(a) Any cause of action belonging to an insured person against the insured’s automobile liability insurance carrier, based upon the negligence or bad faith of the insurance carrier in failing or refusing to settle any claim against the insured person within the limits of the insured’s automobile liability insurance policy, shall survive the death of the insured person and shall pass to the insured’s personal representative.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 20-5-118

  • Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Personal representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
  • Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
(b) Any cause of action within the purview of subsection (a) shall by operation of law be assigned to and be an asset belonging to any trustee in bankruptcy, receiver or other person acting in a representative capacity for the creditors of the insured person, and the cause of action may be filed and maintained by the trustee, receiver or other person acting in a representative capacity for the creditors of the insured person in the trustee’s, receiver’s or representative’s own name as the representative in any court having jurisdiction and venue of the cause of action against the automobile liability insurance carrier of the insured person.
(c) No action within the purview of subsection (a) now pending or hereafter filed in any court of this state shall be abated or dismissed by any court upon the grounds that the action is or was not assignable by the insured person to one (1) of the persons or class of persons as set out in subsections (a) and (b).
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