Chapter 24: Government Tort Liability Act
1. Swanson v. Knox County, Tennessee, No. E2007-00871-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Nov. 20, 2007).
The Court's Summary:
"This case presents the issue of the applicability of Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-8-302 to a suit against a county government based on the failure of one or more of its deputy sheriffs to perform an administrative task. Ms. Swanson applied for a job with a hospital, and at the request of the hospital, the county sheriff’s department issued a criminal background report on Ms. Swanson which contained some erroneous information. The sheriff’s department corrected and reissued the report but failed to send the hospital a letter of explanation. Ms Swanson sued the county for damages
pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-8-302 . The trial court granted the county’s motion for summary judgment. Upon review, we affirm. Ms. Swanson’s suit for the “inaction” of various sheriff’s deputies is a suit for negligence, which is controlled by the Tennessee Governmental Tort Liability Act, not Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 8-8-301, et seq. No relief is available under Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-8- 302, because the “act” complained of, i.e. failure to write an explanatory letter, is not an intentional act of misconduct for which the statute affords relief." View opinion.
The Court's Summary:
"This case presents the issue of the applicability of Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-8-302 to a suit against a county government based on the failure of one or more of its deputy sheriffs to perform an administrative task. Ms. Swanson applied for a job with a hospital, and at the request of the hospital, the county sheriff’s department issued a criminal background report on Ms. Swanson which contained some erroneous information. The sheriff’s department corrected and reissued the report but failed to send the hospital a letter of explanation. Ms Swanson sued the county for damages
pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-8-302 . The trial court granted the county’s motion for summary judgment. Upon review, we affirm. Ms. Swanson’s suit for the “inaction” of various sheriff’s deputies is a suit for negligence, which is controlled by the Tennessee Governmental Tort Liability Act, not Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 8-8-301, et seq. No relief is available under Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-8- 302, because the “act” complained of, i.e. failure to write an explanatory letter, is not an intentional act of misconduct for which the statute affords relief." View opinion.