Earlier this month, the Tennessee Supreme Court activated a limited disaster plan for all the trial courts in the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Judicial Districts after severe flooding that occurred September 26 and 27, 2024, in the wake of Hurricane Helene.

The Supreme Court is granting a 45-day extension of mandatory deadlines contained in the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure, the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure, the Tennessee Rules of Juvenile Practice and Procedure, the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure, and other applicable court rules. This 45-day extension applies to any document that would have been due to be filed in the courts of the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Judicial Districts from Sept. 26 through Nov. 12, 2024.

Statutes of limitations and statutes of repose that would otherwise expire during the period between Sept. 26 and Nov. 12, 2024, are extended through Nov. 12, 2024. Orders of protection and temporary injunctions that would otherwise expire between Sept. 26 and Nov. 12, 2024, are extended until Nov. 12, 2024.

The Court’s order, which invokes Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 49, section 2, and the Court’s inherent authority, follows declarations from Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and the President of the United States Joe Biden that an emergency exists in the State of Tennessee, including parts of the First, Third, and Fourth Judicial District. For purposes of this order, the Second Judicial District is also included. 

The Tennessee Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims and the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board are specialty courts, created by legislation and not the Tennessee Constitution. Yet we are subject to the Tennessee Supreme Court, given that by statute our orders and opinions are reviewable by the high Court.

The Presiding Judge of the Appeals Board and the Chief Judge of the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims are charged with the administration of the day-to-day operations of the Appeals Board and the Court. Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-218(b) & 238(b)(2). Therefore, under that authority, we conclude that the Supreme Court order affecting claims in the judicial districts listed above applies to cases under the jurisdiction of the Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board and the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims that arose within those judicial districts. We memorialize this decision in this Standing Order.

Like all Tennesseans, our hearts go out to those who suffered losses in this tragedy.