Personal Injury Law

Fax Filing of Affidavit Not Sufficient

By John A. Day

The Eastern Section of our Court of Appeals has ruled that Rule 5A(4)(c) of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure means what it says and that a party cannot fax file an affidavit opposing a motion for summary judgment .

Rule 5A (4)(c) says that “The following documents shall not be filed in the trial court by facsimile transmission: . . . (c) A will or codicil to a will; a bond; or any pleading or document requiring an official seal . . . .”     Affidavits require a seal.

A technicality?  Certainly.  The rule?  Certainly.  Are you ever going to take the chance of filing an affidavit by fax just to argue to the Tennessee Supreme Court that a trial judge should not follow the rule?  Nope.

The case is Wilson v. Schwind,  No. E2007-00305-COA-R3-CV  (Tenn. Ct. App. 12/28/07).  Read the opinion here.

Full post as published by Day on Torts on January 14, 2008 (boomark / email).