TN- Help with small claims suit concerning consumer protection and recovering attorney fees.

[u/RocksGrowHere]

Location: Tennessee
My dad purchased a golf cart with accessories back in August 2025. The golf cart was delivered with incorrectly installed (and not the agreed upon) accessories that caused damage to the battery. When the seller was notified, he did not take responsibility and offered no remedy. Later, the title was not delivered when it was supposed to be and the seller refused to give the title, saying that my dad had stolen one of the accessories. Upon learning that he could not get the title from the seller, we discovered the VIN number in the cart did not match the bill of sale. The seller did not cooperate at any point with getting the issues resolved, and because my dad could not actually prove he owned the cart due to VIN discrepancy, he felt he had to sue.

The suit was filed with the above-named causes of action in the amount of $25,000 for damages included the price of the cart, repairs that had to be made due to the faulty installation of lights, and attorneys fees and court costs. Under the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, he should be able to recover these costs.

Now we are two days away from trial and our attorney says that we cannot recover attorney’s fees because there was not an actual breach of contract. They want my dad to settle for the cost of the cart, and return the cart to the seller for him to resell! This has us very concerned.

Why would the attorney file suing for attorney’s fees if we would not actually be able to recover them?

Does a bill of sale, that includes itemized “tags and title” fees not constitute a contract?

If anyone can help me interpret what may be happening here, I would so appreciate it. My dad is disabled and this has really taken a toll on his mental health, and I’d like to help him as much as possible to be prepared for what may happen in court.

Thank you for reading.