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
What Do You Mean I Have to Cooperate?
When you file an insurance claim, your insurance company will almost always request a significant amount of information from you. Depending on the type of loss you have suffered, this type of information can typically include an estimate of your damages, an inventory if you had business or personal property coverage, and a litany of
What is an Examination Under Oath?
If you’re reading this blog, chances are you (or someone you represent) has been requested to submit to an examination under oath by your insurance company’s attorney. This process can be intimidating and confusing. I field a lot of questions from insureds, public insurance adjusters, and attorneys about examinations under oath (“EUOs”). As a general
Is Prejudice Required to Avoid Recovery for Failure to Submit to an Examination Under Oath?
Back in 2009, Parks wrote about the Spears v. TFMIC case and correctly cited it for the proposition that an insured must submit to an examination under oath upon request, and that a failure to do so can bar recovery on an insurance claim. Notably absent from the Spears opinion was any requirement of prejudice
The Law of California Applies to an Insurance Policy Insuring Tennessee Property?
Practitioners should be aware that Tennessee courts generally apply the law of the state where an insurance policy was issued and delivered if there is no enforceable choice of law clause in the policy. Gov’t. Employees Ins. Co. v. Bloodworth, 2007 Tenn. App. LEXIS 404 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2007). So, for example, if a policy
The End of the Consumer Protection Act in Insurance Cases
This will probably come as no surprise to most but my feelings concerning the legislature’s recent removal of the insurance industry from the protection of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act are pretty strong. I called every member of the legislature I knew, and some I didn’t, in an attempt to stop the bill. But there
Trigger Happy Policyholders?
Parks Chastain recently wrote here about trigger happy policyholders prematurely filing lawsuits against insurance companies before a denial ever occurs. The reason for this is the provision in insurance policies that shortens the applicable statute of limitations to a period of usually one or two years from the date of the loss. As Parks mentioned
General Contractors’ Overhead and Profit Charges – Recoverable?
This is one of those topics that comes up regularly. Does an insurer have to pay general contractors’ overhead and profit charges? The short answer is "Yes" but there are some exceptions. According to a 2005 Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals case (interpreting Tennessee law), the costs of a contractor (overhead and profit) are
What is Bad Faith and When Should the Bad Faith Penalty Be Awarded?
In a post several days ago, the co-author of this blog, Parks Chastain, commented that Tennessee’s statutory bad faith penalty should rarely be awarded against an insurer. In reaching this conclusion, he noted a 1961 federal district court case that stated that the the bad faith penalty should not be awarded unless the insurer’s conduct