(a) A governmental entity or employee shall have sixty (60) days in which to answer or otherwise respond to any claim, action, or suit brought pursuant to this chapter.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 29-20-304

  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • Claim: means any claim brought against a governmental entity or its employee as permitted by this chapter. See Tennessee Code 29-20-102
  • Employee: means and includes any official (whether elected or appointed), officer, employee or servant, or any member of any board, agency, or commission (whether compensated or not), or any officer, employee or servant thereof, of a governmental entity, including the sheriff and the sheriff's employees and, further including regular members of voluntary or auxiliary firefighting, police, or emergency assistance organizations. See Tennessee Code 29-20-102
  • Governmental entity: means any political subdivision of the state of Tennessee including, but not limited to, any municipality, metropolitan government, county, utility district, school district, nonprofit volunteer fire department receiving funds appropriated by a county legislative body or a legislative body of a municipality, human resource agency, community action agency or nonprofit corporation that administers the Head Start or Community Service Block Grant programs, public building authority, and development district created and existing pursuant to the constitution and laws of Tennessee, or any instrumentality of government created by any one (1) or more of the named local governmental entities or by an act of the general assembly. See Tennessee Code 29-20-102
(b) A claim shall be deemed to have been denied if at the end of the sixty-day period the governmental entity or its insurance carrier has failed to approve or deny the claim.