VIRGINIA DODSON-STEPHENS, ET AL. v. METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY, ET AL. - Articles

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VIRGINIA DODSON-STEPHENS, ET AL. v. METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY, ET AL.

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Dec 9, 2025

Court: TN Court of Appeals

Attorneys 1: Jessica Brook Heavener and A. Allen Smith, III, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County.

Attorneys 2: R. Steven Waldron, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, for the appellees, Virginia Dodson- Stephens, individually, and Courtlynn Dodson, by and through Conservator Virginia Dodson-Stephens.

Attorneys 3: Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter; Heather C. Ross, Senior Assistant Attorney General; and Lily-Ana Fairweather, Assistant Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge(s): MCGEE

This appeal arises from a lawsuit filed by a mother, individually and on behalf of her daughter, against the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County and the State of Tennessee after her daughter sustained paralyzing injuries while attending a public school. After a four-day bench trial, the trial court found that both defendants were negligent and that each was fifty percent at fault for the child’s injuries. The trial court found that the plaintiffs should be awarded total compensatory damages of $10,902,348.02, but it reduced the judgment to $600,000 ($300,000 against each defendant) in accordance with the applicable statutory caps. Metro has appealed, while the State has not. For the following reasons, we affirm the decision of the circuit court.

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