Case Number
E2001-00254-SC-R11-CV
The issue in this appeal is whether the trial court and the Court of Appeals erred in refusing to apply the discovery rule to the three-year statute of limitations for conversion of negotiable instruments and in granting the defendant's motion for partial summary judgment as to checks allegedly converted more than three years before the plaintiffs filed suit on August 29 and 30, 1996. After fully and carefully considering the record and the relevant authorities, we conclude that the discovery rule does not apply to toll the statute of limitations when the claim alleged is conversion of a negotiable instrument. This conclusion applies both to the former statute of limitations, Tennessee Code Annotated section 28-3-105, and the current statute of limitations, Tennessee Code Annotated section 47-3-118(g). Therefore, in the absence of fraudulent concealment, a cause of action for conversion of a negotiable instrument accrues, and the statute of limitations begins to run, when the instrument is negotiated. With respect to the plaintiffs' claim that the defendant is guilty of fraudulent concealment, we are of the opinion that the record contains no genuine issue of material fact precluding summary judgment. Accordingly, the judgment of the Court of Appeals affirming the trial court's grant of partial summary judgment to the defendant is affirmed on the separate grounds stated herein.
Originating Judge
Dale C. Workman
Case Name
Pero's Steak House v. Elizabeth Lee & 1st American Bank & 1st Tennessee Bank
Date Filed
Dissent or Concur
No
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