Martha Graham v. Clinton Caples et al.

The issue presented in this interlocutory appeal is whether the plaintiff's suit for damages was timely filed. The plaintiff and the defendant were involved in a traffic accident on November 4, 2006. Within a year of the accident, on November 2, 2007, the plaintiff filed a civil warrant with the general sessions court clerk against the defendant driver and, erroneously, against herself, seeking damages for personal injuries and property damages. The warrant, although marked "filed," was not signed by the clerk, had no docket number or issuance date, and was not served on the defendants. Thereafter, on November 13, 2007, the plaintiff filed an "Amended Civil Warrant" against the defendant driver and the defendant owner of the vehicle, seeking damages for personal injuries and property damages. This warrant was properly signed by the clerk, had a docket number and an issuance date, and was served on the defendants. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss, asserting that the first warrant was not valid and that the second warrant had been filed outside the one-year statute of limitations for personal injuries. The trial court granted the motion to dismiss as to the defendant owner and denied the motion as to the defendant driver. We hold that pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated sections 16-15-710 and 16-15- 716, a civil action in the general sessions court is not commenced for purposes of tolling the statute of limitations until the warrant is issued by the clerk. Because the original warrant filed by the plaintiff on November 2, 2007, was not issued by the clerk, the plaintiff's cause of action was not commenced at that time. The plaintiff's claim for personal injuries in the "Amended Civil Warrant" filed on November 13, 2007, was not timely filed within the oneyear statute of limitations period and must be dismissed. The plaintiff's claim for property damages in the "Amended Civil Warrant" was timely filed within the three-year statute of limitations period.