Harvey v. Shelby County, Tennessee, No. W2022-00683-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. July 28, 2023), included an issue concerning a ruling on a motion to compel. The motion was included in the record on appeal, but an order on the motion signed by the judge was not.
Here is what our Court of Appeals said about the issue:
“When a party seeks appellate review there is a duty to prepare a record which conveys a fair, accurate and complete account of what transpired with respect to the issues forming the basis of the appeal.” State v. Ballard, 855 S.W.2d 557, 560 (Tenn. 1993) (citing State v. Bunch, 646 S.W.2d 158, 160 (Tenn. 1983)). “Where the record is incomplete and does not contain . . . portions of the record upon which the party relies, an appellate court is precluded from considering the issue.” Id. at 560-61 (citing State v. Roberts, 755 S.W.2d 833, 836 (Tenn. Cr. App. 1988)). In the absence of any order in the record to review, we cannot consider the merits of this issue as it was not properly preserved for appeal. See id.
The trial court clerk assembles the record, but there is a process by which the parties can review and supplement the record as necessary.
Follow it.