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Dalton v. Dale3/4/2003
On November 2, 1999, Plaintiff, M. Charleston Dalton, was driving her 1995 Jaguar XJ6 automobile southward on Cleghorn Avenue in Davidson County, Tennessee. When she approached the intersection of Cleghorn Avenue and Abbott Martin Road, she stopped her vehicle with the intention of turning left. Defendant, Gerald W. Dale, was, at that time, driving his 1993 Toyota Corolla automobile southward on Cleghorn Avenue and struck the Dalton Jaguar from behind. William A. Dalton and M. Charleston Dalton filed suit against Gerald Dale on October 31, 2000, seeking compensatory damages for personal injury and damages to the Jaguar. On January 11, 2001, Dale answered the Complaint essentially admitting fault but contesting the amount of damages.
Tennessee Farmer's Mutual Insurance Company, as uninsured motorist carrier for Plaintiffs was joined pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 56-7-1206. Tennessee Farmers Mutual filed an answer denying the uninsured motorist status of Defendant and cross-claimed against him on its subrogation claim for medical expenses, repair of the Jaguar, and rental cost of a replacement vehicle.
On November 4, 2001, an Agreed Order was entered providing, "The parties agree that this case will be set for a settlement conference on March 20, 2002 at 9:00 a.m. The parties agree that this case will be set for trial on April 30, 2002. The trial of this matter is expected to take two (2) days."
On February 13, 2002, Plaintiffs filed a Motion to Amend the Complaint asserting the trial date of April 30, 2002 and,further, that the parties had settled all issues except the issue of the diminution in value of Mrs. Dalton's XJ6. The Motion also asserted that the uninsured motorist carrier had been released and that Plaintiffs wished to withdraw their jury demand. Leave was granted to amend, and an Amended Complaint was filed reducing the claim to one seeking only damages for diminution of value of the Jaguar.
On February 13, 2002, Plaintiffs filed a Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 12.03 on the issue of liability. On that same date, Plaintiff filed a Motion pursuant to Rule 56 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure seeking summary judgment in the amount of $10,000 for diminution of value to the Jaguar. In their memorandum in support of this Motion for Summary Judgment, Plaintiffs asserted:
2. For diminution in value of their car, Plaintiffs formally served on Defendant's counsel on February 28, 2001, the attached letter of April 15, 2000, from their expert Barry Smith of Thoroughbred Motorcars as to the issue of the amount of diminished value sustained by the Plaintiffs' automobile (Mr. Smith's opinion is $10,000.00 in damages).
3. As of the filing of this motion, the Defendant has offered no expert as to diminished value. This Court entered an Agreed Scheduling Order on May 21, 2001 giving the Defendant until September 29, 2001 for Rule 26 disclosure. As Defendant either does not wish to offer an expert on the only issue remaining in this trial or is in excess of four (4) months late in doing so, the only proof available at trial on the issue will be the opinion offered in the letter attached.
On the following day, Plaintiffs filed with the court a letter from Barry Smith, General Manager of Thoroughbred Motorcars of Nashville dated April 15, 2000, providing:
After inspection of this 1995 Jaguar VIN #SAJKX1742SC727436 I have determined that this vehicle has received extensive damage to the rear of the vehicle. The repair work appears to be satisfactory; however, when a luxury automobile is involved in an accident of this severity the value
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