Tennessee was not proper venue where accident occurred and defendant lived out of state.

Where a car accident occurred in another state and the defendant lived in another state, venue was not proper in Shelby County, Tennessee.

In Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Company v. Jones, No. W2024-01418-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. 30, 2026), the plaintiff insurance company insured the truck and trailer that were involved in a car accident with the defendant. The car accident occurred in Mississippi, and the defendant lived in Mississippi.

The plaintiff insurance company filed suit in Shelby County, Tennessee, where the defendant worked and was served. The plaintiff filed a motion to dismiss for improper venue under Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 12.02(3), which the trial court granted, and the Court of Appeals affirmed.

This case hinged on the interpretation of Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-4-101(a), which states: “In all civil actions of a transitory nature, unless venue is otherwise expressly provided for, the action may be brought in the county where the cause of action arose or in the county where the individual defendant resides.” The plaintiff argued that, based on an unreported Court of Appeals case, this statute did not apply to non-Tennessee residents, but the Court of Appeals disagreed.

The Court wrote that the statute in question was not ambiguous and should therefore be interpreted “according to its plain meaning.” It also explained that the case relied on by the plaintiff was decided before a statutory language change, was not decided by the Tennessee Supreme Court, was unreported, and cited no Tennessee law in its analysis. The Court found that the previous case did not control the analysis in this matter, and looking to the present language of the statute, the Court ruled that “[t]he statute provides for venue in transitory actions where the cause of action arose or the defendant resides.” (internal citation omitted).

Because the accident occurred in Mississippi and the defendant lived in Mississippi, venue was not proper in Shelby County. Dismissal was affirmed.

Tennessee Farmers’ argument barely passes the laugh test.

This opinion was released nine months after oral arguments.