In Hester v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co., 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 174539 (M.D. Tenn. Sept. 8, 2025), the Middle District of Tennessee declined to take a disputed roof‑replacement case away from a jury, holding that factual questions remain when an insurer insists repairs can be made with “matching” shingles and the policyholder
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Tennessee Federal Court Enforces Appraisal Award – Full Roof Replacement Required After Wind Loss to Small Section of Roofing
In Nashville Communications, Inc. v. Auto-Owners Insurance Company, the Middle District of Tennessee addressed a dispute many commercial policyholders face after wind or hail losses: when an insurer concedes limited damage and an appraisal later determines the repairs require a much larger scope, is the resulting award binding? The court said yes.
The loss
Recent Developments – Appraisal in Tennessee, 2021 (Part 4)
Last week, we looked at Magistrate Judge York’s October 2021 opinion in Smith v. State Farm, in which State Farm was ordered to proceed with an appraisal of the loss as properly invoked by Ms. Smith. As a refresher, Ms. Smith’s home was damaged by a March 3, 2020 storm, and State Farm agreed she suffered
Recent Developments – Appraisal in Tennessee, 2021 (Part 3)
Over the past few posts, I’ve explored a couple of recent opinions from federal courts in the Eastern and Middle Districts of Tennessee that explored the appropriate use of appraisal in resolving disputes about the “scope” of a loss. For this next installment, we move to West Tennessee for yet another recent case on the
Recent Developments – Appraisal in Tennessee, 2021 (Part 2)
Earlier this week I posted about the recent Ingram v. State Farm case in which a federal court in the Eastern District of Tennessee obliterated State Farm’s defense that appraisal was inappropriate for disputes about “scope.” The Ingram case was just one of several recent opinions from around the State of Tennessee concerning insurance appraisals in
Recent Developments – Appraisal in Tennessee, 2021 (Part 1)
In 2021, courts across Tennessee issued a handful of decisions that continue to define the nuances of the Tennessee Court of Appeals’ opinion in Merrimack v. Batts that is now twenty years old. Suffice it to say the landscape is quickly changing and I’m excited to share the new developments. The next few posts will explore these
OSHA Compliance is the Law . . . But it’s Not an Ordinance or Law for Coverage Purposes
The Occupational Safety and Health Act was signed into law in 1970 by President Nixon, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was simultaneously created to implement, administer, and enforce its requirements. OSHA’s mission is to “assure safe and healthy working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by
Tips for TN Policyholders Impacted by the March 3, 2020 Storm
The storm has passed and a new wave of obstacles and hurdles are sure to follow in its wake. Out-of-state adjusters have already flooded the area, and not all of them know and understand policyholders’ rights in the State of Tennessee. Here’s a few tips on a few areas that we at McWherter Scott &
Massive Tornado and Hailstorm Hits Tennessee
This past Sunday morning I boarded a plane for Naples, FL for a mediation in one of the labor depreciation class actions my firm is handling. When I left, I had no idea that when I returned a few days later Nashville would be a very different place. The storms that pummeled Tennessee on March
TN Supreme Court Rules Labor Cannot be Depreciated
For the past few years, I’ve been involved in several labor depreciation cases around the Southeast, including one right here in Tennessee against Auto-Owners. The threshold legal question in that case, Lammert et al. v. Auto-Owners Mutual Ins. Co., was whether an insurance company can depreciate the cost of labor when determining its actual cash