Pepper Law PLC | Tennessee Business Litigation Lawyers Blog
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The Nashville, Tennessee based law firm of Pepper Law, PLC is a trial and litigation law firm that represents clients throughout Tennessee, as well as in other states. The firm limits itself to civil litigation matters including business litigation and commercial litigation matters, real estate litigation, insurance-related litigation, trust and probate litigation, and employment litigation...
Pepper Law PLC | Tennessee Business Litigation Lawyers Blog
2w ago
Liens lis pendens are, often, a critical tool in real estate and commercial litigation in Tennessee. There are two important questions about liens lis pendens that are completely unanswered by the Tennessee lien lis pendens statute. (In fact, a plain reading of that statute would give a lawyer the wrong answer to one of those questions.) Here are the questions:
Can a lien lis pendens be placed on property that is not located in the same county where the plaintiff’s lawsuit is filed?
If the plaintiff loses his or her case at the trial court level, can the plaintiff maintain the lien lis penden ..read more
Pepper Law PLC | Tennessee Business Litigation Lawyers Blog
1M ago
Many, if not most, legal claims of an LLC must be filed directly by the LLC itself and cannot be filed by someone acting on its behalf. The Tennessee Revised Limited Liability Company Act, however, permits a member of an LLC, in certain circumstances, to bring a derivative action on behalf of the LLC. Very generally speaking, derivative actions are permitted when the LLC has a valid cause of action, but is not likely to pursue it itself because its current management will not do so.
Before a member or holder of financial rights of a limited liability company may bring a derivative ..read more
Pepper Law PLC | Tennessee Business Litigation Lawyers Blog
4M ago
In every initial meeting or phone conference which I have had with a potential client about a will contest case, I inevitably am asked whether the potential client has a good case to set aside the will at issue, or, the other hand, to uphold it in the face of a will contest. Of course, there is never a definitive answer to those questions. However, in some cases, I can tell clients that they have identified facts which seem promising in terms of obtaining a favorable verdict. In other cases, I cannot tell them that.
I always tell potential clients that, even if they have identified facts ..read more
Pepper Law PLC | Tennessee Business Litigation Lawyers Blog
4M ago
Under Tennessee law, many claims arising from business disputes are barred if they are not filed with a court within four years (claims related to the sale of goods under the UCC) or six years (breach of contract claims not governed by the UCC). Those time periods begin to run, in almost all cases, not when the contract or agreement at issue was made, but when the plaintiff’s cause of action “accrued.” When a cause of action accrues varies. For most breach of contract cases not governed by the UCC, a cause of action accrues when the defendant materially breaches the contract by failing t ..read more
Pepper Law PLC | Tennessee Business Litigation Lawyers Blog
1y ago
In a very recent breach of contract case, a former employee of the defendant was held not to have been constructively discharged from employment, and, therefore, was not entitled to a bonus provided for in his employment agreement. The Court of Appeals of Tennessee determined that the former employee voluntarily terminated his employment based on the totality of the facts.
Here are the key facts:
The former executive employee (“Executive”) signed a two- year contract (“Employment Agreement”) with the Defendant, a real estate business, to be an executive vice-president
In addition to his ..read more
Pepper Law PLC | Tennessee Business Litigation Lawyers Blog
1y ago
A former employer’s claims against a former employee and the former employee’s new employer for breach of a non-compete agreement and violating the Tennessee Uniform Trade Secrets Act (“Trade Secrets Act”) were dismissed in a case which is instructive on a couple of fronts. Mainly, the case illustrates the futility of a former employer attempting to claim that information the former employee acquired during his or her employment amounts to “trade secrets” under the Trade Secrets Act when the former employer allowed third parties to have access to the same information.
Here are the key facts ..read more
Pepper Law PLC | Tennessee Business Litigation Lawyers Blog
1y ago
The Court of Appeals of Tennessee recently issued an opinion in an easement case involving an issue of first impression in Tennessee regarding the transferability of an express easement. Here are the key facts:
In 1980, Mahaffey acquired a tract known as the “Holt Farm”
Holt Farm was 107 acres
Holt Farm was landlocked
A lane (“Holt Lane”), ran along the eastern section of Holt Farm
Before connecting to a public roadway, known as Horse Mountain Road, Holt Lane ran across property adjoining Mahaffey’s which was not owned by Mahaffey
The adjoining property which Holt Lane ran across was ow ..read more
Pepper Law PLC | Tennessee Business Litigation Lawyers Blog
1y ago
The Tennessee Revised Limited Liability Company Act (the “Act”) sets forth the circumstances under which a limited liability company (“LLC”) member or manager may be liable to the LLC or to other LLC members. An LLC member’s or manager’s potential liability can arise from two separate categories of conduct: (1) conduct that is a breach of the member’s or manager’s duty of loyalty (duty of loyalty cases); and (2) conduct in the operation or management of the LLC that is below the standards of care set forth in the Act (duty of care cases).
This blog deals strictly with the second category ..read more
Pepper Law PLC | Tennessee Business Litigation Lawyers Blog
1y ago
It is helpful to think of the potential personal liability of members of Tennessee LLC’s falling into two categories. The first category is the personal liability of a member to the LLC itself for the member’s breach of the duty of care, breach of the duty of loyalty, or the breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing. The personal liability of a member for breaches of those duties (which duties are set forth in T.C.A.§ 48-249-403) is typically addressed in a derivative proceeding brought by another member of the LLC on behalf of the LLC. The second category of personal liabi ..read more
Pepper Law PLC | Tennessee Business Litigation Lawyers Blog
1y ago
Tennessee commercial landlord/tenant (lessor/lessee) law requires a lessor of a commercial property to act fairly and reasonably, under the circumstances, to mitigate its lost rental income resulting from a lessee/tenant abandoning the property before the expiration of the lease term or notifying the lessor that it no longer intends to comply with the lease. Obviously, this requirement means that the lessor must try to secure a new tenant for the subject property. However, what steps on the part of the lessor satisfy its obligation to act fairly and reasonably to find a new tenant to mit ..read more