Raybin Tennessee Supreme Court Hot List

Case:  Affordable Construction Serv. v. Auto-Owners Ins. Co. Facts:  In this federal diversity case, Construction Company seeks the recovery of money from Insurance Company allegedly due under a purported construction contract between Construction Company and an HOA. The HOA had property insured by Insurance Company, who hired Construction Company for repairs. Construction Company alleges that […]

Case:  Steven Kampmeyer, Et Al. v. State of Tennessee Facts:  Husband filed a claim for damages against the State in the Division of Claims Administration regarding a car accident. The claim was transferred to the Claims Commission, and then Husband and Wife filed a joint complaint for damages in which Wife asserted a claim for […]

Case:  State of Tennessee v. Edward Walsh Facts:  Defendant contends that the prosecutor made an improper statement in closing argument. Defendant did not make a contemporaneous objection at trial but did raise the issue in his motion for new trial. Appellate Decision:  The intermediate court applied a plain error standard and concluded “no unequivocal rule […]

Case:  State of Tennessee v. Jeremy Reynolds Facts:  Defendant was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder. Over the defense’s objection, the State introduced evidence of gang affiliation “for the purposes of establishing the Defendant’s identity and completing the story.” Appellate Decision:  The intermediate court first held there was no evidence of premeditation. Although the evidence circumstantially […]

Case:  Cynthia E. Yebuah et al. v. Center for Urological Treatment, PLC Facts:  In this health care liability case, a jury awarded Patient $4 million in noneconomic damages and $500,000 to Spouse for loss of consortium. The Defendant argued that the statutory damage cap should reduce the totality of the award to $750,000. The trial […]