The Tennessee Supreme Court has clarified standing requirements in the state and determined that there is no common law cause of action for "wrongful foreclosure." This decision came in the case of Terry Case versus Wilmington, where Case claimed he experienced wrongful foreclosure on his property.
In its opinion, the court stated that Tennessee law does not recognize a common law claim for "wrongful foreclosure." Instead, such claims must be pursued through existing breach of contract, tort, or statutory causes of action.
Terry Case initially filed an action to prevent the foreclosure of his property. After the foreclosure proceeded, he amended his complaint to include claims for "wrongful foreclosure," among others. The trial court dismissed these claims. However, the Court of Appeals reversed this decision concerning the "wrongful foreclosure" claim while upholding the dismissal of other claims.
The Supreme Court granted Wilmington's request to appeal and sought further briefing on whether Case met constitutional standing requirements. The court clarified that under the Tennessee Constitution, establishing standing in private rights cases requires only a legal injury. This differs from federal cases under the United States Constitution, which require an injury in fact.
As Case's claim was not recognized as a valid cause of action, the Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals' decision and remanded the case to the trial court to dismiss it.
Chief Justice Kirby concurred with the judgment in a separate opinion.
For more details on this case and to read Justice Dwight E. Tarwater's authored opinion in full, refer to Case v. Wilmington.