Trial-Related Issues (Including Motions in Limine)
Special Master, Findings of
Except as indicated, all indented material is copied directly from the court’s opinion.
Decisions of the Tennessee Supreme Court
Decisions of the Tennessee Court of Appeals
Meadows v. Story, No. M2020-00886-COA-R3-CV, p. 9 (Tenn. Ct. App. Sept. 29, 2022).
Generally, “concurrent findings by the master and the trial court have the same force and effect as a jury verdict.” In re Estate of Wallace, 829 S.W.2d 696, 700 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1992). So the findings usually will “not be disturbed by the appellate courts.” Id. But this general rule does not apply if (1) the issue should not have been referred to a master, (2) the findings are based on an error of law, (3) the findings involve a question of law or a mixed question of law and fact, or (4) the findings are not supported by substantial and material evidence. Id. Absent any of these circumstances, we do not “have the right to disturb” the concurrent findings. Tenn. Code Ann. § 27-1-113; Staggs v. Herff Motor Co., 390 S.W.2d 245, 251 (Tenn. 1965); Schoen v. J.C. Bradford & Co., 642 S.W.2d 420, 424 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1982).
