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At any time at least three (3) or more business days prior to the scheduled trial date of a civil action commenced in general sessions court, any defendant in the action may apply to have the action and all the papers of the action removed to a court having jurisdiction of appeals from courts of general sessions. A case properly removed pursuant to this section shall be tried by the appellate court in the same manner as appeals from general sessions court civil actions are currently tried, except there shall be no default or other judgment entered at the general sessions level, and except that a case removed pursuant to this section shall not be subject to any monetary jurisdictional limit that would have applied in the general sessions court if the case had not been removed.
Any defendant seeking to remove an action pursuant to subsection (a) shall file with the application an affidavit stating that the defendant has a substantial defense to the action and/or that the defendant's defense will be of such a complex or expensive nature that the interests of justice require that the defendant not be required to present the defense at the general sessions level. The affidavit shall state the grounds of the defense and why the affiant believes it to be sufficiently substantial, complex or expensive to merit the removal of the case. The affidavit and application shall also be accompanied by a cost bond sufficient to defray all costs that have accrued prior to the time application for removal is made.
If the general sessions judge finds that a defendant's defense is substantial, complex or expensive to present, and that the defendant has posted a sufficient cost bond, the judge shall order the action removed to the court that would have jurisdiction of an appeal if the action had been tried in general sessions court. The judge shall direct the clerk to promptly transmit the papers in the action to the clerk of the court to which the action is removed.
If the judge finds the defense will not be substantial, complex or expensive or that the cost bond is not sufficient, the judge shall deny the application and proceed to try the action.
If an action is removed pursuant to this section, in no event shall an objection to venue be considered by the circuit court, unless raised by a defendant in the defendant's affidavit in support of removal filed in the general sessions court.
This section does not apply in any county having a population of not less than seven hundred seventy thousand (770,000) nor more than seven hundred eighty thousand (780,000), according to the federal census of 1980 or any subsequent federal census.