In Tennessee, adjoining landowners sometimes end up in court in boundary disputes. There are various reasons that boundary line disputes arise, including: imprecise descriptions in deeds; conflicts between descriptions in recorded plats and deeds to owners of subdivision lots; fences that have been in place for years, but that are…
In Tennessee, easement rights are a fairly frequent source of conflict and disagreement. What is an easement? How does someone obtain easement rights? How does an easement affect the person upon whose land the easement is located? Generally speaking, an easement is a right to use a part of the…
Every contract in Tennessee has an implied duty of good faith which applies to both parties to the contract. A recent case from the Tennessee Court of Appeals illustrates well the point that the implied duty of good faith will not override an unambiguous, express contract term. Here are the…
In Tennessee, if you are doing construction work for $25,000.00 or more, and you fall under the definition of “contractor,” you must have a contractor’s license. If you don’t, you could “lose your shirt.” Generally speaking, if you are a subcontractor, even if your contract is for more than $25,000.00…
Fairly frequently, we receive calls from people inquiring about their chances of having a will invalidated. Often, those persons believe that a will contest is in order because another relative, or person close to the deceased, unfairly influenced the terms of the will. A recent Tennessee case, which was decided…
A Tennessee case involving a father who, by all indications, intended that each of his three children share equally in his assets, illustrates the importance of paying careful attention to the specific language in a trust agreement. Here are the facts: • The father (“Father”) executed a living trust (“Trust”)…
A recent Tennessee case involving a Nashville condominium and its homeowners’ association (also referred to herein as a “condominium association”) may not be very instructive legally, but it is bizarre enough to make an interesting blog post. Stacy Harris lived at the Windsor Tower Condominiums, a high-rise condo building on…
Assuming that one party proves that the other party has breached a valid and enforceable contract, what amount of money can the non-breaching party recover from the breaching party? When explaining how a Tennessee court will approach the question of what amount of money to award someone for a breach…
In order to prove an intentional interference with contract claim in Tennessee, a plaintiff must prove the following elements: 1. That there was a legal contract; 2. The defendant knew of the contract; 3. The defendant intended to induce the breach of contract; 4. The defendant acted with malice; 5.…
One of a number of “business torts,” as they are called, which is recognized in Tennessee is the tort of intentional interference with contract. That tort is sometimes also referred to as “procurement of breach of contract” or “tortious interference with contract.” There is a Tennessee statute which makes procurement…