Tennessee Court of Appeals affirms award of approximately $200,000 in compensatory damages and attorneys’ fees to engineering firm in contract interpretation dispute. In Gresham, Smith & Partners v. Middleburg Real Estate Partners, LLC, 2023 Tenn. App. LEXIS 395 (Tenn. Ct. App. Sep. 25, 2023), a defendant developer (the “Developer”) appealed the trial court’s ruling that they breached their contract with … Read More
Destruction of Cottage Ordered, Judge Tells Property Owner They “Can’t Build a Thing”
Judgment ordering destruction of nearly complete structure due to restrictive covenant violation upheld on appeal. In Burkett v. Stevens, 684 S.W.3d 399, 401 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2023), the Tennessee Court of Appeals upheld a harsh ruling which ordered Defendant to abandon and destroy her nearly complete “cottage” in light of a restrictive covenant. The restriction had been imposed onto an … Read More
Economic Loss Rule Applied to Commercial Construction Contracts
Economic loss rule bars tort claims arising under construction contracts negotiated between sophisticated commercial entities. For years, the economic loss rule (or economic loss doctrine) has applied to limit a claimant to its contractual remedies and bar tort claims for purely economic loss. In fact, the Tennessee Supreme Court recently held in Milan Supply Chain Sols. v. Navistar that: “[W]hen… … Read More