Last week, we looked at Magistrate Judge York’s October 2021 opinion in Smith v. State Farm, in which State Farm was ordered to proceed with an appraisal of the loss as properly invoked by Ms. Smith. As a refresher, Ms. Smith’s home was damaged by a March 3, 2020 storm, and State Farm agreed
Recent Developments – Appraisal in Tennessee, 2021 (Part 3)
Over the past few posts, I’ve explored a couple of recent opinions from federal courts in the Eastern and Middle Districts of Tennessee that explored the appropriate use of appraisal in resolving disputes about the “scope” of a loss. For this next installment, we move to West Tennessee for yet another recent case on the
Recent Developments – Appraisal in Tennessee, 2021 (Part 2)
Earlier this week I posted about the recent Ingram v. State Farm case in which a federal court in the Eastern District of Tennessee obliterated State Farm’s defense that appraisal was inappropriate for disputes about “scope.” The Ingram case was just one of several recent opinions from around the State of Tennessee concerning insurance appraisals
Recent Developments – Appraisal in Tennessee, 2021 (Part 1)
In 2021, courts across Tennessee issued a handful of decisions that continue to define the nuances of the Tennessee Court of Appeals’ opinion in Merrimack v. Batts that is now twenty years old. Suffice it to say the landscape is quickly changing and I’m excited to share the new developments. The next few posts will
OSHA Compliance is the Law . . . But it’s Not an Ordinance or Law for Coverage Purposes
The Occupational Safety and Health Act was signed into law in 1970 by President Nixon, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was simultaneously created to implement, administer, and enforce its requirements. OSHA’s mission is to “assure safe and healthy working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by
Massive Tornado and Hailstorm Hits Tennessee
This past Sunday morning I boarded a plane for Naples, FL for a mediation in one of the labor depreciation class actions my firm is handling. When I left, I had no idea that when I returned a few days later Nashville would be a very different place. The storms that pummeled Tennessee on March
Another Appellate Opinion Regarding the Timeliness of a Lawsuit
Yesterday, the Court of Appeals issued yet another decision concerning when a lawsuit must be filed in order to be timely. In a well-reasoned and fair opinion authored by Judge Gibson, the Court of Appeals made clear once again that the question of when a claim accrues is fact intensive and requires a knowledge and
The Law of Matching in Tennessee
A hail storm hits a shingled roof, but only damages a handful of shingles. Unfortunately, the shingles on the roof are no longer manufactured, which would result in a mismatched checkerboard of colors on the roof if only the few damaged shingles were replaced. In those circumstances, is the insurance company obligated to replace the
Tennessee Federal Court Allows Claim for Punitive Damages Against Insurer to Proceed
In Montesi v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., 970 F. Supp.2d 784 (W.D. Tenn. Aug. 8, 2013), the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee allowed a policyholder’s claim for punitive damages to proceed, holding that punitive damages are recoverable in a stand-alone claim for negligence infliction of emotional distress. Ms. Montesi
Is Cosmetic Roof Damage a “Direct, Physical Loss?”
I recently represented the owner of a commercial property in a hail damage claim in which the metal roof was clearly dented by hail. Remarkably, the insurance company denied the claim on the basis that the roof was still functional. In the process of working with the opposing lawyer to obtain payment, I ran across