Brandon Coleman v. CBL & Associates, Inc.

Syllabus

This interlocutory appeal concerns the relation back doctrine under Tennessee Rule of CivilProcedure 15.03. The plaintiffs sued a corporate entity for premises liability. Thecorporate defendant successfully moved for summary judgment on grounds that it did notown the subject property. The plaintiffs then filed a motion to alter or amend in which theysought leave to amend their complaint to name a separate corporate entity as a defendant.The trial court granted the plaintiffs' motion, finding that the initial mistake was amisnomer and that the plaintiffs were not seeking to add a new party even though thedefendant to be added was a distinct corporate entity. The defendants sought permissionto file an interlocutory appeal, which the trial court granted. The record contains noevidence that the separate corporate entity named by the plaintiffs in their amendedpleading received timely notice of the plaintiffs' lawsuit. We therefore reverse thejudgment of the trial court.