Hong Samouth (Sam) Rajvongs v. Dr. Anthony Wright

M2011-01889-SC-S09-CV
Date / Time
ORAL ARGUMENTS DESCRIPTION

Lower court summary:

A patient who alleged that he had been negligently injured by his podiatrist filed a
complaint against him for malpractice, and then voluntary dismissed the complaint without
prejudice. Less than a year later, he furnished the defendant podiatrist with the sixty day
notice of potential claim required by a recently enacted statute, Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-
121(a). He subsequently refiled his complaint in reliance on his rights under the saving
statute, Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-1-105. The defendant filed a motion for summary judgment,
arguing that the complaint was time-barred under the saving statute because it was filed more
than one year after the dismissal of the original complaint. The plaintiff contended, however,
that he was entitled to the benefit of Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-121(c), which extends the
statute of limitations on medical malpractice claims by 120 days if the plaintiff has complied
with the sixty day notice requirement. The defendant responded by arguing that Tenn. Code
Ann. § 29-26-121(c) does not apply to complaints filed under the saving statute. The trial
court dismissed the defendant’s motion for summary judgment, but allowed him to file an
application for interlocutory appeal because of the novelty of the legal question involved.
After careful consideration of the relevant statutes, we hold that Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-
121(c) does apply to the saving statute, and we affirm.

Court
Supreme Court
County
Rutherford
Division
Middle Section