Tennessee Supreme Court

The Tennessee Supreme Court held that its prior decision in Coffman does not require dismissal as a matter of law of a failure-to-warn claim involving a seatbelt extender used with another manufacturer's booster seat.

The court held that its prior decision does not require dismissal as a matter of law of a failure-to-warn claim involving the foreseeable combined use of two independently sound products.

The Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed the disbarment of Connie Reguli after concluding that her sustained misconduct—including intimidation of judges and justice-system personnel, dissemination of false allegations and personal information, encouragement of harassment, defiance of court orders, and assistance in…

The Court held that the juvenile court properly transferred Adkisson for adult prosecution: the subsidiary probable-cause determination is reviewed de novo, and the transfer decision itself is reviewed for abuse of discretion.

The Tennessee Supreme Court reversed the Court of Criminal Appeals, holding that Rule 10 extraordinary review is available to media intervenors to challenge sealed judicial records and that sealing such records protected by the First Amendment requires a written order finding a compelling interest and narrowly…

The Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed the post‑conviction court’s denial of Carruthers’s request for DNA testing, finding he failed to meet the statutory criteria of the Post‑Conviction DNA Analysis Act and that the lower court did not abuse its discretion.

The Tennessee Supreme Court held that Ms. Haddon’s lawsuit is a personal‑injury action, not a contract claim, and therefore prejudgment interest is unavailable. Accordingly, the Court reversed the Court of Appeals and reinstated the trial court’s denial of prejudgment interest.

The Tennessee Supreme Court held that the circuit court’s order denying the town’s motion to join two individuals was not eligible for certification as a final judgment under Rule 54.02(1), so the Court of Appeals lacked jurisdiction to hear the appeal; the appellate decision was vacated and the case remanded for…

The Court held that Grundy County’s quarry-location Resolution was tantamount to zoning and therefore subject to the County Zoning Act’s procedural requirements. Because the County admittedly did not follow those requirements, the Resolution cannot be enforced against Tinsley’s quarry, and the trial court should have…

The Tennessee Supreme Court held that a retail store is not a statutory employer of a product vendor’s employee because the vendor‑vendee relationship is governed by the sale of goods, not labor, and therefore the exclusive remedy provision of the workers’ compensation statutes does not bar the plaintiff’s tort claim.

The Tennessee Supreme Court held that factual findings in workers’ compensation cases are reviewed de novo with a presumption of correctness, and that an aggravation injury is compensable without requiring a permanent anatomical change, provided the employee shows more than 50% causation and a reasonable degree of…

The Tennessee Supreme Court held that Gary Wygant has standing only to challenge the Gibson County split in the House map and that the split does not violate Article II, § 5 because the legislature had a rational basis.

The Tennessee Supreme Court held that attorneys who file lawsuits on behalf of clients do not personally exercise the constitutional right to petition for purposes of the Tennessee Public Participation Act.

The Tennessee Supreme Court held that attorneys who file lawsuits on behalf of clients do not personally exercise the constitutional right to petition and therefore cannot obtain dismissal of a malpractice suit under the Tennessee Public Participation Act.

The Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board’s judgment, upholding summary judgment for CHI Memorial because the employee failed to present expert medical causation evidence, and dismissed the employee’s untimely appeal of the interlocutory order denying a continuance.

The Tennessee Supreme Court held that the Houghtons had constitutional standing to sue Malibu Boats and that the trial court erred by dismissing the case on statutory standing grounds; it also found the manufacturer’s late standing challenge was forfeited, affirming the Court of Appeals and remanding for further…

The Tennessee Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals and the trial court, holding that the court has subject‑matter jurisdiction, the pension policy’s term “unexpected” is unambiguous and not subject to liberal construction, and the Board’s denial of benefits is supported by substantial and material evidence and…

The Tennessee Supreme Court held that Bobbie Jo Denson, as the children’s legal custodian, is the “claimant authorizing the notice” under the health‑care liability pre‑suit notice statute, thereby satisfying the statutory requirement; the Court also found the standing issue waived because it was not raised in the…

The Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Criminal Appeals, holding that the warrantless seizure of a handgun from the defendant’s vehicle was constitutionally permissible under the plain view doctrine.

The Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed the attorney-discipline sanction imposed after Johnson publicly filed confidential client emails with a motion to withdraw. It concluded that the record supported treating the disclosure as knowing, applying the suspension guideline, and rejecting Johnson’s challenges to the…

The Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board decision, holding that the trial court’s denial of the employee’s motion to set aside the settlement was proper because the motion was untimely and that an independent ground not raised on appeal obligates affirmation.

The Tennessee Supreme Court held that the trial court lacked authority to issue a temporary injunction that effectively modified the Supreme Court’s execution order, and therefore vacated the injunction.

The Tennessee Supreme Court reversed the Workers' Compensation Claims Commission and remanded the case, holding that Wade’s 2023 injury, sustained while traveling to authorized medical treatment for a prior compensable injury, is compensable, and that the Commission improperly denied his claim for cervical Botox…

The Tennessee Supreme Court held that Ms. Sokolosky’s appeal of her probation revocation is not moot because the violation may have collateral consequences after her sentence ended.

The Tennessee Supreme Court held that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to alter the alignment of Pervis Payne’s life sentences after his death sentences were vacated, because no statute authorized such modification of a final judgment.

The Court held that a former wife may recover reasonable attorney fees under the parties’ marital dissolution agreement and Tennessee Code Annotated section 36-5-103(c) after her former husband voluntarily nonsuited a petition seeking to end alimony.

The Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals that a claim for intrusion upon seclusion does not abate when the plaintiff dies, holding that the survival statute Tenn. Code Ann. §20‑5‑102 applies and its character‑exception does not.

The Tennessee Supreme Court held that the prior denial of class certification in EMCF I, which was affirmed on appeal, precludes relitigation of that issue in the current action under collateral estoppel.

The Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed the disciplinary hearing panel’s finding that attorney Daryl A. Gray violated multiple Rules of Professional Conduct and upheld the six‑month suspension with two months active and four months probation.

The Tennessee Supreme Court held that Article VI, Section 4 of the Tennessee Constitution requires a municipal judge to reside in the municipality to which the judge is assigned, reversing the Court of Appeals and remanding for further proceedings.

The Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed Rimmel’s conviction for attempted aggravated assault, finding sufficient evidence that he intended to cause Burke reasonable fear of imminent bodily injury by using a handgun and took a substantial step toward that assault, but reversed his felony reckless endangerment conviction…

The Tennessee Supreme Court held that the alphanumeric characters on personalized license plates are government speech, so the First Amendment’s prohibition on viewpoint discrimination does not apply; it reversed the Court of Appeals and reinstated the trial court’s judgment for the State.

The Tennessee Supreme Court held that a brief’s failure to repeat record citations in its argument section does not constitute a waiver of the issues, vacated the Court of Appeals’ dismissal and remanded for consideration of the appeal on the merits.

The Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board’s order denying Mark Gray increased disability benefits. The Court held that the trial court correctly applied the statutory definition of “wages” as the hourly rate of pay, that an independent contractor who earned wages qualifies as having…

The Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s dismissal, holding that the 120‑day extension in Tenn. Code Ann. § 29‑26‑121(c) does not apply to the Saving Statute for non‑transitional plaintiffs, so Richards’ complaint was untimely.

The Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals, holding that the proper standard for piercing the corporate veil is the three‑element test from Continental Bankers Life Insurance Co. of the South v. Bank of Alamo, not the Allen factors, and that the complaint failed to plead the required elements.

The Tennessee Supreme Court held that the statutory list of offenses in the definition of “crime of violence” is illustrative, that robbery can be a crime of violence when the jury finds it was committed with violence, and that the determination of whether a prior robbery conviction qualifies as a crime of violence is…

The Tennessee Supreme Court dismissed the interlocutory appeal as moot because Dr. Aston had produced all surveillance videos, eliminating any live controversy, and vacated the lower courts' orders. The Court declined to dismiss the underlying complaint, remanding for further proceedings consistent with the order.

The Tennessee Supreme Court held that Pharma Conference Education, Inc.’s promise to produce pharmaceutical continuing‑education programs “as is feasible” provides adequate consideration, overturning the lower courts’ finding of an illusory promise. The Court applied the statutory presumption of consideration in Tenn.

The Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, holding that Brad Wigdor's facial constitutional challenges to the Workers' Compensation Reform Act of 2013 fail because the statutes pass rational‑basis review and the Open Courts Clause does not limit legislative action; the Court also…