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Tennessee Courts embrace Google Maps, AG sues Apple, and other technology updates

Some quick hits on this quiet Wednesday before Thanksgiving… Tennessee Court of Appeals takes judicial notice of Google Maps. Yesterday, the Tennessee Court of Appeals expressly approved a trial court’s taking “judicial notice” of Google Maps to prove distance in trial proceedings. (Note: Judicial notice is an evidentiary concept that means, basically, when a fact … Continue reading “Tennessee Courts embrace Google Maps, AG sues Apple, and other technology updates”

Looking to help this season? Consider donating to the Window of Love.

You may have seen the Tennessean article last week that the State of Tennessee has amassed a historically high amount of surplus money in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families fund, which is now at $741 million. This is awesome, right? What perfect timing for this money in an economic crisis? But, later, the article … Continue reading “Looking to help this season? Consider donating to the Window of Love.”

Judgment Creditors can cross county lines in execution sales of real property, says TN Court of Appeals

Yesterday, the Tennessee Court of Appeals answered another longstanding creditor question: Whether a Court can order an execution sale on a debtor’s real property in a different county. I get asked that all the time, and I’ve generally said you can. Now, I can cite the new opinion from the Court of Appeals in Ronald … Continue reading “Judgment Creditors can cross county lines in execution sales of real property, says TN Court of Appeals”

Foreign Judgments based on Confessions of Judgment are valid in Tennessee

I get 6 calls a year from out-of-state clients, asking me to file a lawsuit to enforce a confession of judgment contained in their out-of-state loan documents. It’s been happening so long that, for the past 7 years, I just send them a link to this post “Confessions of Judgment aren’t Valid in Tennessee: Here’s … Continue reading “Foreign Judgments based on Confessions of Judgment are valid in Tennessee”

Please Vote For Me in the Nashville Bar Association Board of Directors Election: Here’s Why:

I’m hoping you don’t have election fatigue, because I need your vote in November… I’ve been nominated to serve on the Board of Directors of the Nashville Bar Association. Tomorrow morning, you’ll be receiving your ballot via email, and you’ll be asked to vote for 6 out of the 14 candidates. Here’s why you should … Continue reading “Please Vote For Me in the Nashville Bar Association Board of Directors Election: Here’s Why:”

The state of the Nashville legal world, 8 months Into COVID

Today marks the 8 month mark of when, basically, people started taking COVID seriously. On March 10, 2020, I had travelled to Louisville and was staying at the gorgeous and totally empty Omni Hotel, to interview for the open Louisville Bankruptcy Judgeship. That was on a Tuesday, and, on Saturday, my family was scheduled to … Continue reading “The state of the Nashville legal world, 8 months Into COVID”

New Court of Appeals opinion affirms landlord’s duty to mitigate damages on Tennessee leases

In a post from last month, I mentioned that, when a commercial tenant defaults and leaves a leased property, the landlord is faced with a hard decision: File the lawsuit for unpaid rent now, or do you wait 6-9 months until a replacement tenant can be found? One thing we know for sure: A landlord … Continue reading “New Court of Appeals opinion affirms landlord’s duty to mitigate damages on Tennessee leases”

Where are all the bankruptcy filings in Nashville?

Many years ago, I got a call from a bank attorney who was in the middle of a 4 day trial in Williamson County. It was a lawsuit by a bank to collect its post-foreclosure deficiency balance. The lawyer called me to tell me that the debtor’s attorney had printed out my very own blog … Continue reading “Where are all the bankruptcy filings in Nashville?”

It may be time to start filing Davidson County evictions in Circuit Court.

The new 25 case limit on the civil dockets in Davidson County General Sessions has been the problem we thought it would be. As of last Thursday, the next available civil hearing date for new and pending cases was December 9, 2020. Since last Thursday, 357 new cases have been filed in Sessions Court. Given … Continue reading “It may be time to start filing Davidson County evictions in Circuit Court.”

After a judgment for possession, does res judicata prevent a landlord from taking a money judgment?

I represent a lot of commercial landlords, and, when there’s a payment default and they want to evict a tenant, there’s an early strategy question that they all face: (1) Do we sue for possession only; or (2) Do we sue for money and unpaid rent (through the date of the court hearing)? It’s a … Continue reading “After a judgment for possession, does res judicata prevent a landlord from taking a money judgment?”