Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-5-101 (2026)
No abatement where cause survives
✓ current as of May 2026
Actions do not abate by the death or other disability of either party, or by the transfer of any interest in the action, if the cause of action survives or continues.
Code 1858, § 2845 (deriv. Acts 1785, ch. 2, § 2; 1786, ch. 14, §1; 1819, ch. 16, §§ 1, 3; 1835-1836, ch. 77, § 1); Shan., § 4568; mod. Code 1932, § 8693; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 20-601.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 19
cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1984–2026 · leading case: Timmins v. Lindsey, 310 S.W.3d 834 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2009).
Timmins v. Lindsey, 310 S.W.3d 834 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2009). “We do not agree that the wrongful death statutes apply; rather, the settlement proceeds from the decedent’s personal injury action are part of the decedent’s estate and pass either by will, if there is one, or by the laws of intestate succession.”
Aundrey Meals Ex Rel. William Meals v. Ford Motor Co., 417 S.W.3d 414 (Tenn. 2013). “Tenn.Code Ann. §§ 20-5-101 to -120 (2009 & Supp.”
Thurmon v. Sellers, 62 S.W.3d 145 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2001). “Section 20-5-113 of the Tennessee Code provides as follows for the damages recoverable in a wrongful death action: Where a person’s death is caused by the wrongful act, fault, or omission of another, and suit is brought for damages, as provided for by §§ 20-5-106 and 20-5-107,…”
Mid-South Pavers, Inc. v. Arnco Constr., Inc., 771 S.W.2d 420 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1989). “Modern Tennessee survival law is codified at T.C.A. § 20-5-101 et seq. (1980 & Supp.1988).”
Leffew v. Mayes, 685 S.W.2d 288 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1984). “Does the cause of action asserted by Daniel survive his death? Statutes on the issue provide: T.C.A., § 20-5-101. No abatement where cause survives.”
Brock v. Warren Cnty., Tenn., 713 F. Supp. 238 (E.D. Tenn. 1989). “§ 1983 and the Tennessee *240 wrongful death statute, T.C.A. § 20-5-101, et seq., for the death of their father.”
Medrano v. MCDR, INC., 366 F. Supp. 2d 625 (W.D. Tenn. 2005). “Tennessee Code Annotated § 20-5-101 provides that “[ajctions do not abate by the death, or other disability of either party .”
Walter Joshlin v. Hollis H. Halford, III, M.D. (Tenn. Ct. App. 2019). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-5-101 abrogates the common law rule by providing that causes of action do not abate by the death of either party; this statute is a “survival statute” that permits the decedent’s cause of action to survive the death, so that the decedent, through his or her…”
Joseph P. Rusnak v. Gail Phebus (Tenn. Ct. App. 2008). “He cited Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-5-101 , which provides that civil actions “do not abate by the death, or other disability of either party, or by transfer of any interest therein, if the cause of action survives or continues.”
Gardenia Parker v. Epstein Enter., LLC (Tenn. Ct. App. 2020). ““Wrongful death in Tennessee is a statutorily-created cause of action that both preserves any action belonging to the decedent and creates a separate action that belongs to the decedent’s next-of-kin to compensate them for incidental damages suffered as a result of the…”
Landers v. U.S. Bank Nat'l Ass'n (M.D. Tenn. 2025). “” Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 20-5-101 , 20-5-102. 4 Under Tennessee law, “[r]evival by heirs of the decedent .”
Tray Simmons v. Dr. Shahidul Islam (Tenn. Ct. App. 2026). “”6 Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-5-101 ; see Tenn. Code Ann.”
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