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Compromise reached on medical malpractice
The state Senate Judiciary Committee today revived and sent to the Senate floor, legislation that is said to represent "an uncomfortable compromise" between the parties. The compromise will be offered in the form of an amendment, which will replace the text of the original bill. The draft amendment requires records to be available within 30 rather than 10 days; provides for early notice that a claim may be made; calls for certification by a medical expert that the case or a defense has merit or that more information is needed; relaxes rules on medical record confidentiality; and enhances sanctions for filing a medical malpractice action without a certificate.
Read the Nashville Post's story on the compromise or download the draft amendment:
http://www.tba2.org/tbatoday/legislation/2007/sb2001_draft.pdf
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TODAY'S OPINIONS
Click on the category of your choice to view summaries of today’s opinions from that court, or other body. A link at the end of each case summary will let you download the full opinion in PDF format. To search all opinions in the TBALink database, go to our OpinionSearch page. If you have forgotten your password or need to obtain a password, you can look it up on TBALink at http://www.tba.org/getpassword.mgi.
00 - TN Supreme Court
00 - TN Worker's Comp Appeals
00 - TN Supreme Court - Rules
03 - TN Court of Appeals
00 - TN Court of Criminal Appeals
02 - TN Attorney General Opinions
00 - Judicial Ethics Opinions
00 - Formal Ethics Opinions - BPR
TBA members can get the full-text versions of these opinions three ways detailed below.
All methods require a TBA username and password. If you have forgotten your password or need to obtain a password,
you can look it up on-line at http://www.tba.org/getpassword.mgi
Here's how you can obtain full-text version. We recommend you download the Opinions to your computer and then
open them from there. Click the URL at end of each Opinion paragraph below. This should give you the option to
download the original document. If not, you may need to right-click on the URL to get the option to save the file
to your computer. Do a key word search in the Search Link area of TBALink. This option will allow you to view
and save a plain-text version of the opinion. Browse the Opinion List area of TBALink.
This option will allow you to download the original version of the opinion.
Howard H. Vogel
Knoxville, Tennessee
Editor-in-Chief, TBALink
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FEDERATED RURAL ELECTRIC INSURANCE EXCHANGE, ET AL. v. WILLIAM R. HILL, ET AL.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
Clifford E. Wilson of Madisonville, Tennessee for Appellants, Federated rural Electric Insurance Exchange and Fort Loudoun Electric Cooperative
W. Stuart Scott and Autumn L. Gentry of Nashville, Tennessee for Appellees, William R. Hill and Suzann C. Hill
Judge: CRAWFORD
Employer and its insurer filed suit against employee for fraud in the procurement of workers' compensation benefits. Employee and his wife filed a counter-complaint alleging intentional infliction of emotional distress. retaliatory discharge and loss of consortium. The trial court
dismissed the counter-complaint for failure to state a claim. Employee sought to amend the counter-complaint to add procurement of breach of employment contract and a tortious interference claim against the insurer. The trial court also denied these claims. Employee and his wife appeal. We reverse in part, affirm in part, and remand.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2007/federated_032707.pdf
JOAN FRYE, ET AL. v. ST. THOMAS HEALTH SERVICES, ET AL.
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
P. Robert Philp, J., Brentwood, Tennessee, for the appellants, Joan Frye and John Frye
Matthew C. Lonergan and Karyn C. Bryant, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellees, St. Thomas Hospital, St. Thomas Health Services, Catherine Doyle, and Seton Corporation
Judge: CAIN
Employee and Husband filed action against hospital and other related persons and entities alleging various claims arising from employee's employment with hospital including claims for hostile work environment, age discrimination, constructive discharge, retaliation, wrongful discharge, and aiding and abetting. Hospital filed motion for summary judgment which was granted by the trial court, dismissing all of Plaintiffs' claims. Plaintiffs appealed. We affirm the decision of the trial court in all respects.
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2007/fryej_032707.pdf
RONALD RAY STONER v. TIFFANY DENISE STONER MORGAN
Court: TCA
Attorneys:
David B. Hamilton, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Ronald Ray Stoner
Bradley L. Henry, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Tiffany Denise Stoner Morgan
Judge: KOCH
This appeal involves a mother's efforts to invoke Tenn. Code Ann. section 36-5-3003(2005) to transfer a post-divorce custody dispute from the Sumner County General Sessions Court to the Circuit Court for Knox County. The general sessions court ordered the case to be transferred but granted the father permission to appeal to this court pursuant to Tenn. R. App. P. 9. We concur with the general
sessions court that this is a proper case for an interlocutory appeal. We have also determined that the trial court's order transferring the case to Knox County must be reversed because the children have not resided in Knox County for at least six months as required by Tenn. Code Ann. section 36-5-3003(b).
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2007/stonerr_032707.pdf
State Representative on Board of Tellico Reservoir Development Agency
TN Attorney General Opinions
Date: 2007-03-26
Opinion Number: 07-36
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/AG/2007/ag_07-36.pdf
Assessor's Authority to Reduce Assessment
TN Attorney General Opinions
Date: 2007-03-26
Opinion Number: 07-37
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/AG/2007/ag_07-37.pdf
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| TODAY'S NEWS |
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Legal News
Legislative News
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TBA Member Services
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| Legal News |
| Councilman Ford pays off utility bill; avoids cutoff |
| City Councilman Edmund Ford paid the remainder of the more than $13,000 he owed Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division today, avoiding the promised cutoff if he didn't pay by 5 p.m. Meanwhile, investigations continue as to why MLGW protected Ford from disconnection even though he owed money on three accounts.
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Read more in the Commercial Appeal
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| Memphis federal building closer to new name |
| The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation on Monday to redesignate the federal building in Memphis as the "Clifford Davis/Odell Horton Federal Building." The name change honors Odell Horton, the first black federal judge appointed after Reconstruction. Similar legislation has been introduced in the Senate by Lamar Alexander.
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WLMT reports on Horton's career
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| Gonzales' aide takes the fifth |
| Monica Goodling, counsel and White House liaison to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, has notified the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee that she will invoke her right against self-incrimination and not answer questions at upcoming Senate hearings about the firings of eight U.S. attorneys. The White House said the announcement was unfortunate but it respects her decision.
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The News Sentinel has this AP story
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| Court site now searchable |
| You can now search the Administrative Office of the Court's web site to find
Supreme Court cert lists, opinions, forms, press releases and the
discretionary appeals list. |
Check it out here
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| Hispanic drivers more likely arrested, not cited |
| Hispanic persons in Nashville are almost four times more likely than persons of all other ethnicities to be physically arrested rather than issued citations for driving without driver's licenses, according to new data compiled by the Metro Criminal Justice Planning Unit. The police department says that is because a greater number of Hispanics are unable to produce identification when stopped. |
Read more in the City Paper
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| Paper calls for gang court |
| In an editorial Monday, the online news source Chattanoogan.com called for a special court to handle the area's growing gang problem. The paper recommended that city and county leaders join forces to develop one system that relies heavily on parental involvement. |
Read the opinion piece
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| Miller named chair of civil rights committee |
| Dr. Bernie Miller, founding pastor of New Covenant Fellowship Church in Chattanooga, has been named chair of the Tennessee Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Serving on the committee with Miller are: Tiffany Cox, Tennessee Department of Education; Amber Gooding, Tennessee Human Rights Commission; Gregory Grisham, Weitraub, Stock & Grisham; Dorothy Jones; Carol Swain, Vanderbilt University; Vicki Lott; Josh Thomas, office of U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander; Eliud Trevino, El Crucero; Susan Williams, Highlander Research and Education Center; and Tom Edd Wilson, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce. |
Read more
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| Supreme Court to review child porn law |
| The Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide the constitutionality of a child pornography law that the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals criticized as criminalizing speech about illegal images. The case will be argued in the fall. |
Learn more from Memphis News 5
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| Shelby County mayor's son charged with rape |
| AC Wharton III, the eldest of Shelby County Mayor AC Wharton's three sons, was arrested this morning in Knoxville on charges of statutory rape. In announcing the arrest, Mayor Wharton asked the media and the public to respect the situation as a family matter, reports the Commercial Appeal. |
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| Legislative News |
| Lien law bill approved by subcommittee |
| The TBA-initiated bill to rewrite the mechanics and materialman's lien law and create a new streamlined construction lien law, HB1879/SB2031, moved out of the Civil Practice Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee this afternoon. |
Learn more about the bill
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| Exclusionary rule bill postponed |
| Legislation (SB0168/HB1255) that attempts to create a good faith exception to the exclusionary rule for searches conducted with or without a warrant was to be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee today, but was not taken up when the committee ran out of time. Action has been deferred until April 3. |
Read the bill
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| Follow legislative progress |
| Stay abreast of key legislation in the Tennessee General Assembly with the TBA bill tracking service. |
Access TBA bill tracking service
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| Passages |
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| Art Stolnitz, a University of Tennessee College of Law graduate and longtime supporter, died Thursday, March 22, in Palm Desert, Calif. |
Read more about Mr. Stolnitz and his support of UT Law
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| Upcoming |
| Author to speak on GITMO releases |
| Author and attorney Brandt Goldstein will speak tomorrow evening at the Nashville office of Bass Berry & Sims PLC (315 Deaderick Street, Suite 2700) on his book "Storming the Court: How a Band of Yale Law Students Sued the President -- And Won." The book tells the true story of law students and human rights lawyers who won the release of 300 Haitian refugees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Sponsored by the Nashville Chapter of the American Constitution Society, the event is open to the public and begins at 5:30 p.m. For more information contact Juan G. Villasenor at (615) 479-0383.
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| TBA Member Services |
| First Tennessee is TBA's preferred provider |
| First Tennessee has crafted a package of discounts to meet the specific needs of Tennessee Bar Association members. Find savings on merchant credit services, checking and savings, financial planning and more |
on the TBA Web site
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