In a recent Tennessee case, the beneficiary of a life insurance policy prevailed over the insurance company which denied coverage under the policy at issue based on alleged misrepresentations by the insured in the application for the policy. The case discusses some basic law that is applicable in Tennessee when…
Tennessee has a statute, which, provided certain conditions are met, allows an insured to recover “bad faith” damages against the insured’s insurance company. The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which is the federal appeals court with jurisdiction over federal cases tried in Tennessee (and several other…
In a recent lost profits case decided by the Court of Appeals of Tennessee, DBK Trucking Co., LLC v. JNJ Express, Inc., that court held that the owner of a 1998 Kenworth tractor could recover the profits it was not able to earn because of the damage to the tractor…
In Tennessee, there are two types of statutes that might bar an otherwise meritorious claim: (1) statutes of limitation; and (2) statutes of repose. A construction defect case may be filed within the statute of limitation, but, nevertheless, be barred by the statute of repose which establishes an outer limit…
Rather than executing an entirely new will to change a provision in a will or, in order to make a specific bequest of property, sometimes a person will execute a codicil to an existing will, which, in effect, changes the will. Generally, codicils to wills are enforceable in Tennessee to…
Many real estate contracts, and other contracts, which are entered into in Tennessee and governed by Tennessee law, contain “time is of the essence” clauses. What difference do such clauses make in Tennessee contracts? A recent decision of the Tennessee Court of Appeals demonstrates how such a clause can make…
Landowners in Tennessee sometimes become defendants in eminent domain cases (also called condemnation actions) filed by the state, or a city or county government. These cases often become “battles of appraisers.” When the government files a condemnation case, it must pay just compensation to the landowner. Tennessee courts have defined…
This blog addresses Tennessee law regarding the liability of members of Tennessee limited liability companies to other members and/or to the LLC itself. In 1994, the “Tennessee Limited Liability Company Act” became law in Tennessee. In 2005, the “Tennessee Revised Limited Liability Company Act” became law. The Revised Act added…
Frequently, as part of a divorce, a spouse is required to maintain life insurance for the benefit of the other spouse or for children. In our practice, we have been involved in several cases where, in spite of a requirement in a divorce decree or marital dissolution agreement, a spouse…
In our practice, we are pretty frequently involved in cases (usually undue influence cases) where parties, usually relatives, are at odds over who should receive funds owned by a deceased relative in a bank account, or certificate of deposit. A recent case from the Tennessee Court of Appeals, Guess v.…