The Tennessee Insurance Litigation Blog offers legal insights on insurance litigation in Tennessee from attorneys on both sides of the discussion.
Brandon McWherter, Clint Scott, and Jonathan Bobbitt are attorneys at McWherter Scott & Bobbitt PLC, provides the policyholder’s perspective. E. Jason Ferrell, Hannah Leifel, and Parks Chastain are members in the Nashville-based firm Brewer, Krause, Brooks, Chastain & Meisner, LLC, offers the insurance company’s perspective.
About Brandon McWherter
 Brandon McWherter615-354-1144EmailJ. Brandon McWherter is a Nashville-based lawyer and member of McWherter Scott & Bobbitt PLC, which has offices across the State of Tennessee and elsewhere across the Southeast. Licensed in Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi, he has dedicated his practice to assisting insurance policyholders with their claims against insurance companies, including claims for bad faith. For well over a decade, McWherter’s practice has been focused almost exclusively on the prosecution of first party property insurance claims for policyholders. His interest in this area of the law first started around 2003 when a tornado struck Jackson, Tennessee, where he lived and worked at the time. Since then, McWherter has represented hundreds or thousands of policyholders whose claims have been underpaid or denied. He advises and advocates for owners of commercial properties, industrial facilities, residential properties, churches, business owners, and other insurance policyholders. Since he started counting in 2013, McWherter has assisted his clients in obtaining well in excess of One Hundred Million Dollars ($100,000,000) in settlements, awards, and jury verdicts against insurance companies. In 2018, McWherter was inducted as a fellow in the American College of Coverage Counsel, which is an invitation-only organization designed to facilitate and encourage the association of lawyers who are distinguished for their skill, experience, and high standards of professional and ethical conduct in the practice or teaching of insurance coverage and extra-contractual law and who are dedicated to excellence in this area of practice. McWherter has been featured as a “Super Lawyer” or “Rising Star” by SuperLawyers every year since 2010. Since 2013, he has been selected each year for inclusion in U.S News and World Reports’ The Best Lawyers in America in the field of Insurance Law. He also enjoys an AV Preeminent ranking by Martindale-Hubbell for legal ability and ethical standards. Mr. McWherter is a lifelong Tennesseean and received his law degree from the University of Memphis. While in law school, he was a member of the University of Memphis Law Review, and served on the Editorial Board as Notes Editor. In advocating for clients, McWherter has trudged through fire scenes and crawled storm-damaged roofs, quizzed consulting construction experts and experts for hours on end, and deposed and cross-examined hundreds of adjusters, experts, consultants, and other professionals within the insurance industry. He reads insurance policies nearly every day and has a working knowledge of the customs and practices of insurance companies in investigation, estimating, and payment of claims. McWherter counsels clients on presentation of claims, assists in compiling the evidence necessary to validate the amounts owed, and then enforces his clients’ rights, if necessary, via the judicial system and other alternative dispute resolution options, such as appraisal. Several of McWherter’s cases have developed the law governing insurance disputes in the State of Tennessee, most recently including the Tennessee Supreme Court’s 2019 decision in Lammert et al. v. Auto-Owners Ins. Co., which held that insurers may not depreciate the costs of labor in determining their actual cash value payment obligations when the policy does not clearly allow it. When not working, you will usually find Mr. McWherter with his wife, Angela, and his two daughters. He is an avid golfer and a lifelong bass fisherman, neither of which he does as often as he would like. Practice Areas
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About E. Jason Ferrell
 E. Jason Ferrell (615) 630-7716EmailMr. Ferrell’s professional experience is highlighted by over 25 years of combined experience working directly in the insurance industry and also the representation of insurance companies and their insureds throughout the state of Tennessee and beyond. His practice emphasizes first-party property and third-party liability insurance coverage matters and related litigation, the appraisal process, arson and insurance fraud, insurance defense, and premises liability. He represents major property and casualty insurance carriers, and also counsels insurance companies and insurance industry representatives on claims handling practices, including exposure to bad-faith and extra-contractual claims. Mr. Ferrell often participates in seminars and as a panel speaker related to such insurance industry topics. Mr. Ferrell has been admitted to all Tennessee courts, including U.S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee, 2010; U.S. District Court, Western District of Tennessee, 2010; U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee, 2012; and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 2014 and has served as lead counsel through all aspects of litigation. Mr. Ferrell is a member of the Nashville and Tennessee Bar Associations, a member of the National Society of Private Insurance Investigators, and a member of the Windstorm Insurance Network. Prior to the practice of law, Mr. Ferrell worked for 14 years in the insurance industry as a litigation specialist, and as a claims associate handling property and liability claims. He obtained the Associate in Claims (A.I.C.) certification in 1997. EducationProfessional AssociationsPractice Areas |
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