Latest Tennessee Headlines
All the headlines from our Tennessee Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Auditor: TVA Lawyers Limited Ash Spill Report
Jul 29 2009 // The Tennessee Valley Authority failed for more than 20 years to heed warnings that might have prevented a massive coal ash spill in Tennessee, then allowed its lawyers to stifle a $3 million study into the disaster’s...
Survey: Tennessee Small Businesses Struggling with Health Insurance Costs
Jul 27 2009 // With Congress debating how to reform Athe nation’s health care system, a new survey report reveals that 79 percent of Tennessee’s small business owners, including the self-employed, are struggling to afford...
Tennessee Mandates Building Code
Jul 20 2009 // Gov. Phil Bredesen has signed a measure enacting a minimum residential building code across Tennessee. The bill took effect July 1. Under the law, local governments in the 60 counties that don’t have building codes...
Insurers Get Tax Credits for Backing Tennessee Venture Fund for Startups
Jul 20 2009 // Newly signed legislation in Tennessee will provide venture money for new companies with high growth potential, such as those involved in biotechnology and other innovations. The money will come from insurance companies...
Tennessee Medical Fee Schedule Cuts Workers’ Compensation Costs: Study
Jul 16 2009 // The implementation of a medical fee schedule in Tennessee after reforms passed in 2004 has helped save employers $1,300 per workers’ compensation case, according to a study by a research group. The study by he...
Tennessee Jurors Claim They Felt Pressured in Malpractice Case
Jun 30 2009 // Four jurors wrote affidavits claiming they felt coerced by the court to rule against a doctor who lost a $6.12 million medical malpractice case, a The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported. The affidavits came in the case...
Tennessee Bill Holds Parents Liable for Hosting Underage Drinking
Jun 5 2009 // The Tennessee Senate has passed legislation aimed at making it a crime for adults to host parties where alcohol is available to underage drinkers. The measure sponsored by Republican Sen. Jim Tracy of Shelbyville was...
U.S. Has Paid $1 Billion in Claims to Tennessee Nuclear Workers
May 28 2009 // The government has paid out more than $1 billion in claims to 9,134 Tennesseans made ill from working in the nuclear weapons facilities at Oak Ridge during the Cold War. The Labor Department announced the latest tally,...
Tennessee: Policy Doesn’t Cover Snipers
May 18 2009 // A homeowners insurance policy does not cover damages from a fatal sniper attack by the sons of the policyholders, the Tennessee Court of Appeals has ruled. The court ruled that a policy exclusion barring coverage for...
Tennessee House Votes Down Law Against Aggressive Driving
May 6 2009 // The Tennessee House has rejected a bill that would have made aggressive driving in the state against the law. “One of the biggest problems on the roadway today is aggressive driving,” said Rep. Eric Swafford,...
Tennessee Court Rules Homeowners Policy Doesn’t Cover Sons’ Shootings
May 4 2009 // A homeowners insurance policy does not cover damages from a fatal sniper attack by the sons of the policyholders, the Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled. The court ruled that a policy exclusion barring coverage for damages...
Tennessee Proposal to Let Golf Carts on Roads Stalls
Apr 23 2009 // A proposal to allow operation of golf carts on certain Tennessee roads will be studied over the summer with similar bills. The House Public Safety Subcommittee voted to send the measure to a summer study committee. The...
Willis HRH Names Pera to Head Atlantic Region, Based in Tennessee
Apr 22 2009 // Insurance broker Willis HRH has appointed Douglas W. Pera as national partner of its Atlantic region. Pera will be responsible for the company’s retail insurance offices in Maryland, Tennessee and Virginia, and will...
Tennessee Tornadoes Took 2 Lives, Damaged 500 Buildings
Apr 15 2009 // The National Weather Service has upgraded the strength of a tornado that killed a woman and her infant daughter when it hit Murfreesboro last week and said a second tornado touched down in the county. The weather service...
Georgia Charges Tennessee Trucking Insurance Agent with $2.6 Million Fraud
Apr 10 2009 // A Chattanooga, Tenn. insurance agent has been charged with insurance fraud and theft for allegedly adding commissions to policies when he told policyholders that the coverage was being sold on a net basis — with a...
Tennessee House Panel OKs Ban on Texting-while-Driving
Apr 9 2009 // A proposal to prohibit texting while driving has advanced out of the House Transportation Committee despite the vocal objections of some members of the panel. Pegram Republican Rep. Phillip Johnson noted that drivers can...
Texting While Driving Already Illegal in Tennessee, Says AG
Mar 26 2009 // A Tennessee attorney general opinion says sending or reading texts while driving falls under a law prohibiting the unsafe operation of a motor vehicle. Rep. Vince Dean, an East Ridge Republican and chairman of the House...
Tenn. Lawmaker Drops Immunity Claim in Libel Suit
Mar 26 2009 // A Republican lawmaker in Tennessee has dropped claims of legislative immunity for comments he made on his personal blog that sparked a $750,000 libel lawsuit. State Rep. Stacey Campfield of Knoxville was sued by Roger...
Texas Mutual Gains Legal Ground in Oklahoma, Tennessee Cases
Jan 23 2009 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company reported it has secured legal victories in two workers’ compensation cases that originated in Oklahoma and Tennessee. In a statement released by the company, Texas Mutual Insurance said...
West Tennessee Feels Small Earthquake But No Damages Reported
Jan 20 2009 // Earthquake researchers say a small quake occurred last Friday in West Tennessee but no damages from it were reported. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was centered about 40 miles north of Memphis and measured a...
