Attorney Richard E. Spicer in Spicer Rudstrom’s Nashville office obtained a dismissal of an unusual personal injury case filed against Bayer CropScience, and the dismissal has been affirmed by the Court of Appeals this week.
In the case, the plaintiff, who was in a Home Depot store as part of a promotional program for Bayer CropScience products, fell off of a ladder, sustaining a significant personal injury. A third-party company contracted by Bayer placed her in the store. She consequently sued both Home Depot and Bayer CropScience—Home Depot on a premises liability claim and Bayer CropScience under several theories, including contract theory, alleged lack of training, alleged general negligence, and some additional arguments.
The case was transferred to Rich from another firm at the request of Bayer just weeks prior to trial. He undertook to amend pleadings to assert various affirmative defenses including exclusive remedy and related defenses, as well as actions that eventually led to our client, Bayer CropScience, getting dismissed from the suit. The plaintiff appealed, and the Court of Appeals affirmed Bayer’s dismissal.
Rich represents insurance companies and their insureds, as well as self-insured companies in serious litigation involving construction law, premises liability, insurance law, product liability, automobile, and company trucking issues, and other complex litigation involving generally high-exposure claims. He is oftentimes retained to handle particularly unusual claims and litigation to also include complex and emotional wrongful death litigation. He has developed a particular focus on the hospitality and retail industry and chairs the firm’s Retail and Hospitality Industry Group.