Marcia McShane Watson - Ms. Watson received a defense verdict in the case of
Sharon Walker v. Saturn Corporation, Maury County Circuit Court No. 9601.
The Honorable Jim T. Hamilton held that the employee failed to carry her
burden of proof in establishing that her pre-existing back condition was
anatomically changed by the alleged work injuries. The employee appealed the
decision to the Tennessee Supreme Court Special Workers' Compensation
Appeals Panel. The Panel affirmed the trial court's verdict, dismissing the
appeal and taxing the cost of the appeal to the employee. A copy of the
decision can be found at:
http://www.tsc.state.tn.us/OPINIONS/WORKCOMP/PDF/083/WalkerSopn.pdf.
Cliff Wilson and Marcia McShane Watson - A defense verdict was granted by
way of a Motion for Summary Judgment in a case styled Joann J. Sugg and Al
Sugg v. Mapco Express, Inc., Rutherford County Circuit No. 53739. The
Honorable Robert Corlew granted the motion dismissing the personal injury
lawsuit. The Plaintiff appealed the case and to the Tennessee Court of
Appeals. A copy of the decision can be found at:
http://www.tsc.state.tn.us/OPINIONS/TCA/PDF/083/SuggJoannJopn.pdf.
Cliff Wilson and Marcia McShane Watson - In the case of Helen Brown v.
Saturn Corporation, Maury County Circuit Court No. 11029, a defense verdict
was rendered by the Honorable Robert L. Jones. The trial court held that
the employee's wife failed to carry her burden of proving that her husband's
heart attack was caused by his work. The employee filed a motion seeking
reconsideration by the trial court. That motion was recently denied and the
dismissal was affirmed.
Michael H. Johnson will be one of the presenters at the Continuing Legal Education Seminar "Preparing and Trying the Bodily Injury Case," hosted by the National Business Institute (NBI). Mr. Johnson is expected to speak on the topics of "Building the Defense's Case" and "Fundamental Trial Techniques for the Defense." The seminar will take place in Nashville on December 12, 2008. For more information or to register for the seminar, contact NBI at 1-800-930-6182 or www.nbi-sems.com.
Melissa Bradford Muller - Howard, Tate, Sowell, Wilson & Boyte, PLLC is pleased to announce that Melissa Bradford Muller was named a member of the firm on July 1, 2008. Melissa received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Memphis in 1996 and Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Memphis in 2000. She practices in the areas of business litigation, insurance, professional liability and general civil litigation.
Clifford Wilson and Marcia McShane Watson - In this negligence action, the Plaintiff appealed the trial court's award of summary judgment in favor of Defendant business owner. While exiting Defendant's convenience store, Plaintiff fell from the curb and sustained injuries. She and her husband filed a complaint against Defendant business owner, alleging that its failure to mark the curb properly and to light the area sufficiently caused her to fall. Defendant filed a motion for summary judgment along with a statement of undisputed facts. In her deposition, Plaintiff testified that (1) she had entered the store by way of the curb and knew a step was there; (2) she, nonetheless, got panicked when she could not see her husband and focused on finding him while she was exiting the store; (3) she would not have fallen if she had looked down; (4) she would not have noticed fluorescent marking on the curb in any event, due to her state of mind; and (5) she had no problem with the lighting. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's dismissal of the case, finding that Defendant successfully negated the essential elements of Plaintiff's claim.
Michael H. Johnson received a favorable ruling from the Tennessee Court of Appeals in the case of Holly Thrasher v. Riverbend Stables, LLC, Steven Daniel, and Michael Daniel, M2007-01237-COA-R3-CV. The case involved the review of a summary judgment on behalf of the Defendants over the death of a show horse they were training. In affirming the trial court's ruling, the Appeals Court ruled that horse training would not qualify as an occupation important to the public so as to void an exculpatory contract on the basis of public policy.
Michael H. Johnson will present at a seminar on March 26th, 2008, Insurance Coverage Litigation. The link to the seminar can be found at http://www.nbi-sems.com/Enbi/Brochurepdfs/42195.pdf.
Alan Sowell was recently accepted as a member of the Trucking Industry Defense Association. This is the only organization devoted exclusively to the defense of the trucking industry.
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