New Opinion on the Discovery Rule and Governmental Tort Liability Under Tennessee Substantive Law

Today, the Tennessee Court of Appeals released its decision in Durham v. Estate of Losleben, No. W2019-01623-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 8, 2020).  The syllabus from the slip opinion reads:

A Hardin County firefighter and Appellant’s husband died after their vehicles collided. Appellant alleged that the firefighter had negligently caused the accident, and thus filed tort claims against Hardin County under a theory of vicarious liability and Tennessee’s Governmental Tort Liability Act. She filed her claims more than one year after the accident, so the trial court dismissed them as barred by the applicable one-year statute of limitations. She appeals, and we affirm.

Here is a link to the slip opinion:

http://www.tncourts.gov/sites/default/files/durhamsusanopn.pdf.

NOTE: Among other things, this opinion explains the discovery rule and how it affects the running of the one-year statute of limitations in tort actions, especially in civil actions under the Tennessee Governmental Tort Act (GTLA).  This decision reaffirms the application of the discovery rule to GTLA cases, but holds that it did not apply under the facts presented herein.  This is a very informative read in my humble opinion.