Tennessee lawyers began mobilizing immediately after April’s storms, tornadoes and flooding in the state, ready to provide free legal assistance to victims. Using the newly unveiled web site, onlinetnjustice.org, lawyers were able to volunteer electronically, as well as by calling a hotline.

In the lead article of the May 2011 TBJ (“Bargaining Power: Understanding the Rights of Public Sector Workers in Tennessee”), Cathy Shuck explains the movement to eliminate public employees’ collective bargaining rights with comments about “the weight of hefty pension and benefit promises” and “staggering unfunded pension liabilities.”  In...

Reinstated

A temporary suspension imposed on Davidson County lawyer

Counterclaims are governed by Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 13. Let’s look first at permissive counterclaims under Rule 13.02, because these cause no problems. Essentially the defendant is permitted to include in an answer claims against the plaintiff that do not arise out of a transaction or occurrence in the plaintiff’s complaint.

Conservatorship cases present unique challenges for families and courts. The court must balance the individual’s right to personal autonomy and the state’s interest in protecting that individual. The removal of personal liberties must be decided based upon “clear and convincing” evidence. There are necessarily gray areas where convincing evidence may be...

In its recent holding in Staub v. Proctor Hospital, 131 S. Ct. 1186 (U.S. 2011), the Supreme Court delivered a strong validation to the cat’s paw theory of employer liability in regards to various workplace discrimination claims.