There has been a growing interest in using wood in tall buildings by employing cross-laminated timber (CLT) in a structure’s moment frame system. However, still much needs to be learned about the performance of CLT frame systems subject to lateral loads such as earthquakes. The ductility needed in CLT frames in seismic load environments is primarily provided through connections. Thus, a proper connection detail is required to ensure an adequate seismic response, especially at extreme loads. Current strength specifications of connectors are mainly applicable in cases of pure tension or shear; while in real applications, connections are subjected to a combination of these loads. This paper is part of analytical and simulation studies on seismic performance of wood structural frames being conducted at Illinois Institute of Technology. These studies include simulations to investigate: (1) Moment-resistance capacity of CLT panels; and (2) Resistance capacity of typical joints used in CLT frame systems. Limited experimental data available on a 6-story wood frame system are considered as a means of verification of the aforementioned analytical investigations. Focus of this paper is specifically on the significance of interaction between tension and shear as reported in literature. Several interaction equations as implemented in current analytical models for pushover analysis of CLT frames are explained and their adequacy to predict the nonlinear behavior of CLT panels under lateral loads is discussed.