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Milhous v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County8/31/2000
This appeal involves a dispute between a city employee and her employer regarding a sexual harassment claim. The employee originally filed suit in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee alleging violations of both federal and state law. After the federal court dismissed her state law claims, the employee filed suit against the city in the Chancery Court for Davidson County alleging violations of the Tennessee Human Rights Act. The trial court dismissed the complaint because the applicable one-year statute of limitations had elapsed by the time the employee filed her complaint in state court. The employee argues on this appeal that the savings statute in Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-1-115 (Supp. 1999) tolled the statute of limitations for one year after the federal court dismissed her state law claim. We hold that the doctrine of sovereign immunity precludes the application of this savings statute to an action against a local governmental body and, therefore, affirm the trial court.
Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Chancery Court Affirmed
William C. Koch, Jr., J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which Henry F. Todd, P.J., M.S., and Ben H. Cantrell, J., joined.
OPINION
Cynthia Milhous was employed as a warrant officer in the Davidson County Sheriff's Office. In November 1991, several of her fellow warrant officers began to sexually harass her. The harassment took the form of offensive jokes and comments and unwanted physical touching. Ms. Milhous told the officers that she did not like their conduct or remarks. When the conduct continued, Ms. Milhous complained to her supervisors and to the Metropolitan Government's Employee Assistance Program. On August 19, 1993, the sheriff revoked Ms. Milhous's commission as a deputy sheriff, ordered her to turn in her badge, revolver, and automobile, and placed her on administrative leave with pay.
Ms. Milhous filed a discrimination complaint with the EEOC in September 1993. Later, she filed suit in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. On June 5, 1996, the United States District Court declined to exercise jurisdiction over Ms. Milhous's state law claims, and on March 7, 1997, she sued the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, alleging violations of the Tennessee Human Rights Act. The Metropolitan Government moved to dismiss Ms. Milhous's complaint based on the one-year statute of limitations in Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-21-311(d) (1998). While Ms. Milhous agreed that her complaint in state court was filed more than one year after the alleged discriminatory practices ceased, she asserted her suit was permitted by the savings statute in Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-1-115. On October 10, 1997, the trial court held that the savings statute did not apply to actions against the Metropolitan Government and dismissed Ms. Milhous's action on the ground that it was time-barred. Ms. Milhous has now appealed.
I.
The common-law doctrine of sovereign immunity restricts the ability of persons to sue the State of Tennessee or its political subdivisions. It is embodied in Tenn. Const. art. I, § 17 which provides that " uits may be brought against the State in such manner and in such courts as the Legislature may by law direct." Thus, waivers of sovereign immunity must be embodied in statutes, and these statutes will be construed narrowly because they are in derogation of the common law. Jordan v. Baptist Three Rivers Hosp., 984 S.W.2d 593, 599 (Tenn. 1999); Roberts v. Blount Mem'l Hosp., 963 S.W.2d 744, 746 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1997).
The Tennessee Governmental Tort Liability Act codifies the doctrine o
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