" ‘It is fundamental that jurisdiction, neither original nor appellate, can be conferred by consent and neither waiver nor estoppel could be more effective than the consent of parties.’ " State v. Smith , 278 S.W.3d 325, 329 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2008) (quoting James v. Kennedy , 174 Tenn. 591, 129 S.W.2d 215, 216 (1939) ). Whether a court has subject matter jurisdiction is a question of law, and our review is de novo with no presumption of correctness.
This argument is without merit, as Rule 6.01 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure does not apply in General Sessions Court. SeeState v. Smith , 278 S.W.3d 325 (Tenn. Ct. Crim. App. 2008) (holding that the relevant statute for the computation of time in General Sessions Court is Tenn. Code Ann. § 1-3-102, which provides that "[t]he time within which any act provided by law to be done shall be computed by excluding the first day and including the last, unless the last day is a Saturday, Sunday or a legal holiday, then it shall also be excluded.").The Respondent's motion to dismiss is GRANTED.
" ‘It is fundamental that jurisdiction, neither original nor appellate, can be conferred by consent and neither waiver nor estoppel could be more effective than the consent of parties.’ " State v. Smith, 278 S.W.3d 325, 329 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2008) (quoting James v. Kennedy, 174 Tenn. 591, 129 S.W.2d 215, 216 (1939)). Whether a court has subject matter jurisdiction is a question of law, and our review is de novo with no presumption of correctness.
There can be no dispute that Appellant's motion to set aside the judgment in the First Case was timely and therefore pursuant to the plain language of section 16-15-727(b), the time for perfecting an appeal was tolled. See generally Tenn. Code Ann. § 1-3-102 (governing computation of time); State v. Smith, 278 S.W.3d 325, 330 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2008) (applying section 1-3-102 to general sessions court). The trial court concluded, however, that the First Case was "final" and that the section 16-15-727(b) motion "did not affect the finality of the judgment nor did it suspend its operation[.