Search This Blog

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Comparative Fault: Another New Opinion on Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-1-119

The Tennessee Supreme Court recently issued its opinion in Mills v. Fulmarque, Inc., No. W2010-00933-SC-R11-CV (Tenn. Feb. 24, 2012). The summary of the case form the slip opinion is as follows:

We accepted this appeal to determine whether the phrase “a defendant named . . . within the applicable statute of limitations” in Tennessee Code Annotated section 20-1-119(a) (2009) refers only to a defendant sued within the statute of limitations applicable to the plaintiff’s claim or also refers to defendants not sued within the statute of limitations applicable to the plaintiff’s claim, but added to the lawsuit during the ninety-day period provided by section 20-1-119(a). Whether section 20-1-119(a) affords successive ninety-day windows during which a plaintiff may amend a complaint to add a new nonparty defendant as a comparative tortfeasor is an issue of first impression. Because we answer that question in the negative, we reverse the Court of Appeals and reinstate the judgment of the trial court granting Fulmarque’s motion for summary judgment and dismissing this action.
Here's a link to the majority opinion:


Justice Wade issued a dissent, which can be found at this link:

No comments: