In a recent breach of contract case involving a physician’s claim for accounts receivable after he left the partnership in which he was a partner (the ”Partnership”), the physician prevailed on his claims. The physician (the “Plaintiff”) also prevailed as to the counterclaim of his former partners who counter-sued him…
Tennessee will contest cases, especially will contests where the basis for trying to set aside the will is undue influence, are often all about suspicious circumstances. As Tennessee courts have observed for years, in many cases (I believe most), the only way to prove undue influence is by circumstantial evidence. …
There are Tennessee statutes which protect the proceeds of life insurance policies for surviving spouses and children even when the deceased parent may have owed creditors more money than the policy benefits at the time of his or her death. Not only do the statutes protect the proceeds of life…
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…
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…
I receive calls frequently from companies and individuals who have obtained a judgment from a court in a state other than Tennessee against someone who lives in Tennessee or someone or some business which owns property in Tennessee or has operations in Tennessee. If you are one of those companies…
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 breach of contract cases involving construction contracts, the Tennessee Trust Fund Statute, T.C.A. §66-11-138, may provide a subcontractor with a way to recover the attorneys’ fees and expenses incurred in collecting amounts owed to it, but not paid. To recover attorneys’ fees and expenses using that Statute, it is…