Dale Tuttle is Of Counsel with Glassman, Wyatt, Tuttle & Cox and is listed as one of the Best Lawyers in America for Insurance Law. Many of Dale’s clients call on him to help with insurance coverage and insurance/reinsurance related disputes. He has assisted in obtaining summary judgment decisions on behalf of his insurance law clients and insureds on a number of occasions, including through appeal to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. A select few of Dale’s many accomplishments on behalf of his clients include:
In Mueller Copper Tube Prods. v. Pa. Manufacturers Ass’n Ins/ Co., 254 Fed. Appx. 491 (6th Cir. 2007), Dale represented an insurance company for declaratory judgment by its insured in an environmental coverage dispute requesting indemnification, defense and bad faith damages. As lead counsel, Dale secured a summary judgment in Tennessee Federal District Court. The summary judgment in favor of the insurance company was affirmed on appeal to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Dale represented a national law firm sued for declaratory judgment by their insurance carrier and assisted in resolving the insurance and coverage dispute between insurer and insured. The insurance declaratory judgment action was pending in the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.
Dale represented a regional real estate company sued for fraud and misrepresentation by home buyers. The jury found no liability against Dale’s client, a real estate company. SeeGoodale v. Langenberg, 243 S.W.3d 575 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2007).
Dale represented a product component manufacturer in a products liability action filed by a plaintiff seeking damages for the alleged wrongful death of her husband. The case was dismissed. See Craig v. R.R. Street & Co., 794 S.W.2d 351 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1990).
Dale served as lead counsel in a products liability case where the plaintiff allegedly died when he fell from a job-rigged box that was being lifted by a telescoping fork lift to the fourth floor of a job site. Dale achieved a Summary Judgment Verdict for his client after the Court found that there was no duty to warn and that the plaintiff improperly used the Defendant’s product and was responsible for at least 50% if not more of his injuries. See Shoemake v. Omniquip Int’l, 152 S.W.3d 567 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2003).
In Nelms v. Walgreens, 1999 Tenn. App. LEXIS 437 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1999), Dale served as lead trial counsel and the plaintiff was denied punitive damages in a claim for wrongful death.
In Nash v. Old Republic Ins. Co., 1996 Tenn. LEXIS 778 (Tenn. W.C. Panel 1996), Dale served as lead counsel in a worker’s compensation matter wherein the plaintiff sought permanent partial disability to his left lower extremity. On appeal after a plaintiff’s verdict at the trial court, the Tennessee Special Workers’ Compensation Appeals Panel reversed the trial court in all respects and dismissed the plaintiff’s Complaint with prejudice.
In Rainey v. Cleo, Inc., 1999 Tenn. LEXIS 401 (Tenn. W.C. Panel 1999), Dale served as lead counsel in a worker’s compensation matter wherein the trial court denied the plaintiff any relief. The trial court found the plaintiff failed to prove any permanent disability as a result of her employment, and this decision was affirmed by the Tennessee Special Workers’ Compensation Appeals Panel.
Dale appeared as counsel in the matter of Ridings v. Ralph M. Parsons Co., 914 S.W.2d 79 (Tenn. 1996). In Ridings, the Tennessee Supreme Court held as an issue of first impression that the acts and omissions of an employer covered by the workers’ compensation law could neither enlarge nor limit the rights or liabilities of any part to a tort action.
In Jones v. Argenbright, Inc., 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31563 (W.D.T.N. 2004), Dale’s efforts resulted in the exclusion of an expert witness in Tennessee Federal Court based on a party’s untimely and deficient disclosure of an expert witness.
In addition to the above, Dale has tried a number of cases to verdict in both state and federal courts, and is also an active participant in federal and state bar associations. Dale has also assisted the Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association and has authored various Amicus Curiae briefs on behalf of the Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association, including Swafford v. Harris, 967 S.W.2d 319 (1998).
University of Tennessee and University of Memphis (B.B.A., 1973)
University of Memphis (J.D. 1977)
Court Admissions:
Tennessee Supreme Court
Arkansas Supreme Court
U.S. Tax Court
U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
U.S. District Court, Western District of Tennessee
U.S. District Court, Western and Eastern Districts of Arkansas
Memberships/Board Appointments:
Member, Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel
Insurance Coverage Section, Member
Products Liability, Member
Member, Defense Research Institute
Member, American Bar Association
Member, Tennessee Bar Association
Member, Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association
Vice-President, 1990-1996
Secretary/Treasurer, 1996-1997
President, 1998-1999
Member, Memphis Bar Association
Honors and Professional Achievements:
Selected as a Fellow to the Tennessee Bar Foundation
AV rated by Martindale Hubble (1996 to present)
Listed in Best Lawyers in America for Insurance Law
Chairman, Tennessee Judicial Selection Commission 2006-2007. In 2002, the Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives appointed Mr. Tuttle to the Tennessee Judicial Selection Commission, which at the time was responsible for interviewing applicants and recommending nominees to the Governor for judicial openings for all courts of record, including, but not limited to, the Tennessee Court of Appeals and the Tennessee Supreme Court.
Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association Exceptional Performance Citation (2000)
Honorary Delegate to the 1977 Limited Constitutional Convention for the State of Tennessee
Phi Alpha Delta
Member, Memphis State Law Review (1975-1977)
Publications and Presentations
Author, “Dependents under the Tennessee Workmen’s Compensation Act,” 7 Memphis State University Law Review 66, 1977
Presenter, Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel Regional Nursing Home Project Seminars (2000)
Presenter, Tennessee Judicial Conference, Spring Meeting, 2001 and 2002. This conference is attended by all judges of record in the State of Tennessee, as well as all Courts of Appeal Judges and Tennessee Supreme Court Justices
