Personal Tort Actions; Actions Against Certain Professionals

  1. Law
  2. Tennessee Code
  3. Limitation of Actions
  4. Limitation of Actions Other Than Real
  5. Miscellaneous Limitations
  6. Personal Tort Actions; Actions Against Certain Professionals

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    1. Except as provided in subdivision (a)(2), the following actions shall be commenced within one (1) year after the cause of action accrued:
      1. Actions for libel, injuries to the person, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, or breach of marriage promise;
      2. Civil actions for compensatory or punitive damages, or both, brought under the federal civil rights statutes; and
      3. Actions for statutory penalties.
    2. A cause of action listed in subdivision (a)(1) shall be commenced within two (2) years after the cause of action accrued, if:
      1. Criminal charges are brought against any person alleged to have caused or contributed to the injury;
      2. The conduct, transaction, or occurrence that gives rise to the cause of action for civil damages is the subject of a criminal prosecution commenced within one (1) year by:
        1. A law enforcement officer;
        2. A district attorney general; or
        3. A grand jury; and
      3. The cause of action is brought by the person injured by the criminal conduct against the party prosecuted for such conduct.
    3. This subsection (a) shall be strictly construed.
  2. For the purpose of this section, in products liability cases:
    1. The cause of action for injury to the person shall accrue on the date of the personal injury, not the date of the negligence or the sale of a product;
    2. No person shall be deprived of the right to maintain a cause of action until one (1) year from the date of the injury; and
    3. Under no circumstances shall the cause of action be barred before the person sustains an injury.
    1. Actions and suits against licensed public accountants, certified public accountants, or attorneys for malpractice shall be commenced within one (1) year after the cause of action accrued, whether the action or suit is grounded or based in contract or tort.
    2. In no event shall any action or suit against a licensed public accountant, certified public accountant or attorney be brought more than five (5) years after the date on which the act or omission occurred, except where there is fraudulent concealment on the part of the defendant, in which case the action or suit shall be commenced within one (1) year after discovery that the cause of action exists.
  4. Any action to recover damages against a real estate appraiser arising out of the appraiser's real estate appraisal activity shall be brought within one (1) year from a person’s discovery of the act or omission giving rise to the action, but in no event shall an action to recover damages against a real estate appraiser be brought more than five (5) years after the date the appraisal was conducted.

Code 1858, § 2772 (deriv. Acts 1715, ch. 27, § 5); Shan., § 4469; mod. Code 1932, § 8595; Acts 1967, ch. 283, § 1; 1969, ch. 28, § 1; 1969, ch. 293, §§ 1, 2; 1972, ch. 669, § 1; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 28-304; Acts 1990, ch. 970, § 2; 1990, ch. 1056, § 2; 2014, ch. 618, §§ 1, 2; 2015, ch. 388, § 1; 2017, ch. 234, § 1.

Compiler's Notes. Acts 2014, ch. 618, § 3 provided that this act shall apply to causes of actions or suits for acts or omissions that occurred on or after July 1, 2014.


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