Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-5-102 (2026)
Actions surviving death of party
✓ current as of May 2026
No civil action commenced, whether founded on wrongs or contracts, except actions for wrongs affecting the character of the plaintiff, shall abate by the death of either party, but may be revived; nor shall any right of action arising hereafter based on the wrongful act or omission of another, except actions for wrongs affecting the character, be abated by the death of the party wronged; but the right of action shall pass in like manner as the right of action described in § 20-5-106.
Code 1858, § 2846 (deriv. Acts 1835-1836, ch. 77, § 1); Shan., §4569; Code 1932, § 8694; Acts 1967, ch. 121, § 1; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 20-602.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 36
cases (12 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). “§§ 20-5-102, -106 and - 108, construed together, direct that the funds recovered pass to the next of kin free from the claims of creditors and that he qualifies as decedent’s next of kin for the purposes of distribution under Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 20-5-106 and -108.”
Est. of Sanders v. Jones, 362 F. Supp. 3d 463 (W.D. Tenn. 2019). “In 1874, the Tennessee Supreme Court interpreted this exception to survivorship as encompassing a claim for common law malicious prosecution because a plaintiff's "reputation or character, in contemplation of law, was affected by the wrongs complained of in the declaration," and…”
Jordan v. Baptist Three Rivers Hosp., 984 S.W.2d 593 (Tenn. 1999). “Specifically, Tenn.Code Ann. § 20-5-102, the direct descendent of the 1836 statute, provides that [n]o civil action commenced, whether founded on wrongs or contracts, except actions for wrongs affecting the character of the plaintiff, shall abate by the death of either party .”
Can Do, Inc. Pension & Profit Sharing Plan & Successor Plans v. Manier, Herod, Hollabaugh & Smith, 922 S.W.2d 865 (Tenn. 1996). “For example, claims for personal injuries survive, pursuant to Tenn.Code Ann. § 20-5-102 (1994), but generally are not assignable.”
Katherine C. Dubis v. Yolanda E. Loyd, 540 S.W.3d 4 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2016). “may be revived” and “the right of action shall pass in like manner as the right of action described in § 20-5-106.”
Miller v. Niblack, 942 S.W.2d 533 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1996). “T.C.A. § 20-5-102 provides: Actions surviving death of party.”
Rolen v. Wood Presbyterian Home, Inc., 174 S.W.3d 158 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2005). “Tenn.Code Ann. § 20-5-102 deals with survival of actions, and states, in pertinent part: “No civil action commenced, whether founded on wrongs or contracts, .”
Leffew v. Mayes, 685 S.W.2d 288 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1984). “T.C.A., § 20-5-102. Actions surviving death of party.”
Gann v. Key, 758 S.W.2d 538 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1988). “T.C.A. § 20-5-102; Akers v. Akers, 84 Tenn.”
Epperson v. City of Humboldt, 140 F. Supp. 3d 676 (W.D. Tenn. 2015). “be abated by the death of the party wronged; but the right of action shall pass in like manner as the right of action described in [Tennessee Code Annotated] § 20-5-106.”
Medrano v. MCDR, INC., 366 F. Supp. 2d 625 (W.D. Tenn. 2005). “if the cause of action survives or continues.” Where a cause of action based on the wrongful act or omission of another exists, only “actions for wrongs affecting the character, [shall] be abated by the death of the party wronged.”
Claybrook v. Birchwell, 199 F.3d 350 (6th Cir. 2000). “1984); Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 20-5-102 & 106 (1994 injuries allegedly caused to him by reason of any constitutional tort & Supp.”
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