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By Kyle Roby, Attorney English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLPAlthough the basic law of negligence is the same across the country - namely, that to be successful, the plaintiff must show duty, breach of duty, causation, and damages - there are some nuances of negligence law that are different in various states. Thus, the outcome of a particular case can vary considerably, depending upon the state in which the accident occurred.For instance, under the law of comparative fault, there can be wide variations in the outcome of a suit based on similar circumstances, depending upon the state where the suit is filed. The state of Tennessee follows what is called the "modified system of comparative fault."Beginning with the 1992 case of McIntyre v. Balentine, a plaintiff may recover damages in proportion to a defendant's percentage of fault in an accident, as long as the defendant's fault outweighed any fault by the plaintiff. In cases in which the jury finds the parties to be equally at fault (or finds the plaintiff to be more than 50 percent at fault), the plaintiff recovers nothing. Read More

By Elizabeth J. McKinney, Attorney English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLPAs we age, one of our collective greatest fears is that we’ll lose the power to make our own decisions. This happens sometimes because our faculties begin to betray us. The things that once seemed simple – such as keeping up with a checkbook and paying bills – are more challenging. Physical limitations, such as loss of sight, diminished hearing and failing handwriting, can contribute to those challenges and call into question our mental competency.Many people have children or a spouse ready or willing to step in. But that may also feed our fear – that as those other people come into the scene to help handle routine tasks, they’ll do things without our knowledge or consent, and that we’ll lose control of our money, our homes and even healthcare decisions. Read More

By Jessica Surber, AttorneyEnglish, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLPSometimes, a single individual, business, or governmental entity is clearly to blame for negligently inflicting harm on an accident victim. But there are also times when the injured person must share in the blame for what happened.When more than one party bears the responsibility for an accident, fault is determined under the principles of comparative fault, such that an injured party's settlement or judgment is reduced in proportion to his or her level of fault.Recently, in the case of Carter v. Bullitt Host, LLC, the Kentucky Supreme Court addressed whether the doctrine of comparative fault was also applicable in premises liability cases involving the allegedly "open and obvious" hazards of snow and ice that caused a slip and fall injury. Read More

By Nathan Vinson Attorney, English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLPWe’re about five weeks out from January 1, 2016. Yes, really.That means if there are financial moves you intended to make this year to save on your 2015 tax bill, you need to get going. I’ve outlined here a brief checklist to get you started. Read More

When a husband or wife dies or is severely injured as a result of someone’s negligence, the surviving spouse can typically seek damages for past medical expenses, future medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages, impairment of earning capacity and what’s called “loss of consortium.” Essentially, loss of consortium is the loss of the loved one’s love, care, services, assistance, and companionship. Loss of consortium seeks to compensate the surviving spouse for the harm endured to the marital relationship. Damages for loss of consortium can be awarded not only in wrongful death cases but also in cases in which a spouse has been severely injured and is unable to provide the love, care, services, assistance, and companionship that the couple enjoyed when both persons were healthy. Damages for loss of consortium are only available to married couples. KRS 411.145 states that “either a wife or husband may recover damages against a third person for loss of consortium, resulting from a negligent or wrongful act of such third person.” Read More

By Kyle Roby, attorney English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLPIn tractor-trailer wreck lawsuits, one obvious defendant is the truck driver whose negligent driving led to the crash. The trucking company that employed him or her is usually also named as a defendant, under the doctrine of respondeat superior (which holds employers liable for the tortious acts of their employees, if the act was within the scope of the employment relationship).In some instances, the circumstances of the accident may give rise to possible claims against others with a less obvious connection to the case.For instance, in the recent case of Commonwealth v. Collins, the state was named as a defendant in a suit arising from a tractor-trailer wreck that also involved a school bus. Read More

By Kyle Roby, Attorney English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLPAt one time, a person injured by the negligence of a governmental entity was without a remedy, due to the doctrine of sovereign immunity. Basically a carryover from the English common law under which "the King could do no wrong," the doctrine precluded a would-be plaintiff from asserting what might otherwise have been a meritorious claim against a state or local government.Now, however, most governmental entities have consented to be sued through various tort claims acts. Such acts set forth the procedure for filing a claim, the statute of limitations, and the maximum damages that may be sought. It is important to note that, since such actions are purely statutory in nature, an injured person must strictly comply with all procedural requirements, or else his or her suit will likely be dismissed.Even when all requirements are met, it is ultimately up to the courts to determine whether a particular claim is valid. Read More

By Nathan Vinson Attorney, English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLPIf you are working in the entertainment industry, the IRS has your tax returns in its sights.In a new “Entertainment Audit Technique Guide,” the IRS recently instructed its auditors to closely examine tax returns from those in the entertainment business.  Auditors will be scrutinizing deductions claimed on tax returns for expenses which, according to the guide, entertainers have historically been “aggressive or abusive” in taking.The IRS wants to reign in these perceived industry norms to ensure that the entertainers are legitimately entitled to the claimed deductions. In tax parlance, the expenses giving rise to deductions must be “ordinary and necessary.” As the guide puts it, “The distinction between ordinary/necessary and extravagant must be more clearly drawn.”Those in the entertainment business can include, but are not limited to, comedians, musicians, singers, songwriters, actors, producers and those involved behind the scenes. The IRS wants to see that the deductions entertainers are taking are substantiated with legitimate receipts and records, and that the expenses truly are business-related (i.e. “necessary”). Read More

By Kyle Roby Attorney, English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLPDrones can get bird's eye view of a roadway like nothing else can. Telling a story about an event is one thing. But it's so much more powerful when you can show what happened. That's the job of accident reconstructionists, and their work is extremely important in helping juries and judges understand how, exactly, a crash occurred. Accident re-constructionists now have a new tool available that has been a game-changer for showing what happened: drones. If you aren't familiar with drones, these are remote-powered cameras that fly. They're lightweight and powerful, and can take both video and still photos, and they're becoming very popular as they've come down in price. The drones can get a view of a roadway like nothing else can. Drones can show exactly how an intersection comes together from many angles, including from directly above and from all sides. With video footage and still photos from a drone, accident re-constructionists can create an animation of how vehicles crashed together on a roadway. The footage a drone shoots can also be rendered into CAD drawings that contain complete information on measurements, scale, size of vehicles and other scientific information that helps court officials properly review a case. Read More

By Elizabeth McKinney Attorney, English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLPMost people don’t give much thought to who will be their estate executor. Often, the automatic choice is a spouse or a child. The person chosen is often the person closest to the person creating the will.But this isn’t always the best strategy. As we know, and you have no doubt seen at some point in your life, emotions run high after a death, and items that were near and dear to the decedent’s heart become prized possessions, and sometimes, those items are worth a lot of money. A prized piece of art may have much more than sentimental value.The executor of your estate may not be prepared to deal with all of these emotions, and if they’re someone close to you, they may find that they’re processing their own grief while trying to meet the demands of friends and family waiting to receive inherited items or money.This is why we recommend that those creating a will take a long, hard, objective look at who they choose as the executor of their estate and really examine if the person they’ve chosen is capable of carrying out your wishes without creating long-term problems for your family and friends. Read More