Olivas, Mack and Faughnan Triumph in Court of Appeals

Last year, Daniel Olivas won summary judgment for the defendant, a home inspector, in a personal injury lawsuit, obtaining a ruling that the home inspector owed no duty to a third-party invitee on the premises who was injured when attending a house-warming party.

Last week, the Tennessee Court of Appeals affirmed the ruling in a victory for LT appellate team of Daniel Olivas, Emily Mack, and Brian Faughnan. On appeal, the plaintiff/appellant argued that the so-called Good Samaritan Rule, Sec. 324A of the Restatement of Torts, contending that the homeowner relied on the inspection report when he invited the plaintiff onto the premises, and the plaintiff was therefore entitled to protection from an allegedly negligent inspection report.

The LT appellate team countered, arguing first that the notice of appeal was untimely because it was filed more than thirty days after the judgment, and second by going through a detailed analysis of Tennessee’s Home Inspection Act and common law cases to show that the inspector owed no duty to a third-party who did not rely on the inspection report.

Congratulations to our victorious appellate team!

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