Day on Torts

Municipal traffic ticket did not extend statute of limitations for car accident case.

Where the defendant in a car accident case received several citations for violations of city traffic laws, the statute of limitations was not extended to two years because the citations were civil in nature, not criminal.

In Sandridge v. Henderson, No. W2024-00242-COA-R10-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 19, 2024), the plaintiff and defendant were involved in a car accident. In connection with the wreck, the defendant received citations for violating municipal traffic ordinances. These citations included “no driver’s license, failure to maintain proper control, and failure to show financial responsibility.”

The plaintiff filed this personal injury action more than one year after the accident. Although the statute of limitations for a personal injury claim is typically one year, the plaintiff asserted that the limitations period here was extended to two years under Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-104(a)(2)(A) due to the traffic citations. The trial court agreed, ruling that the citations were criminal in nature and therefore triggered the extended statute of limitations. The Court of Appeals reversed this ruling.

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