(Download) "Cross v. City of Memphis" by In the Supreme Court of Tennessee at Jackson ~ Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Cross v. City of Memphis
- Author : In the Supreme Court of Tennessee at Jackson
- Release Date : January 20, 2000
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 58 KB
Description
This is an appeal from the Circuit Court for Shelby County which, following a bench trial, allocated 100% fault to the City of Memphis for an accident in which Georgia Cross was injured. On appeal, the Court of Appeals applied a "clearly erroneous" standard of review and affirmed the judgment of the trial court. We granted the Citys application for permission to appeal. We hold that, when reviewing a trial courts findings of fact, an appellate court must apply the de novo standard of review contained in Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 13(d). To the extent that it permits an appellate court to apply a clearly erroneous standard of review, Coln v. City of Savannah, 966 S.W.2d 34 (Tenn. 1998), is clarified. In addition, the clearly erroneous language of Wright v. City of Knoxville, 898 S.W.2d 177 (Tenn. 1995), is limited to jury cases. Having reviewed the record and applying the relevant standard of review, we also hold that the trial court and the Court of Appeals erred in allocating 100% fault to the City of Memphis. We conclude that Georgia Cross should be allocated 20% fault for the accident in this case, that the City of Memphis should be allocated 80% fault, and that the claims of both Georgia and Norman Cross should be reduced to reflect the appropriate allocation of fault. Accordingly, we reverse the judgments of the trial court and the Court of Appeals and remand to the trial court for further proceedings.