 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Mills v. Wong11/21/2003
ourt ruled that " o the extent that the Bowers dicta can be read to toll any statute of repose for mental incompetency under Tennessee Code Annotated section 28-1-106, however, it is overruled." Penley, 31 S.W.3d at 188. As a result, this Court will follow the rationale and holding as enumerated in the Penley decision.
Whether Due Process requires tolling the Statute of Repose
Mr. Mills also contends that due process requires tolling the medical malpractice statute of repose due to his suffering from mental incompetency. Mr. Mills finds support for his argument in the Tennessee Supreme Court's decision of Seals v. State of Tenn., 23 S.W.3d 272 (Tenn. 2000). In Seals, the petitioner pled guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Id. at 274. Over a year after his conviction, the petitioner filed for post-conviction relief contending ineffective assistance of counsel and that his guilty plea was not of his own volition. Id. The trial court dismissed the post-conviction relief petition because it was filed outside the post-conviction relief one-year statute of limitation. Id. The petitioner appealed the trial court's decision and the Tennessee Supreme Court ultimately held that due process does require tolling the post conviction relief statute of limitation when a petitioner suffers from mental incompetency. See id. at 274-80. In the due process analysis, the court looked to the petitioner's private interests at stake which it determined to be the "opportunities to attack the convictions and sentences of incarceration on the ground that the petitioner deprived [of his] constitutional rights during the conviction process." Id. at 277. While post-conviction relief may be characterized as a civil action, all the substantive rights involved are those stemming from a criminal action and protected by rules of criminal procedure. This Court is not willing to extend the due process analysis used in Seals to a case involving the civil medical malpractice statute of repose.
Conclusion
In light of the foregoing, we hold that mental incompetency does not require tolling of the medical malpractice statute of repose. Accordingly, the trial court's grant of Defendants' motion for summary judgment is affirmed. Costs of this appeal are taxed to the appellants, Frank Fetzer Mills and Rebecca Smith Mills, and their surety, for which execution may issue if necessary.
Page 1 2 3 Tennessee Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|