Day on Torts
Where the trial court granted summary judgment to the defendant in a car accident case based on the plaintiff’s lack of sufficient evidence as to breach of duty and causation, and the plaintiff’s appellate brief failed to mention duty at all, summary judgment was affirmed.
In Metcalf v. Woodard, No. W2024-01321-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Oct. 29, 2025), the plaintiff was injured in a motor vehicle collision with a UPS tractor trailer. The plaintiff filed a suit asserting several claims, although she eventually voluntarily dismissed all claims except general negligence. The trial court issued a scheduling order, and the plaintiff failed to disclose any expert witnesses by the relevant deadline. The plaintiff identified expert witnesses eleven months after the deadline, after which the defendants moved for summary judgment. The trial court held a hearing and granted summary judgment to the defendants, ruling that the plaintiff had presented insufficient evidence to establish the elements of breach of duty or causation.
The plaintiff appealed the grant of summary judgment, but in her statement of issues, she focused solely on the exclusion of her causation experts. The plaintiff’s appellate brief “fail[ed] to make any reference to ‘breach’ or ‘duty.’” By failing to make any argument that she established the essential element of breach of duty, the plaintiff waived that argument on appeal. Because summary judgment was granted on two bases, including the failure to show breach of duty, summary judgment was affirmed due to the plaintiff’s failure to address that issue on appeal.
After finding that the appeal was frivolous and awarding reasonable fees and costs to the defendants, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s ruling in whole.
This opinion was released 2.5 months after oral arguments.