Tennessee Senate Bill SB0800

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/4/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 20, Chapter 1; Title 24, Chapter 5; Title 55, Chapter 12 and Title 56, Chapter 7, relative to civil actions.

Summary

SB0800 amends Tennessee law governing a specific civil action damages threshold by increasing the amount in Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 24-5-113(a)(3), from $4,000 to $25,000. The bill is brief and targeted: it changes one statutory dollar figure and does not create a new cause of action or alter broader civil procedure rules. The effective date is July 1, 2025. By raising the statutory amount, the bill would expand the monetary range associated with the referenced civil claim or remedy, which could affect how certain disputes are filed, valued, or resolved in Tennessee courts. The bill also references Titles 20, 24, 55, and 56 in its caption, but the operative text only amends Title 24, Chapter 5. Its practical impact is therefore limited to the specific damages provision identified in the amendment.

Impact

The bill changes Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 24-5-113(a)(3), by replacing the current $4,000 figure with $25,000. This would increase the statutory amount tied to the referenced civil action, potentially affecting litigants, insurers, and courts handling claims under that provision. No other statutory language is amended in the bill text, so the legal effect is narrow and focused on this damages threshold.

Sentiment

There is no recorded committee discussion or vote history in the provided materials, so the bill’s sentiment cannot be measured from debate or roll call data. Based on the text alone, the measure appears technical and noncontroversial, involving a straightforward update to a statutory dollar amount rather than a broader policy change.

Contention

No specific points of contention are documented in the provided transcripts or vote history. If debated, likely issues would center on whether increasing the amount from $4,000 to $25,000 is appropriate, whether it expands liability exposure too far, and how the change might affect plaintiffs, defendants, and insurers in civil cases. However, no such objections or support statements are included in the record provided.