Day on Torts

Property owner defendants could not rely on statute of repose for defective improvements to real property.

The statute of repose for defective improvements to real property did not apply where defendants were the property owners of the pipe culvert at issue in the case.

In Clayton v. Dixon, No. M2021-00521-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. 23, 2023), plaintiff property owner sued defendants, who owned the adjacent property, “for damages allegedly caused by the installation of a pipe culvert.” Plaintiff asserted that the pipe culvert was improperly installed in 2011 and caused flooding on his property.

Plaintiff filed suit in 2019 for negligence, nuisance, and trespass. The parties entered into a settlement agreement whereby defendants installed a larger pipe, but plaintiff refused to dismiss the suit after this pipe installation. Defendants then filed a motion to dismiss as well as a counterclaim seeking specific enforcement of the settlement agreement. The parties then filed cross-motions for summary judgment, with plaintiff arguing that he was entitled to summary judgment because defendants had “violated the codes when they installed the pipe culvert,” and defendants asserting that plaintiff’s claim was barred by the statute of repose. The trial court found that “the statute of repose for defective improvements to real estate barred [plaintiff’s] action” and granted summary judgment to defendants. On appeal, summary judgment was reversed.

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