Kampmeyer et al. v. State of Tennessee (Failure to Give Notice of Loss of Consortium Claim in Case Before Claims Commission)

Style: Stephen Kampmeyer et al. v. State of Tennessee

TSC Docket Number: M2019-01196-SC-R11-CV

Supreme Court Opinion Date:  January 13, 2022  (8.5 months after oral argument)

Opinion of the TSC: https://www.tncourts.gov/sites/default/files/opinion_-_filed_kampmeyer_et_al_v_state_of_tn_updated.pdf

TSC Summary of the Opinion:

This case involves claims against the State of Tennessee asserted by a husband and wife. The claimant husband suffered injuries when his car collided with a Tennessee state vehicle parked in the roadway. He gave written notice of his claim to the Tennessee Division of Claims and Risk Management. The Division did not resolve it, so the Division transferred the claim to the Tennessee Claims Commission. The husband and wife then filed a complaint with the Claims Commission. The complaint contained a loss of consortium claim by the wife that was not in the written notice the husband gave to the Division of Claims and Risk Management. The Claims Commission complaint was filed within the applicable one-year statute of limitations. The Claims Commission granted the State’s motion to dismiss the wife’s loss of consortium claim as time-barred because she did not give the Division of Claims and Risk Management written notice of her claim within the limitations period. The Court of Appeals affirmed. The claimants appeal, relying on the holding in Hunter v. State, No. 01-A-01-9210-BC00425, 1993 WL 133240 (Tenn. Ct. App. Apr. 28, 1993), that a complaint filed with the Claims Commission within the statute of limitations fulfills the requirement in Tennessee Code Annotated § 9-8-402(a)(1) that claimants give timely written notice of their claim against the State to the Division of Claims and Risk Management. We reject this argument, overrule Hunter v. State, and affirm the Claims Commission’s dismissal of the wife’s claim for loss of consortium.

Link to Court of Appeals Opinion: https://www.tncourts.gov/sites/default/files/kampmeyer.steven.opn_.pdf

Summary by the Court of Appeals:  

Appellants, Husband and Wife, filed a complaint for damages, including Wife’s loss of consortium claim, with the Tennessee Claims Commission. The State filed a Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 12.02(6) motion to dismiss Wife’s loss of consortium claim because she did not file notice of her claim with the Division of Claims Administration within the applicable statute of limitations. The Claims Commission dismissed Wife’s claim for failure to comply with the notice requirement. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 9-8- 402(b). Discerning no error, we affirm.

Permission to Appeal Granted: January 13, 2021

Appellants’ Briefs Filed:  February 12, 2021

Appellees’ Briefs Filed: March 11, 2021

Appellants’ Reply Brief Filed:  None

Appellees’ Reply Brief Filed:  None

Amicus Briefs Permitted:  None

Oral Argument Date: April 28, 2021

Link to Oral Argument Video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foTlgofzH-E