Ben Boston

Bar / Professional Activity

• President Lawrence County Bar Association:Member Tennessee and American Bar Associations; American Association for Justice; National Trial Lawyers Top 100; Tennessee Association for Justice; City Judge Lawrenceburg, TN; Admitted 6th & 11th Circuit Courts of Appeal & The Supreme Court of the United States.

Verdicts / Settlements (Case Results)

•   (1) Reese v. Amari TN Court of Appeals Tennessee, At Nashville Jul 28, 2020 2020 Tenn. App. LEXIS 331 Overview: Original judgment awarded for $39,886.00 in 1987.  Mr. Boston hired in 2018 to collect the judgment.  The defendant vigorously objected and opposed the collection efforts. After court hearings and an appeal by the defendant the plaintiff collected $172,000.00.  (2) Sherrer ex rel. Lilly S. v. Cleghorn  Court of Appeals of Tennessee, At Nashville Sep 20, 2018 2018 Tenn. App. LEXIS 554 Overview: Mr. Boston disagreed with the Trial Court's ruling and successfully appealed the decision in the Tennessee Court of Appeals resulting in a reversal of the trial court's decision.  Farmer was not entitled to summary judgment when the decedent's surviving spouse alleged that the farmer negligently failed to prevent the death of the decedent, caused by a bull that wandered onto a road on which the decedent was driving, because there was sufficient evidence favorable to the surviving spouse to raise a genuine issue. (3)   Ethridge v. Estate of Ethridge    Court of Appeals of Tennessee, At Nashville Aug 06, 2013 427 S.W.3d 389 Overview: Although losing in the trial court, Mr. Boston successfully appealed the decision resulting in a reversal of the trial court's decision and an ultimate payment to the widow of $230,000.00.  As a widow's claim against a decedent was not void on its face, and as the estate failed to file exception to it, based on the terms of the parties' prenuptial agreement requiring any modification thereto to be in writing, within the time limits set forth in Tenn. Code Ann. § 30-2-316 (2007), the claim had to be considered just. (4)   Johnson v. Randstad N. Am., L.P. Supreme Court of Tennessee, Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel, At Nashville Sep 08, 2011 2011 Tenn. LEXIS 866 Overview: Mr. Boston won in the trial court and the Tennessee Supreme Court keeping his client permanent Total Disability benefits. Trial court did not err in awarding permanent total disability benefits because the trial court did not abuse its discretion by giving greater weight to the primary treating physician's testimony, instead of the employer's expert witnesses, and the evidence as a whole did not preponderate against the trial court's finding on the issue of causation.(5)  IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE AT NASHVILLE August 25, 2011 Session JAMES JOHNSON AND WIFE, ELAINE JOHNSON v. THE TORRINGTON COMPANY, et al Appeal from the Circuit Court for Giles County No. CC10292 Robert Lee Holloway, Jr., Judge No. M2010-01924-COA-R3-CV - Filed June 19, 2012 The plaintiff was severely injured while working on the premises of his employer. Because the employer was immune from liability in tort under the Workers’ Compensation statutes, the employee’s negligence suit named as defendants two other companies whose equipment was implicated in his injury. After a five-day trial, the jury found that the employer was solely at fault for the plaintiff’s injuries, resulting in no award. The plaintiff then filed a motion for new trial. The trial court granted the motion ten months after it was filed, declaring that in his capacity as the thirteenth juror he had found the verdict to be against the weight of the evidence. The case was tried before a second jury, which reached a different verdict, finding that one of the defendant companies was 90% at fault for the plaintiff’s injury while the plaintiff himself was 10% at fault. The net verdict for the plaintiff amounted to $2,925,000. The defendant company argues on appeal that the trial court erred in vacating the first jury verdict, that the second jury verdict was “contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence,” and that the amount of the verdict was excessive. We affirm the jury verdict and the judgment based on it. Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Circuit Court Affirmed PATRICIA J. COTTRELL, P.J., M.S., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which ANDY D. BENNETT and RICHARD H. DINKINS, JJ., joined. James Campbell Bradshaw, Michael David Hornback, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, The Torrington Company. George Benson Boston, Christopher V. Sockwell, Ryan Perry Durham, Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, for the appellees, James Johnson and wife, Elaine Johnson.  (6)  IN THE SUPREME COURT OF TENNESSEE SPECIAL WORKERS’ COMPENSATION APPEALS PANEL AT NASHVILLE          April 16, 2012 Session ALTON B. KEPHART, JR. v. HUGHES HARDWOOD INTERNATIONAL, INC., et al.  Appeal from the Chancery Court for Wayne County No. 11355 Robert L. Jones, Judge No. M2011-01568-WC-R3-WC - Mailed June 14, 2012. Pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 51, this workers’ compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers’ Compensation Appeals Panel for a hearing and a report of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The employee sustained a compensable injury to his lower back in August 2002 which was settled in May 2006. Thereafter the employee continued to be treated by his authorized treating physician. In 2009 the employer requested and the employee consented to an independent medical examination. Thereafter the employer requested another independent medical examination. The employee declined. In April 2011, the employer filed a motion seeking to require the employee to submit to a medical examination pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-204(d)(1) and Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 35. The trial court denied the motion, and the employer has appealed. We affirm the judgment. Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-225(e) (2008) Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Chancery Court Affirmed E. RILEY ANDERSON, SP. J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which WALTER C. KURTZ, SR. J., joined. CORNELIA A. CLARK, C. J., not participating. Clifford Wilson and Colin W. Turner, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellants, HughesHardwood International, Inc. and Berkley Risk Administrators Co., LLC. Ben Boston and Ryan P. Durham, Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, for the appellee, Alton B. Kephart, Jr.  (7) IN THE SUPREME COURT OF TENNESSEE SPECIAL WORKERS’ COMPENSATION APPEALS PANEL AT NASHVILLE November 28, 2011 Session TAMMY L. LEE v. DURA OPERATING CORP., et al  Appeal from the Circuit Court for Lawrence County No. CC-2240-08 Stella L. Hargrove, Judge No. M2011-00358-WC-R3-WC - Mailed - December 28, 2011 January 30, 2012 Pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 51, this workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers’ Compensation Appeals Panel for a hearing and a report of findings of  fact and conclusions of law. Tammy L. Lee (“Employee”) alleges that she suffered an injury to her cervical spine while she was employed as a factory worker by Dura Operating Corporation (“Employer”) . Employer denies that Employee’scervical spine injury was caused by her employment with Employer. The trial court determined that Employee’s cervical spine condition was a work-related aggravation of her pre-existing degenerative disc disease. The trial court awarded Employee temporary total benefits from November 8, 2007, to February 8, 2008. Finding that Employee had not been able to return to work, the trial court refused to apply the statutory cap and awarded Employee permanent partial disability benefits of 69% to the body as a whole, three times her anatomical impairment rating of 23% to the body as a whole. Finding that the evidence preponderates against the trial court's determination of causation, we reverse the trial court’s judgment. Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-225(e) (Supp. 2008) Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Circuit Court Reversed D. J. ALISSANDRATOS, SP. J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which CORNELIA A. CLARK, C. J. and WALTER C. KURTZ, SR. J., joined. Ben Boston and Ryan P. Durham, Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, for the appellants Dura Operating Corporation, et al. Richard T. Mathews, Columbia, Tennessee; Wayne Hairrell, Lawrenceburg, Tennessee (trial) for the appellee, Tammy L. Lee.  (8) IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE AT NASHVILLE January 19, 2011 Session STEPHEN BROWN v. COLUMBIA PRECAST, LLC, et al  Appeal from the Circuit Court for Maury County No. 10988 Jim T. Hamilton, Judge  No. M2010-00971-COA-R3-CV - Filed July 21, 2011 An employee was promised 10% ownership interest in the company he worked for if he stayed with the company for six years. When the time came to transfer the employee’s 10% interest to him, however, the parties learned that the tax laws then in effect made the transfer impractical at that time. The parties therefore decided to delay the transfer. The parties entered into a contract the following year which the employer interpreted to mean that the employee was giving up his 10% ownership interest in exchange for a raise in his salary plus 10% of the company’s net profits each year. The employee claimed he did not give up his 10% ownership interest and sued the company and former majority owner for his 10% interest when the company was sold a few years later. The trial court concluded the employee did not give up his 10% ownership interest by signing the later agreement and awarded the employee 10% of the company’s net profits for the years following the employee’s termination plus 10% of the ultimate purchase price. The court granted Mr. Brown a judgment against the Company and the Teagues jointly and severally for $700,760.79. This amount represents 10% of the 2008 purchase price of the Company ($400,000) as well as 10% of the net profits for 2005 ($60,020), 2006 ($90,861.31), 2007 ($24,581.10), and 2008 ($125,298.38). The court dismissed the complaint against Mr. Taylor. We affirm the trial court’s judgment. Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Circuit Court Affirmed P ATRICIA J. COTTRELL, P.J., M.S., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which FRANK G. C LEMENT, JR. and RICHARD H. DINKINS, JJ., joined. T. Jake Wolaver, Columbia, Tennessee; John D. Kitch, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellants, Columbia Precast, LLC, Roger Teague, Barbara Teague. Ben Boston, Ryan P. Durham, Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, for the appellee, Stephen Brown. (9) Products Liability Case Settles for $315,000.00. Plaintiff farmer was injured when his clothing became tangled in a piece of farm equipment. The plaintiff hired bhd to file suit against the equipment manufacturer, and the case was settled in 2016 for $315,000.00. (10)  Slip and Fall Case Settles for $200,000.00. Plaintiff was shopping at a Lawrence County, Tennessee retail store when she slipped on a substance in the floor sustaining numerous injuries. The plaintiff and her husband hired bhd to investigate the incident and prepare the case for trial. Ultimately, the matter was settled at mediation in 2020 for $200,000.00. (11)  Motorcycle Crash Settles for $950,000.00. Retired plaintiff was driving his motorcycle on Bear Creek Pike in Maury County, Tennessee when he was hit from behind by a work truck causing significant injuries. bhd filed suit on behalf of the plaintiff and his wife and settled the case at mediation in 2020 for $950,000.00., 2020

Special Licenses / Certifications

• Tennessee Rule 31 Listed Civil Mediator , 2021
• Recognized by the Tennessee Commission on continuing Legal Education and Specialization as a Civil Trial Specialist, 2013
• Board Certified Civil Pretrial Practice Advocacy  by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, 2012
• Since 1998 has been a Board Certified Civil Trial Advocacy Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, Certified Civil Trial Specialist, Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization., 2021

Pro bono / Community Service

• Chairman, Lawrence County Education Foundation. United Methodist Church-Member.

Honors

• a, 10 Best Attorneys Client Satisfaction - Tennessee, American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys, 2020
• a, Top 100 Trial Lawyers, The National Trial Lawyers, 2020
• AV rated for over 15 years., Preeminent AV Rating, Martindale-Hubbell, 2021

Educational Background

• Arizona State University (B.S., 1983); University of Tennessee (J.D., 1985)

Other Outstanding Achievements

• The law office of Boston, Holt, & Durham, PLLC, has been serving the community since 1948 when the late William E. Boston and the late W. A. (Bud) Harwell first founded the firm. Since that time, numerous members of the firm have ascended to esteemed positions of Circuit Judge, General Sessions Judge, City Judges and County Attorney.

• Employment