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Sanders v. Traver6/19/2003
e for lack of jurisdiction.
*
There is, however, a fundamental difference between filing a second lawsuit and amending an original, timely-filed complaint.
49 S.W.3d at 859 (citations omitted).
For similar reasons, we find Blount Memorial's arguments unpersuasive. As stated in Doyle, the GTLA does not require courts to ignore applicable rules of civil procedure. The GTLA specifically allows suits to be filed in circuit court, where the Rules of Civil Procedure apply. Here, as in Doyle, there is a fundamental difference between a savings statute, which effectively extends the twelve-month GTLA statute of limitations, and Rule 6.01, which merely defines the statutory period.
Moreover, as the plaintiff points out, Rule 6.01 defines the twelve-month period consistently with Tennessee Code Annotated section 1-3-102, relating to "Construction of Statutes," which declares
ยง 1-3-102. Computation of days. The time within which any act provided by law is to be done, shall be computed by excluding the first day and including the last, unless the last day is a Saturday, a Sunday, or a legal holiday, and then it shall also be excluded.
Rule 6.01 and Section 1-3-102 are nearly identical. In fact, the Compiler's Notes to Section 1-3-102 indicates that the section "may be superseded in part by . . . Tenn. R. Civ. P. 6.01." We agree with the plaintiff that, just as Section 1-3-102 appears in the "Construction of Statutes" Chapter and defines time periods, Rule 6.01 also serves to define, not extend, the period provided by statutes of limitations. Rule 6.01 is not analogous to a "savings statute." Therefore, Lynn is not controlling.
Blount Memorial further argues that the GTLA's specific twelve-month statute of limitations takes precedence over provisions of general statutes, and that Rule 6.01 should therefore not apply. However, "only statutes inconsistent with specific provisions of the GTLA are not applicable to suits filed against local governments." Lucius v. City of Memphis, 925 S.W.2d 522, 525 (Tenn. 1996) (emphasis in original). Since the GTLA has no specific provision directing how to compute the days for the twelve-month statute of limitations, Rule 6.01 and Tennessee Code Annotated section 1-3-102 may be applied to define the statutory period. Therefore, we agree with the Court of Appeals that Rule 6.01 does not impermissibly extend the GTLA's twelve-month statute of limitations. Suits under the GTLA normally are governed by the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure, see Doyle, 49 S.W.3d at 858, and Rule 6.01, which defines the twelve-month period, is no exception. Accordingly, the Court of Appeals did not err in finding that the plaintiff's complaint was timely filed.
Conclusion
For the reasons stated herein, this Court finds that a complaint is timely filed under the GTLA's twelve month statute of limitations if it is filed pursuant to the computation of time set forth in Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 6.01. Since the one year anniversary of the accrual of the cause of action occurred on a Sunday, and the following Monday was a legal holiday, the complaint was timely when filed on the following Tuesday. We therefore affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeals and remand this case to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. Costs of this appeal are taxed to the appellant, Blount Memorial Hospital, Inc., for which execution may issue if necessary.
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