Tennessee § 37-10-101 - Recovery for injury or damage by juvenile.

§ 37-10-101. Recovery for injury or damage by juvenile.

Any municipal corporation, county, town, village, school district or department of this state, or any person, or any religious organization, whether incorporated or unincorporated, shall be entitled to recover damages in an action in assumpsit in an amount not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) in a court of competent jurisdiction from the parents or guardian of the person of any minor under eighteen (18) years of age, living with the parents or guardian of the person, who maliciously or willfully causes personal injury to such person or destroys property, real, personal or mixed, belonging to such municipal corporation, county, town, village, school district or department of this state or persons or religious organizations. Acts 1957, ch. 76, § 1; 1969, ch. 170, § 1; 1976, ch. 408, § 1; 1981, ch. 161, § 1; T.C.A., § 37-1001; Acts 1985, ch. 439, § 1. Cross-References. Liability for acts of delinquent child, § 37-1-131 . Support of child over 18 in high school, § 34-1-102 . Law Reviews. Negligence — Parent's Failure to Prevent Tort by Child, 31 Tenn. L. Rev. 553 (1964). Tort Liability for Intentional Acts of Family Members: Will Your Insurer Stand by You?, 68 Tenn. L. Rev. 1 (2000). Attorney General Opinions. There is no authority to hold a parent or guardian civilly liable for a minor child's conversion of the property of another unless such action is based on the willful or malicious destruction of such property and the parent knew or should have known of the child's tendency to commit wrongful acts and the parent had the opportunity to control the child but failed to exercise reasonable means to restrain the tortious conduct, OAG 01-010 (1/25/01). The statute confers liability only upon a guardian or parent of a child, not upon an agency that has the child only by virtue of a contract with the state, OAG 02-086 (8/6/02).