(a) Any party who has suffered damages as a result of an accident may submit to the commissioner an affidavit or an accident report showing thereon the amount of damages suffered. The affidavit or accident report, when properly executed, shall, for the purpose of this chapter, be accepted by the commissioner as satisfactory evidence to indicate the amount of actual damages, unless evidence to the contrary is received, in which case the commissioner shall, for the purposes of this chapter, determine the damages from written evidence submitted to the commissioner.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 55-12-110

  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of safety, unless otherwise indicated or unless the context otherwise requires. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • 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.
  • Judgment: means any judgment that shall have become final by expiration without appeal of the time within which an appeal might have been perfected, or by final affirmation on appeal, rendered by a court of competent jurisdiction of any state or of the United States, upon a cause of action arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of any motor vehicle, for damages, including damages for care and loss of services, because of bodily injury to or death of any person, or for damages because of injury to or destruction of property, including the loss of use thereof. See Tennessee Code 55-12-102
  • 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.
  • written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) In no case shall security be required that is greater in amount than that specified in § 55-12-102, and in no event shall this security be in an amount less than five hundred dollars ($500).
(c) In any case where the amount of security required in this section is questioned by any party required to deposit security, that party shall deposit security in the maximum amount as designated in subsection (b) until the amount of actual damages suffered is determined by a final judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction.
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