Suing a Business in Tennessee Small Claims Court

Suing a business in Tennessee is not the same as suing a person. The entity structure — LLC, corporation, sole proprietorship, or partnership — changes how you name the defendant on the Civil Warrant, where you serve process, and whether the business needs an attorney to show up in court.

Get any of these wrong and you risk a void judgment that cannot be enforced.

Step 1: Identify the Legal Entity

Before you file anything, search the Tennessee Secretary of State Business Information Search for the business you want to sue. You need three pieces of information:

1. The exact registered name — the full legal name of the corporation or LLC as it appears in the state database, not the sign above the door or the name on the invoice
2. The registered agent's name — the person or company designated to receive legal documents
3. The registered agent's street address — where the Civil Warrant will be served

If the business is a sole proprietor operating under a trade name (DBA), the Secretary of State database may not have a registration. In that case, name the individual owner on the Civil Warrant alongside the trade name: "Jane Doe d/b/a Doe's Cleaning Service."

Step 2: Name the Defendant Correctly

Naming matters because the court's judgment only binds the named defendants. If you sue "Smith Roofing" but the legal entity is "Smith Contracting, LLC," you may win a judgment that cannot be enforced against the LLC's assets.

Step 3: Understand the Attorney Requirement

Tennessee law draws a sharp line between individuals and entities when it comes to self-representation in court.

Individuals (natural persons) can represent themselves pro se in General Sessions Court under T.C.A. § 23-1-109.

Corporations, LLCs, and partnerships cannot. The Tennessee Supreme Court held in Old Hickory Engineering & Machine Co. v. Henry (1996) that artificial entities must be represented by a licensed attorney. A non-lawyer officer, manager, or employee who files paperwork or appears in court on behalf of the entity is engaged in the unauthorized practice of law. The filing can be struck and any resulting judgment declared void.

This rule cuts both ways. If a business is suing you, it must send an attorney. And if you own an LLC and want to sue a customer for an unpaid invoice, the LLC needs a lawyer — unless the contract is between you personally and the customer, in which case you can sue in your own name.

Step 4: Serve the Business

Service of process goes to the registered agent at their street address — not to the business's storefront, warehouse, or the owner's home (unless the owner is the registered agent).

Standard service methods in Tennessee:

• Sheriff service — the default; the county sheriff delivers the Civil Warrant to the registered agent
• Private process server — Tennessee General Sessions process may be served by a person designated by the party who is at least 18 and is not a party to the action; confirm any applicable disqualification and local requirements
• Certified mail — available in some counties; check with the clerk

If the registered agent's address is in a different county from where you filed, you will need to arrange service in that county — either through that county's sheriff or a private process server.

Step 5: What If the Business Does Not Show Up

If the business does not appear after valid service, the judge may enter a default judgment after confirming service and reviewing sworn proof of the amount. The judgment cannot exceed the amount demanded in the Civil Warrant. The business then has 10 days to file a motion to set aside the default or appeal to Circuit Court.

For the defendant-entity, the attorney requirement creates an additional hurdle: even contesting a default requires retaining and sending a lawyer. Some small businesses let default judgments stand rather than pay attorney fees for a contested hearing on a claim under a few thousand dollars.

Enforcing the Judgment Against a Business

Once you have a judgment against a named business entity, you can:

• Garnish the business's bank accounts if you know where they bank
• Record an abstract of judgment ($5) to create a lien on real property owned by the entity
• Seek information discovery if you do not know where the assets are

If the business is a sole proprietorship, the owner's personal assets are reachable. For LLCs and corporations, you are generally limited to the entity's own assets unless you can pierce the corporate veil — which is a separate and more complex legal question.

For a detailed walkthrough of the filing process — including defendant identification, service logistics, and evidence preparation — see our Tennessee Small Claims Filing Guide.

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