Court Opinion

ID: 9765638
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 04:11:32.777297+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:30:12.498206
License: Public Domain

FRANKS, Judge,
dissenting.
On the record before us, the defendant was negligent and plaintiffs were damaged as a result of defendant’s negligence. The majority denies giving any consideration to plaintiffs’ theory simply by mechanically applying a rule developed in other jurisdictions, which essentially denies recovery in cases of this nature either on the theory that the damages were not foreseeable or, as the United States Supreme Court in Flint (cited by the majority), held the “doer of the wrong” is shielded from claims of “unknown” economic loss. I dissent and, while I would disallow a class action other than for the employees of Shelby Williams, Inc., I would remand to the trial court to allow the proof to develop and then review in accord with the principles announced in People Express Airlines v. Consolidated Rail, 100 N.J. 246, 495 A.2d 107 (1985).
Our Supreme Court, in discussing the duty owed by a tort feasor, has observed:
The courts and legal scholars have considered several factors in determining that a duty exists in the one situation but not in the other. Foremost among these are (1) the foreseeability, or lack thereof, by a reasonably prudent person that his or her conduct may endanger the particular plaintiff, (2) the foreseeability, or the lack thereof, that serious ... injury may result from the particular negligent conduct of the defendant, (3) the fear that vexatious suits and fraudulent claims will result if a duty is recognized, (4) the difficulty of defining liability, of drawing the line, if recovery is to be permitted to a plaintiff ... and (5) the notion that it would be unjust to expand liability for a merely negligent, as distinguished from an intentional, act....
Shelton v. Russell Pipe & Foundry Co., 570 S.W.2d 861, 864 (Tenn.1978).
As to the issue of foreseeability, it is the general rule in this jurisdiction that foreseeability is to be determined by the jury. City of Elizabethton v. Sluder, 534 S.W.2d 115 (Tenn.1976). Nor should the fear of fraudulent claims deter recognition of an action of this nature since we have virtually unlimited discovery. The extent of economic loss is more easily established or refuted than claims for personal injuries. As to the difficulty of defining liability, courts should not shirk their responsibility in this area merely because it may, in a given case, be difficult to define the limits of liability.
Accordingly, in my opinion, the better approach would be to remand this cause and permit the trier of fact to determine the issues of fact and not invoke a dated rule which automatically bars any consideration of claims of this nature.