A plaintiff may obtain a judgment against a defendant under Tennessee law, and under federal law, if the defendant does not file a responsive pleading within the required time. Under the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure, a defendant must file a written response to a complaint within thirty (30) days…
Articles Posted in Insurance Litigation
When Might a General Contractor’s Commercial General Liability Policy Provide Coverage for Defective Work?
General contractors typically have commercial general liability policies (“CGLs”). (CGL policies are not the same as performance bonds, which might also be in place for a particular construction job.) In my experience, the key provisions of most CGL policies are identical or are substantially similar. In fact, one task of…
Summary Judgment Reversed in Case Against Agent for Failure to Procure Adequate Insurance
In a recent case decided by the Court of Appeals of Tennessee in which an insurance agency was sued for failure to procure an adequate commercial general liability insurance policy, the court reversed some of the trial court’s rulings on expert testimony, which resulted in the summary judgment in favor…
Pepper Law Obtains Reversal by Sixth Circuit in Lancer Cargo Insurance Case
Our firm undertook representation of a local interstate trucking company, Dark Horse Express, LLC (“Dark Horse”) in a cargo insurance claim case in which Lancer Insurance Company (“Lancer”) issued the cargo insurance coverage which was at issue. At the district court level, Lancer argued that it was entitled to summary…
The Reluctance of Tennessee Courts to Allow Defenses Based on the Non-Occurrence of a Condition Precedent to Succeed
Sometimes in a breach of contract case, or other commercial litigation matter, a party will be met with the defense that it is not entitled to recover because a condition precedent to the parties’ contract was not fulfilled. Under Tennessee law, a party is not required to perform under a…
When Can a Case Filed in Tennessee Be Dismissed Because the Plaintiff Failed to Register to Do Business in Tennessee?
Under Tennessee law (T.C.A. §48-25-102), a foreign business entity which is transacting, or has transacted, business in Tennessee without obtaining a certificate of authority from the Secretary of State of Tennessee cannot maintain an action in a Tennessee court. This rule applies to lawsuits filed in Tennessee state courts, as…
Choice of Law Provisions in Contracts: When Tennessee Courts Might Not Enforce Them
In many Tennessee cases involving written contracts, the contracts will contain provisions whereby the parties agreed that the substantive law of a state other than Tennessee would apply in any litigation between them. (In the absence of such a provision, Tennessee follows the rule of lex loci contractus whereby it…
Understanding the Bad Faith Failure to Pay Penalty in Tennessee Insurance Cases
Under Tennessee law, if an insurance company denies a claim, it can be subject to a bad faith failure to pay penalty. The maximum amount of the penalty is 25% of the claim amount which the insurance company should have paid. Moreover, the penalty does not apply unless the refusal…
Overcoming Dishonest or Criminal Acts Exclusions in Insurance Policies
Many Tennessee businesses have commercial general liability policies, and many other types of policies and endorsements, which contain exclusions for any loss resulting from dishonest or criminal acts. These exclusions will most likely apply to employees, partners and directors of the business. Sometimes, in insurance policy litigation, there is no…
Recovering Punitive Damages in Tennessee Breach of Contract Cases
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…