TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

Appeals Court Dismisses Rape Kit Backlog Suit Against Memphis

Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Dec 3, 2024
News Type: Legal News

The Tennessee Court of Appeals recently dismissed a lawsuit brought against the city of Memphis over a backlog of more than 12,000 untested rape kits, the Commercial Appeal reports. A second ruling, issued the same day, also reversed a ruling from the Shelby County Circuit Court that a group of women could convert the suit into a class action. Three women initially sued the city due to the backlog. A third woman eventually joined the lawsuit with claims from the 1990s. Issues in the case centered on whether the city could be held liable under the Governmental Tort and Liability Act (GTLA) and whether the state’s lack of an equitable tolling statute or class action tolling statute disallowed the claim. The appeals court found that claims brought under the GTLA required “strict compliance” with its terms, including a statute of limitations. Read the opinion.

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