(a) If a plaintiff in a civil action obtains a judgment under any legal theory, the amount of the appeal bond necessary to stay execution during the course of all appeals or discretionary reviews of that judgment by any appellate court shall not exceed the lesser of twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) or one hundred twenty-five percent (125%) of the judgment amount.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 27-1-124

  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
(b) For purposes of determining the amount of the required bond, the court shall not include punitive or exemplary damages in the judgment amount.
(c) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b), if a party proves by a preponderance of the evidence that an appellant is dissipating assets outside the ordinary course of business to avoid payment of a judgment, a court may enter orders that are necessary to protect the appellee and establish the bond amount, which may include any punitive or exemplary damages.
(d) If the appellant establishes by clear and convincing evidence at a post judgment hearing that the cost of the bond and the obligation resulting from the surety’s payment of the bond in an amount authorized by this section will render the appellant insolvent, the court shall establish a security in an amount, and other terms and conditions it deems proper, that would allow the appeal of the judgment to proceed, without resulting in the appellant’s insolvency. This subsection (d) should be narrowly construed.
(e) If this section is found to be in conflict with any rules prescribed by the supreme court, this section shall apply notwithstanding § 16-3-406.
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