Justia Tennessee Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Plaintiff filed suit in the general sessions court seeking damages sustained in an automobile accident. Plaintiff also notified her uninsured/underinsured motorist carrier of her suit. After deciding that her damages exceeded the general sessions court's jurisdictional limit, Plaintiff requested the general sessions court to dismiss her suit. The court dismissed Plaintiff's suit, and Plaintiff perfected a de novo appeal to the circuit court. After Plaintiff accepted Defendant's settlement offer, Plaintiff's insurance carrier moved to dismiss Plaintiff's underinsured motorist claim because her settlement with Defendant equaled the amount of damages she had sought in general sessions court. The trial court granted the insurance company's motion because Plaintiff failed to file an amended complaint increasing the amount of her damages claim. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that because Plaintiff failed to amend to increase the amount of damages beyond those specified in her general sessions warrant, the trial court did not err by dismissing her claims against the insurance company. View "Brown v. Roland" on Justia Law