Tort and Insurance Law Section

This section provides a venue for attorneys to share views and to develop relationships with colleagues in this area of practice. The section offers CLE on issues impacting both tort and insurance law and sends out case updates to its members.

Tort and Insurance Law Leadership

Chair
Stewart Stallings
Stewart C. Stallings &...
6 Cadillac Dr., Suite 260
Brentwood, TN 37027
See map: Google Maps
stewart.stallings@farmersinsurance.com
(615)370-7002
Immediate Past Chair
Jim Wright
Butler, Vines & Babb
PO Box 2649
Knoxville, TN 379012649
See map: Google Maps
jwright@bvblaw.com
(865)637-3531

Tort and Insurance Law News

Landowner Liability Rejected by Eastern Section

By Kreis White on Mon, 06/17/2013 - 12:38pm

JORDAN K. WILSON v. DAVID W. DOSSETT, AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO., AND FOX HEAD, INC.
Court: TN Court of Appeals

Attorneys:

Jill Jenson Thrash and Stuart Fawcett James, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the appellant, Jordan K. Wilson.

Dallas T. Reynolds, III, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellee, David W. Dossett.

Judge: SWINEY

This appeal concerns a landowner’s potential liability to a person injured while riding a motorcycle on the landowner’s property. Jordan K. Wilson (“Wilson”) suffered severe injuries in a motorcycle accident on property owned by David W. Dossett (“Dossett”). Wilson sued Dossett in the Circuit Court for Campbell County (“the Trial Court”). Dossett filed a motion for summary judgment, asserting the affirmative defense for landowners under Tenn. Code Ann. § 70-7-102. The Trial Court held that Dossett was afforded protection under the statute as Wilson had been engaged in recreational activities on Dossett’s land. At a subsequent hearing, the Trial Court found that no exception to the statutory defense was applicable. Wilson appeals. We hold that Tenn. Code Ann. § 70-7-102 applies to shield Dossett from liability as Wilson was engaged in recreational activities on Dossett’s property, and that no exception to the defense is applicable. We affirm the judgment of the Trial Court.

.PDF Version of Case

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GL Policy Does Not Cover Financial Advisor's Errors or Omissions, per Eastern Section

By Kreis White on Mon, 06/17/2013 - 12:34pm

TENNESSEE FARMERS MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY v. W. PHILLIP REED, ET AL.
Court: TN Court of Appeals

Attorneys:

David T. Black, Melanie E. Davis, and Andrew S. Trundle, Maryville, Tennessee, for the appellants, Rufus Everett, Delight Everett, and Lilla Farner.

John T. Johnson, Jr., and Brandon L. Morrow, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Company.

Judge: SWINEY

Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Company (“Tennessee Farmers”) sued W. Phillip Reed, Personal Representative of the Estate of Carol LaRue; Rufus Everett; Delight Everett; and Lilla Farner seeking a declaratory judgment with regard to rights and obligations under a commercial general liability insurance policy. Tennessee Farmers filed a motion for summary judgment. After a hearing the Trial Court entered its order on June 12, 2012 granting Tennessee Farmers summary judgment after finding and holding, inter alia, that the insurance policy was not ambiguous, that the phrase “property damage” in the insurance policy did not include the type of loss allegedly suffered by the Everetts and Ms. Farner, and that the commercial general liability insurance policy provides no coverage to W. Phillip Reed as Personal Representative of the Estate of Carol LaRue for the claims filed by the Everetts and Ms. Farner. Rufus Everett, Delight Everett, and Lilla Farner (“Defendants”) appeal to this Court. We affirm.

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