AI-assisted research summary: Forcible detainer is unlawful holding of possession after a lawful or peaceful entry, using one of the listed forcible-entry means.
A forcible detainer is where a person enters lawfully or peaceably, and holds unlawfully, and by any of the means enumerated in § 29-18-102 as constituting a forcible entry. Code 1858, § 3343 (deriv. Acts 1821, ch. 14, § 3); Shan., § 5092; Code 1932, § 9246; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 23-1603. Textbooks. Pritchard on Wills and Administration of Estates (4th ed., Phillips and Robinson), § 686. Tennessee Jurisprudence, 13 Tenn. Juris., Forcible Entry and Detainer, §§ 2-4. Cited: Newport Housing Authority v. Ballard, 839 S.W.2d 86, 1992 Tenn. LEXIS 567 (Tenn. 1992); Self Help Ventures Fund v. Robilio, — S.W.3d —, 2010 Tenn. App. LEXIS 372 (Tenn. Ct. App. June 1, 2010). NOTES TO DECISIONS 1. Right to Possession as Basis for Suit. 2. Admissions Estopping One from Recovering. 3. Unlawful Possession by Tenant. 4. One of Several Lessees Suing. 5. Appropriate Remedy. 1. Right to Possession as Basis for Suit. Where, by permission of the owner, a house and yard is used for the purpose of maintaining a neighborhood school, the same is, while so occupied, in the possession of the teacher, and not of the owner of the fee; and if, while so occupied, a third person takes forcible possession of it, the owner cannot maintain the action of forcible entry and detainer; but after the termination of the school, he may maintain the action of forcible detainer. Vanhook v. Story, 23 Tenn. 59, 1843 Tenn. LEXIS 15 (1843). Chancery court's order establishing the conservatorship vested plaintiff with the exclusive authority and responsibility to manage and preserve the owner's estate; by charging rent, which defendant refused to pay, plaintiff was attempting to maintain the owner's estate, rather than fundamentally changing the character of it, and thus the trial court did not err in awarding possession of the property to plaintiff for the benefit of the owner. Sullivan v. Kreiling, — S.W.3d —, 2019 Tenn. App. LEXIS 273 (Tenn. Ct. App. May 30, 2019). 2. Admissions Estopping One from Recovering. The owner's admission that if the trespasser had the title of a certain third person to the property, he had a right to the possession, but stating that he did not believe that he had such person's title, such hypothetical admission did not amount to an assent that the trespasser had obtained possession lawfully, or was holding lawfully, and would not estop the owner from recovering in an action. Vanhook v. Story, 23 Tenn. 59, 1843 Tenn. LEXIS 15 (1843). 3. Unlawful Possession by Tenant. Actual violence is not required to be proved in a proceeding for forcible detainer, if proof shows that landlord is entitled to possession. Trousdale v. Darnell, 14 Tenn. 430, 14 Tenn. 431, 1834 Tenn. LEXIS 105 (1834). 4. One of Several Lessees Suing. One tenant in possession, even though other tenants enjoy the possession in common with him, may maintain the action. Hopkins v. Calloway, 35 Tenn. 11, 1855 Tenn. LEXIS 3 (1855); Hunt v. Foley, 9 Tenn. App. 96, — S.W.2d —, 1928 Tenn. App. LEXIS 219 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1928). 5. Appropriate Remedy. Defendant entered the property peacefully; however, after she refused plaintiff's demand for rent, she unlawfully kept possession of the property to the exclusion of plaintiff, who had the affirmative duty to utilize the property as an income-producing asset for the benefit of the owner, and thus the appropriate remedy was an action for forcible detainer. Sullivan v. Kreiling, — S.W.3d —, 2019 Tenn. App. LEXIS 273 (Tenn. Ct. App. May 30, 2019). Collateral References. 35 Am. Jur. 2d Forcible Entry and Detainer § 1. 36A C.J.S. Forcible Entry and Detainer §§ 2, 15, 42.