Pauper's Oath

  1. Law
  2. Tennessee Code
  3. Civil Procedure
  4. Costs
  5. Pauper's Oath

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  1. Any civil action may be commenced by a resident of this state without giving security as required by law for costs and without the payment of litigation taxes due by:
    1. Filing the following oath of poverty:

      I,  , do solemnly swear under penalties of perjury, that owing to my poverty, I am not able to bear the expense of the action which I am about to commence, and that I am justly entitled to the relief sought, to the best of my belief;

      and

    2. Filing an accompanying affidavit of indigency as prescribed by court rule.
  2. The filing of a civil action without paying the costs or taxes or giving security for the costs or taxes does not relieve the person filing the action from responsibility for the costs or taxes but suspends their collection until taxed by the court.

Code 1858, § 3192 (deriv. Acts 1821, ch. 22, §§ 1, 2; 1829, ch. 88, § 1); Acts 1891, ch. 221, § 1; 1897, ch. 100, § 1; 1901, ch. 126, § 1; 1903, ch. 197, § 1; Shan., § 4928; Code 1932, § 9080; Acts 1957, ch. 20, § 1; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 20-1629; Acts 1983, ch. 393, § 1; 1995, ch. 242, § 1.

Rule Reference. This section is referred to in Rule 29 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Tennessee.

This section is referred to in Rule XV of the Rules of Court for Divisions I Through VI of the Shelby County Court of General Sessions.

Textbooks. Gibson's Suits in Chancery (7th ed., Inman), §§ 124, 331.

Pritchard on Wills and Administration of Estates (4th ed., Phillips and Robinson), §§ 346, 347, 701.

Tennessee Forms (Robinson, Ramsey and Harwell), No. 1-4-3.

Tennessee Jurisprudence, 2 Tenn. Juris., Appeal and Error, §§ 63-66, 69, 75, 199; 3 Tenn. Juris., Attachment and Garnishment, § 33; 5 Tenn. Juris., Certiorari, § 49; 6 Tenn. Juris., Clerks of Court, § 3; 7 Tenn. Juris., Corporations, § 99; 9 Tenn. Juris., Divorce and Alimony, § 2; 21 Tenn. Juris., Recovery of Personal Property, § 14.

Law Reviews.

The Pauper's Oath in Appeals From General Sessions Court (Robert A. Lanier), 19 No. 2 Tenn. B.J. 17 (1983).

Attorney General Opinions. The provisions of subsection (b), requiring prepayment of a cash bond regardless of indigency by any person seeking an absolute divorce, are unconstitutional. OAG 87-68 (4/15/87)

Cited: Priest v. Union Agency, 174 Tenn. 304, 125 S.W.2d 142, 1938 Tenn. LEXIS 93 (1939); In re Wilson, 314 F. Supp. 271, 1970 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11964 (E.D. Tenn. 1970); Dungan v. Dungan, 579 S.W.2d 183, 1979 Tenn. LEXIS 424 (Tenn. 1979); Elmwood Apts. v. Woodson, — S.W.3d —, 2011 Tenn. App. LEXIS 196 (Tenn. Ct. App. Apr. 19, 2011).


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