In Rye v. Women's Care Center of Memphis the Tennessee Supreme Court overruled its widely criticized decision, Hannan v. Alltel Publishing Co., 270 S.W.3d 1 (Tenn. 2008), which greatly restricted the availability of summary judgment, a procedure by which the court can determine the legal merits of a case prior to trial. Hannan caused a legislative reaction in the form of the 2011 enactment of Tenn. Code Ann.§ 20-16-101, which was intended to bring Tennessee law back in line with the federal standard applicable to motions for summary judgment. Prior to Hannan, Tennessee courts applied the federal standard, although some argue that the departure from the federal standard began with language in the court's 1993 decision in Byrd v. Hall, 847 S.W.2d 208 (Tenn. 1993).
The well written majority opinion in Rye, penned by Justice Clark, contains a lengthy review of the history of summary judgment in Tennessee and an acknowledgment that the Hannan standard was unworkable.
The AOC press release discussing the Rye decision states:
In its ruling today, the court has overruled [Hannan] and returned to a summary judgment standard consistent with cases that have interpreted Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The Court acknowledged that the “standard articulated in Hannan was unworkable and inconsistent with the history and text of Tennessee Rule 56.”
The ruling means that when a party that does not have the burden of proof at trial, and moves for summary judgment, that party can satisfy its burden by either negating an essential element of the other party’s claim or by demonstrating that the other party’s evidence at the summary judgment stage is insufficient to establish that party’s claim or defense. In other words, the moving party can prove that the claim is unfounded, or can show that there is not enough evidence for a jury to consider a genuine issue of material fact at trial.
Rye is a "must read" as it is now the definitive standard for any motion for summary judgment or response. The Rye decision makes it clear that Hannan no longer applies to any case, regardless of whether it was filed prior to July 1, 2011, the effective date of Tenn. Code Ann.§ 20-16-101.
Dan Berexa
Cornelius & Collins, LLP
Nashville, Tennessee
615-244-1440
www.cclawtn.com
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