Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-47-122 (2026)
Liability for costs
✓ current as of May 2026
- (a) Such proceedings against state officers, when brought by or upon relation of the attorney general and reporter, shall be at the expense of the state; when brought against county officers by or upon the relation of any of the officers above named, they shall be at the expense of the county; when brought against municipal officers by or upon the relation of the city attorney, or the district attorney general, they shall be at the expense of the municipality; and when brought by or upon the relation of citizens and freeholders, they shall be at the expense of relators; provided, that in all cases, where such proceedings are successful, full costs shall be adjudged against the defendant.
- (b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) or any other law to the contrary, the complainant may be taxed for costs and attorney fees pursuant to Rule 11 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure, if the complaint or petition is withdrawn or if the court finds the charges alleged to be without merit.
Acts 1915, ch. 11, § 3; Shan., § 1135a5; Code 1932, § 1881; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), §8-2722; Acts 1997 , ch. 231, § 1.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3
cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1997–2025 · leading case: State Ex Rel Adolphus Pelley v. Bo Perkinson, No. E2024-00644-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Oct. 27, 2025).
State Ex Rel Adolphus Pelley v. Bo Perkinson, No. E2024-00644-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Oct. 27, 2025). “” Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-47-122 (b) (emphases added).”
State of Tennessee v. Les Stiers, 571 S.W.3d 706 (2018). “” Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-47-122 (b) (emphases added).”
Walker v. Bd. of Educ. of Wilson Co., No. 01A01-9610-CH-00497 (Tenn. Ct. App. Apr. 25, 1997). “On remand, the trial court entered an “Order for Cost” which awarded Appellants costs pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 8-47-122, but denied their claims to attorneys' fees.”
Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-47-122(b): 2 cases
State Ex Rel Adolphus Pelley v. Bo Perkinson, No. E2024-00644-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Oct. 27, 2025). “” Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-47-122 (b) (emphases added).”
State of Tennessee v. Les Stiers, 571 S.W.3d 706 (2018). “” Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-47-122 (b) (emphases added).”
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.