or contestant if it is a will contest) must prove more than mere unfairness or favoritism. Both cases involved alleged undue influence with respect to deeds for land. In the first…
Under Tennessee law, which follows the “American Rule,” a winning party cannot recover its attorney’s fees from the losing party. There are a couple of exceptions to that Rule. One of those exceptions is that a party can recover its attorney’s fees if there is a contractual provision whereby the…
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…
Where parties own real property jointly, and one party has announced his or her intention to sell, the most sensible approach for the other owner or owners to take is to cooperate with the owner who wants to sell. If co-owners can cooperate, they can save themselves attorneys’ fees and…
Any Tennessee boundary line case will most likely turn into a classic “battle of the experts” where both parties use a surveyor as their expert witness. In cases where both parties have reputable surveyors, how does the court pick the winner? A boundary line case which recently reached the Court…
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)…
In a recent eminent domain case, the Court of Appeals of Tennessee upheld a jury verdict for incidental damages caused to one tract of a dairy farm by the condemnation of part of another, but separate, tract of the dairy farm. The case is important for condemnation lawyers in Tennessee…
In Tennessee breach of contract cases and fraud and misrepresentation cases, it is quite possible for the parol evidence rule to come into play. (The basics of the parol evidence rule are explained in a previous blog.) It is also quite possible, in such cases, for the parol evidence rule…