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.