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Frye v. Blue Ridge Neuroscience Center3/11/2002
We granted this appeal to determine whether process issued upon a second complaint satisfies Rule 3 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure when the plaintiff failed to serve process on the original complaint. After careful consideration of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure and applicable case law, we hold that a plaintiff may rely upon the initial filing date to satisfy a statute of limitations if that plaintiff, having failed to issue or serve process within thirty days of filing the complaint, continues the action by issuing new process on the original complaint as required by Rule 3. In addition, a plaintiff may request a voluntary dismissal within the one-year time period under Rule 3, without having served process, and still rely on the original date of commencement to satisfy a statute of limitations if the plaintiff serves a copy of the Notice of Voluntary Dismissal and the complaint on the defendant as required by Rule 41.01. Because the plaintiff in this case failed to comply with either Rule 3 or Rule 41.01, the plaintiff may not rely on the filing date of the original complaint for purposes of satisfying the applicable one-year statute of limitations. Accordingly, the judgment of the Court of Appeals granting the defendants summary judgment is affirmed.
Tenn. R. App. P. 11 Application for Permission to Appeal; Judgment of the Court of Appeals Affirmed.
Frank F. Drowota, III, CJ, delivered the opinion of the court, in which E. Riley Anderson, Adolpho A. Birch, Jr., Janice M. Holder, and William M. Barker, JJ, joined.
OPINION
I. Factual and Procedural Background
Plaintiff, Ernest J. Frye, was injured in an automobile accident on September 30, 1997. Dr. Gregory N. Corradino treated the plaintiff's cervical injuries until the plaintiff was released from Dr. Corradino's care on or about January 18, 1998. Thereafter, on November 25, 1998, the plaintiff filed a complaint against Dr. Corradino and Blue Ridge Neuroscience Center, P.C., ("Blue Ridge") alleging medical malpractice. That same day, the trial court clerk's office issued summonses for the defendants which were given to the plaintiff's attorney. These summonses were never returned to the clerk's office, and it is undisputed by the parties that the defendants in this case were never served with process on this complaint. Neither defendant made an appearance, nor were answers filed in the original lawsuit.
On February 26, 1999, counsel for Blue Ridge sent a proposed notice of voluntary dismissal to the plaintiff. This notice was not filed, but, on June 7, 1999, the plaintiff filed his own notice of voluntary dismissal which was granted and entered on June 8, 1999. No certificate of service was attached to the notice of voluntary dismissal, nor were the defendants provided with a copy of the original complaint as required by Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 41.01. On November 22, 1999, the plaintiff, represented by different counsel, filed a second complaint against Dr. Corradino and Blue Ridge. Summonses were issued on this second complaint on November 22, 1999, and were served on the defendants and returned to the clerk's office on November 23, 1999.
On January 21 and 31, 2000, defendants Corradino and Blue Ridge, respectively, filed separate motions for summary judgment asserting that the plaintiff's action was barred by the medical malpractice one-year statute of limitations because the plaintiff had failed to comply with Rule 3 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure by not reissuing process on the original complaint within one year of its filing. On June 30, 2000, the trial court denied the defendants' motions for summary judgment. The trial cour
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