Here is the most recent definition of the oft-used phrase “gravamen of the complaint” under Tennessee law:
“In determining the real purpose or the gravamen of the action the Court must look to the basis for which damages are sought.” Swauger v. Haury & Smith Contractors, Inc., 512 S.W.2d 261, 263 (Tenn. 1974) (quoting Bland v. Smith, 277 S.W.2d 377, 379 (Tenn. 1965). As the Tennessee Supreme Court more recently explained, in determining the gravamen of a
complaint, a court “must first consider the legal basis of the claim and then consider the type of injuries for which damages are sought. This analysis is necessarily fact-intensive
and requires a careful examination of the allegations of the complaint as to each claim for the types of injuries asserted and damages sought.” Benz-Elliott v. Barrett Enters., LP, 456
S.W.3d 140, 151 (Tenn. 2015) (citation omitted); see also Anderson v. Lauderdale Cnty., No. W2022-00332-COA-R3-CV, 2023 WL 2138382, at *3 (Tenn. Ct. App. Feb. 21, 2023) (“[W]e look to the allegations in the complaint to determine the gravamen of the claims including the legal basis of the claims and the types of injuries alleged.”). Moreover, the “examination of a plaintiff’s complaint should consider substance, not surface[.]” Fry v. Napoleon Cmty. Schs., 580 U.S. 154, 156 (2017).
Jones, by and through her Conservatorship, Sims v. Life Care Centers of America d/b/a Life Care Centers of Tullahoma, No. M2022-00471-COA-R3-CV, at *8. (Tenn. Ct. App. May 16, 2023).
The word “gravamen” means ““[t]he substantial point or essence of a claim, grievance, or complaint.” Gravamen, Black’s Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019). Id. at fn. 3.