Date of Case Completion:
September 25, 2018
Category:
Motor Vehicle Accident Defense / Vicarious Liability / Summary Judgment
Summary:
McLemore Law PLLC successfully defended Richard Urban in a $1.5 million lawsuit stemming from a 2013 motor vehicle accident involving his daughter. The Court granted summary judgment in favor of Mr. Urban, holding that the Family Purpose Doctrine did not apply, as the plaintiff failed to prove he was the head of the household or financially responsible for the driver.
Description:
Case Name: Nick DeFilippis and Gina DeFilippis v. Elizabeth S. Beam and Richard Urban
Court: Circuit Court of Williamson County, Tennessee at Franklin
Case No.: 2014-345
This case arose from a September 27, 2013, accident on South Royal Oaks in Franklin, Tennessee, involving Nick DeFilippis and Elizabeth Beam, who was driving a vehicle owned by her father, Richard Urban. Beam was on her way to work at Burger King at the time of the collision.
After Ms. Beam’s passing in 2016, Mr. Urban became the sole remaining defendant. Plaintiffs initially sued under Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-311 but later shifted their theory to the Family Purpose Doctrine, asserting that Mr. Urban should be held liable for his daughter’s use of his vehicle.
McLemore Law PLLC filed a Motion for Summary Judgment, arguing that the Family Purpose Doctrine did not apply. Discovery confirmed that Elizabeth Beam was 31 years old, lived independently, and received no financial support from her father. She was using the vehicle solely for her own employment and was not performing any errand or task for Mr. Urban at the time of the crash.
The Court agreed that plaintiffs failed to establish Mr. Urban as the head of Elizabeth Beam’s household or as having any financial interest in her use of the vehicle. On September 25, 2018, the Court granted summary judgment and dismissed the claims against Mr. Urban in full.