Trial Court's Grant of the Defense's Motion for Summary Judgment Upheld on Appeal Because of the Plaintiff's Untimely Response Thereto

The Tennessee Court of Appeals has released its opinion in Brecker v. Story, No. M2023-01640-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan. 27. 2025).  The syllabus reads:

The plaintiff filed this lawsuit against his former attorney and her law firm, alleging legal malpractice and related claims. The defendants filed a motion for summary judgment, supported by the affidavit of the defendant-attorney and various other documents. Just days before the hearing on the motion for summary judgment, the plaintiff filed an untimely response to the motion for summary judgment along with voluminous exhibits. The defendants asked the trial court to disregard the late-filed exhibits and grant them summary judgment. The trial court found that the plaintiff’s response was untimely and deemed it stricken. In the absence of a response, the trial court also took the defendants’ statements of undisputed material facts as true. It then examined each of the causes of action asserted by the plaintiff and concluded that no genuine issues of material fact existed and that the defendants were entitled to judgment as a matter of law on all claims. The plaintiff appeals. We affirm and remand for further proceedings.

Here is a link to the slip opinion: Majority Opinion - M2023-01640-COA-R3-CV.pdf.

NOTE: This is a must-read decision for any lawyer who handles cases that are governed by the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure. 

New Health Care Liability Action Opinion: Grant of Summary Judgment to the Defense Upheld on Appeal Due to the Statute of Repose Barring the Claims and the Exception to the Statute of Repose, Fraudulent Concealment, Did Not to Apply

The Tennessee Court of Appeals recently released its opinion in Estate of Rowe v. Wellmont Health System, No. E2024-00431-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 11, 2024). The syllabus from the slip opinion reads: 

Paul David Rowe was not informed of a radiology report, which revealed two masses in his kidneys indicative of renal cancer, for five years. Mr. Rowe passed away after suit was filed, but his wife, Sharon K. Rowe, both individually and as the administrator ad litem of his estate, (“Plaintiffs”) maintained a health care liability action against the allegedly negligent parties, Wellmont Health System d/b/a Wellmont Bristol Regional Medical Center (“Wellmont”), Carl W. Harris, Jr., D.O. (“Dr. Harris”), and Northeast Tennessee Emergency Physicians [] (collectively, “Defendants”) in the Circuit Court for Sullivan County (“the Trial Court”). Defendants filed two separate motions for summary judgment, arguing that the three-year statute of repose barred Plaintiffs’ action. Plaintiffs raised the defense of fraudulent concealment. The Trial Court granted the motions for summary judgment finding that Defendants had no actual knowledge until 2015 that Mr. Rowe had or might have had cancer in 2010, and therefore, had nothing to fraudulently conceal. Plaintiffs appealed. We affirm.

Here is a link to that opinion: Estate of Paul Rowe Et Al. v. Wellmont Health System Et Al. Opinion.pdf.

NOTE: This recent opinion on fraudulent concealment in the health-care-liability-action (f/k/a medical malpractice action) context is a must read for any lawyer who handles these types of cases where Tennessee substantive law applies.