(a) If the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that a person filing a civil action is an abusive civil action plaintiff, and that any or all civil actions filed by the abusive civil action plaintiff against the abusive civil action defendant that are pending before the court are abusive civil actions, the civil actions shall be dismissed.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 29-41-106

  • Abusive civil action: means a civil action filed by a plaintiff against a defendant with whom the plaintiff shares a civil action party relationship primarily to harass or maliciously injure the defendant and at least one (1) of the following factors are applicable:
    (A) Claims, allegations, and other legal contentions made in the civil action are not warranted by existing law or by a reasonable argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law, or the establishment of new law. See Tennessee Code 29-41-101
  • Abusive civil action plaintiff: means a person who files a civil action that a court of record has determined to be an abusive civil action and against whom prefiling restrictions have been imposed pursuant to this chapter. See Tennessee Code 29-41-101
  • Civil action: means a civil action, as defined in Rule 2 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure. See Tennessee Code 29-41-101
  • Civil action defendant: means a person or persons against whom a civil action has been filed that a court of record has determined to be an abusive civil action and imposed prefiling restrictions against the abusive civil action plaintiff pursuant to this chapter. See Tennessee Code 29-41-101
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. Source:
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • 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.
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
(b) In addition to dismissal of any pending abusive civil action within the jurisdiction of the court, the court shall:

(1) Tax all costs of any abusive civil action pending in the court at the time of the court’s finding pursuant to subsection (a) against the abusive civil action plaintiff;
(2) Award the civil action defendant reasonable attorney fees and all reasonable costs of defending the abusive civil action; and
(3) Impose prefiling restrictions upon any civil action the abusive civil action plaintiff attempts to file for a period of not less than forty-eight (48) months nor more than seventy-two (72) months.
(c) If a civil action defendant alleges that a claim is an abusive civil action or that the plaintiff is an abusive civil action plaintiff, and the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the action was not an abusive civil action or that the plaintiff is not an abusive civil action plaintiff, the court may grant to the plaintiff such remedies as may be just, including granting judgment in favor of the plaintiff, granting partial judgment in favor of the plaintiff, or allowing factual interpretations in favor of the plaintiff.
(d) If a civil action defendant alleges that a claim is an abusive civil action or that the plaintiff is an abusive civil action plaintiff, and the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the action was not an abusive civil action or that the plaintiff is not an abusive civil action plaintiff, the court may:

(1) Tax all costs related to litigating the issue of whether the action is an abusive civil action or whether the plaintiff is an abusive civil action plaintiff, against the civil action defendant who made the claim; and
(2) Award the civil action plaintiff reasonable attorney fees and all reasonable costs of defending the claim that the action was an abusive civil action or that the plaintiff was an abusive civil action plaintiff.
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