ISLAND PROPERTIES ASSOCIATES v. THE REAVES FIRM, INC., d/b/aREAVES, SWEENEY, AND MARCUM, ET AL. (Tenn. Ct. App. March 6, 2013)
This is a surveyor negligence case. Appellee developer filed suit against Appellant
surveyor, claiming two distinct acts of negligence on surveyor’s part.
The first claim of negligence involved an error allegedly made by surveyor in a 1993 survey. The second claim
of negligence involved Appellee’s claim that, upon discovering the 1993 survey error in a
subsequent survey that it performed in 2002, surveyor had a duty to inform Appellee of the
error.
We conclude that any negligence arising from the 1993 survey claim is barred by the
statute of repose, Tennessee Code Annotated Section 28-3-114(a). Despite Appellant’s numerous motions to exclude this cause of action as time barred, the trial court ultimately allowed the 1993 negligent survey claim to be tried to the jury. The jury was then instructed as to both claims of negligence and the jury returned a verdict, wherein it found Appellant surveyor to be forty percent at fault and awarded damages in favor of Appellee. Appellant surveyor appeals.
Because the jury was improperly instructed and was allowed to consider the time-barred claim of negligence, we conclude that the jury was mislead by the instructions. Accordingly, we vacate the judgment on the jury verdict and remand for a new trial. Vacated and remanded.
Opinion available at:
https://www.tba.org/sites/default/files/islandproperties_030613.pdf
