Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 24-5-111 (2026)
Negligence of bailee
✓ current as of May 2026
In all actions by a bailor against a bailee for loss or damage to personal property, proof by the bailor that the property was delivered to the bailee in good condition and that it was not returned or redelivered according to the contract, or that it was returned or redelivered in a damaged condition, shall constitute prima facie evidence that the bailee was negligent, provided the loss or damage was not due to the inherent nature of the property bailed.
C. Supp. 1950, § 9746.1; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 24-515.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 12
cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1981–2025 · leading case: Allen v. Hyatt Regency-Nashville Hotel, 668 S.W.2d 286 (Tenn. 1984).
Allen v. Hyatt Regency-Nashville Hotel, 668 S.W.2d 286 (Tenn. 1984). “Under these facts we are of the opinion that the courts below correctly concluded that a bailment for hire had been created, and that upon proof of nondelivery appellee was entitled to the statutory presumption of negligence provided in T.C.A. § 24-5-111. We recognize that there…”
McGee v. Nashville White Trucks, Inc., 633 S.W.2d 311 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1981). “This is a classic case for application of T.C.A. § 24-5-111 as follows: Negligence of bailee.”
Mathews v. Cumberland Chevrolet Co., 640 S.W.2d 582 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1982). “The plaintiff relied upon T.C.A. § 24-5-111 to constitute prima facie evidence that defendant was negligent.”
Ladd v. Nashville Booting, LLC (M.D. Tenn. 2021). “Citing Tenn. Code Ann. § 24-5-111 , Anderson notes that a plaintiff- bailor establishes a prima facie case of negligent bailment if it proves, among other things, that there was damage to the property.”
Bart Kincade v. Jiffy Lube (Tenn. Ct. App. 2008). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 24-5-111 (2000)(emphasis added).”
Godwin Aircraft v. Wayne Walker (Tenn. Ct. App. 1998). “Appellee filed this suit alleging negligence, breach of express contract, and breach of bailment contract as seen in Tenn. Code Ann. § 24-5-111 . Appellant filed his answer admitting his negligence, but persisted to lay blame on appellee for the failing squat switch.”
Gregory Webster Ex Rel Shakia Webster v. Metro. Gov't Of Nashville & Davidson Cnty., Tennessee (Tenn. Ct. App. 2019). “In an order entered on April 15, 2016, the trial court granted Metro’s motion, ruling that the plaintiffs’ could not rely on the presumption of negligence provided by Tenn. Code Ann. § 24-5-111 . On September 22, 2017, after all discovery had been completed, the plaintiffs filed…”
Clemente v. Mercury Air Ctr.-Nashville, LLC (M.D. Tenn. 2025). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 24-5-111 . In other words, once the plaintiff establishes that a bailment was created and “makes out prima facie case of breach of contract” by showing “delivery of the article to the bailee and the bailee’s failure to return it in good condition on demand or…”
Stewart v. HCA Health Servs. (Tenn. Ct. App. 1997). “He is not required to present proof that HCA was negligent because, under Tenn. Code Ann. § 24-5-111 (1980), the failure to return bailed property constitutes prima facie evidence that the bailee was negligent as long as the loss was not caused by the nature of the property…”
Gerald Thomas v. Rivergate Auto Parts (Tenn. Ct. App. 2011). “The exhibits introduced at trial include a copy of Tenn. Code Ann. §24-5-111 , which concerns the negligence of a bailee, photographs of an automobile, and a list of baseball cards and their values.”
Gene Anderson v. Lamb's Auto Serv., Inc. (Tenn. Ct. App. 2009). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 24-5-111 . Once a bailor establishes a prima facie case, the burden shifts to the bailee to produce evidence and persuade the trier of fact that the damage was not caused by the bailee’s negligence.”
June Acuff v. Sally Baker (2019). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 24-5-111 . Here, Ms. Acuff alleges that she delivered her property for the estate sale to Ms.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.