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11.27.2015

Practical Considerations after Obergefell v. Hodges: Is a loss of consortium claim available for married, same-sex couples?

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

11.24.2015

School bus, tractor-trailer wreck leads to lawsuit

By Kyle Roby, attorney English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLP In 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

11.16.2015

Tennessee car crash case implicates state in construction of intersection

By Kyle Roby, Attorney English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLP At 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

11.10.2015

New IRS audit guide targets entertainers’ tax bills

By Nathan Vinson Attorney, English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLP If 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

11.03.2015

Using drones in accident reconstruction cases

By Kyle Roby Attorney, English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLP Drones 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

11.03.2015

Five hard questions to ask yourself about your estate executor

By Elizabeth McKinney Attorney, English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLP Most 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

10.29.2015

Five things to bring with you to meet with your personal injury lawyer

By Kyle Roby Attorney, English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLP For someone who has little experience with law firms or the court system, meeting with a personal injury lawyer can be intimidating. The question we're asked the most often by our clients is "What do you need me to bring?" For my personal injury clients, I've condensed it down to a short list that you can use as a guideline. These are all documents that are not essential, but they're very helpful to have with you so your attorney can get to work right away. Read More

10.21.2015

How you document your charitable donations matters to the IRS

By Nathan Vinson, Attorney English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLP Almost everyone makes charitable donations of some kind, and many of us expect to deduct the value of those donations from our income when our taxes are being prepared. While it’s not a primary motivator for most who give to charity, it certainly helps spur some giving and motivates some to meet charitable obligations prior to the end of the calendar year. Here are a few tax rules to keep in mind when making charitable donations of property (i.e. noncash donations), as federal tax law and regulations require certain documentation of gifts depending on the value of the gifts.  In tax parlance, these rules are called “substantiation” requirements. For gifts under $250, minimal documentation is required to claim a tax deduction. While it is generally required that the taxpayer obtain a receipt from the charitable organization, the taxpayer is excused from doing so if getting a receipt is “impractical.” An example that the tax regulations use is dropping off property (i.e. clothing) at a charity’s unattended drop site (i.e. a Goodwill drop box after store hours).  In that instance, taxpayers are required to retain in their own records (but not submit to the IRS) documentation containing: the name and address of the charity; the date and location of the donation; a description of the property, including its value; the fair market value of the property contributed and the method used to determine the fair market value; and possibly other documentation. As you can see, it may just be simpler to get the receipt! Read More

10.15.2015

$2.5 Million Punitive Damages Award Vacated in Kentucky Product Liability Case

By Jessica Surber, Attorney English, Lucas, Priest and Owsley, LLP When a person is injured because of a defective or unreasonably dangerous product, he or she may be entitled to damages such as payment of medical expenses, reimbursement of lost wages, and compensation for pain and suffering. Although it is the exception rather than the rule, there is also the possibility of punitive damages in some cases. In order to qualify for a punitive damages award, a plaintiff must show particularly egregious conduct on the part of the defendant (typically, the manufacturer, distributor, or retail seller of the product). Read More

10.13.2015

Tennessee Statute of Limitations barred recovery in government case

There's an old riddle that asks, "If a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it, does it still make a sound?" We may never know the answer to that question, but it seems that, if a tree located on state property falls onto a car passing over a bridge, there is a good chance that the state's high court will eventually hear about it, especially if there is any question as to whether the injured person's lawsuit was promptly filed. As we've mentioned before, the statute of limitations is important in any lawsuit, but some cases have other time limitations and procedural requirements that must also be complied with. In cases involving governmental entities, the timing can be especially tricky. Read More