By Daniel A. Horwitz: Kelly Love McGuffey began working for the Belmont United Methodist Church in December 2007, where she was employed as a preschool teacher. During an evacuation drill in January 2015, a child was left in the bathroom in the classroom where Ms. McGuffey and another teacher worked. Following the incident, Ms. McGuffey […]
Author: danielhorwitz
Clumsy court ruling allows SLAPP-suit to move forward against State Representative John Mark Windle
By Daniel A. Horwitz: State Representative John Mark Windle represents the constituents of Tennessee House District 41. District 41 is home of the now-shuttered Jamestown Regional Medical Center, which closed last year following a series of financial and legal issues. Among those issues were substantial federal tax liens, which “show the IRS is after more […]
Tennessee Court of Appeals: You (Still) Can’t Sue People For What They Say During Judicial Proceedings
By Daniel A. Horwitz: Because they are protected by the absolute litigation privilege, litigants and their lawyers cannot be sued for defamation over what they say during the course of judicial proceedings. Tennessee law does not recognize any exceptions to this rule,[1] which is designed to ensure that participants in judicial proceedings can speak freely […]
Tennessee Court of Appeals to Public Officials: Get Ready For Loads of Libel Lawsuits
By Daniel A. Horwitz: Nearly all of Tennessee’s public officials should purchase libel insurance to protect themselves from baseless defamation lawsuits regarding statements that they make on the job. That’s the clear message that a panel of Tennessee’s Court of Appeals has sent to public employees across the state in Burns v. State, No. E2018-02174-COA-R9-CV, […]
Knoxville News Sentinel, Reporter Jamie Satterfield Win Dismissal of Defamation Lawsuit
By Daniel A. Horwitz: In a unanimous opinion issued on March 27, 2020, the Tennessee Court of Appeals has affirmed a ruling dismissing, in full, a defamation case filed by convicted felon Michael Benanti against the Knoxville News Sentinel and reporter Jamie Satterfield. Benanti had alleged that the defendants defamed him by falsely reporting that […]
First-Ever Anti-SLAPP Petition In Tennessee Granted in Lawsuit Regarding Negative Yelp Review
By Daniel A. Horwitz: On July 1, 2019, the Tennessee Public Participation Act—Tennessee’s first meaningful anti-SLAPP statute—took effect. The statute dramatically expanded the scope of speech that receives heightened legal protection in Tennessee. It also equips people targeted by Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (“SLAPP-suits”) with important tools to secure the dismissal of meritless claims […]
Tennessee Supreme Court Restricts Fair Report Privilege, Holds That It Does Not Apply to “Nonpublic, One-On-One Conversations” Between Government Sources and Journalists
By Daniel A. Horwitz: In a significant setback for journalists and Tennessee’s free press, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled in Burke v. Sparta Newspapers, Inc., 592 S.W.3d 116, 124 (Tenn. 2019), that the fair report privilege—a critical source of immunity that protects members of the news media from being subjected to frivolous lawsuits that arise out […]
The “Tennessee Public Participation Act,” Tennessee’s First-Ever Meaningful Anti-SLAPP Law, Takes Effect Today
By Daniel A. Horwitz: If you woke up this morning feeling freer to speak your mind, there’s a reason: A little-noticed law with huge free speech benefits takes effect today. As of July 1, 2019, the “Tennessee Public Participation Act”—Tennessee’s first-ever meaningful Anti-SLAPP law—became effective and affords those who are sued for their speech a […]