Causation

Causation is what almost every personal injury case is defended on now.  This in simple terms is just that you cannot show that the injuries were directly caused by the negligence of the Defendant.  Most defense attorneys will take the position that even if their client is liable for the injuries, the injuries were either pre-existing or alternatively aggravated by something that occurred after the negligence.  This is one area that the need for experts is incredibly important as without proving causation, a claim for negligence fails. 

Open and Obvious

In slip and fall cases, both Mississippi and Tennessee recognize that if a danger is open and obvious, there is no liability just because an accident happened.  This is illustrated in Goumas v. Mayse located here that by decided by the Tennessee Court of Appeals on April 29.  The Plaintiff apparently slipped on a large rock that he had previously been stepping on and fell.  The trial court granted summary judgment finding the rock was open and obvious danger such that the landowner had no liability.  Just because something happens does not equal legal liability. 

Trial Briefs

Fellow blogger Larry Primeaux had a good article on trial briefs this morning located here. I agree with a lot of his concerns.  I have had parties give the judge a trial brief before with all this detailed legal analysis which if looked at closely did not even resemble what the law actually is, but it sure sounded good.  Trial briefs do have their purpose.  They can be extremely helpful in making sure that you prove all of your elements of a case.  Additionally, they can give you a good head start if the Court asks for findings of fact and conclusions of law under Rule 52 of the Rules of Civil Procedure.   

Enforcing a Divorce From Another State

Mississippi requires both parties to consent to a divorce in order to obtain one or otherwise prove grounds for divorce.  In many states it is easier to get a divorce.  On February 20, 2014, the Mississippi Supreme Court decided Pierce v. Pierce located here.  The issue in this case was that the parities were divorced in Washington state and then came back to Mississippi for property division.  The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled that this was proper and not barred by the prior action.  There are some deep legal issues in this opinion which require a close read.  However, this case can be important as the standard for inappropriate marital conduct in Tennessee is pretty low so that if a party is close to Tennessee and willing to meet the residency requirements, this may be an option. 

Public Records

Public records and social media have become a treasure trove of information in just about every kind of case.   It has become standard practice in my office to begin every case with a search of all social media on both my client and the opposing party.  Items such as Facebook have features where items can be saved for later which is helpful.  Sometimes, things that seem minor at first may become important later.

Drug Suits to be Aware of

There are a number of class actions starting in other states regarding Lipitor, Abilify, and testosterone replacement therapy.  I am starting to review these cases.   Mississippi does not have a class action statute but suits are starting in a number of states that do and steering committees have already been set up in them.  Any claims here can be joined into those class actions potentially. 

Clarity

The past few weeks I have had several cases fighting over the clarity of prior court orders.  This often leads me to have to call the prior attorneys who drafted documents as a witness if the case goes to trial and also depose the opposing attorney at times if the other side was represented to get their interpretation of what was meant.  If you want to see nasty litigation, try to get former spouses to agree to a definition of any of the followings:  reasonable, needs, necessary, standard of living, college expenses, living expenses, and utilities.  These are terms that need to be clearly defined in the documents.   If not, you are just inviting future litigation.