By Daniel A. Horwitz: As news of Dominion Voting System’s record-shattering settlement in its defamation case against Fox News spread across newswires, the Tennessee Court of Appeals quietly issued a landmark defamation decision of its own. In particular, in a little-noticed April 18, 2023 ruling in Pragnell v. Franklin, No. E2022-00524-COA-R3-CV, 2023 WL 2985261 (Tenn. […]
Category: Defamation
Tennessee Court of Appeals Affirms First-Ever Anti-SLAPP Judgment Under the Tennessee Public Participation Act
By Daniel A. Horwitz: In a precedent-setting, unanimous ruling, the Tennessee Court of Appeals has affirmed the first trial court judgment ever issued under the Tennessee Public Participation Act, Tennessee’s recently enacted anti-SLAPP statute. The ruling establishes several critical precedents for free speech law in Tennessee, and it represents a total victory for Wilson County […]
The Tennessee Public Participation Act is affirmed—and it’s working.
By Daniel A. Horwitz: In 2019, Tennessee’s free speech law underwent a sea change. The Tennessee Public Participation Act—Tennessee’s first-ever meaningful anti-SLAPP law—took effect, ushering in a host of protections for people sued for defamation (libel or slander), false light invasion of privacy, business disparagement, or other speech-based torts. Due to a recent decision out […]
Tennessee congressional candidate’s $800,000.00 SLAPP-suit dismissed mere days after filing
Yet another SLAPP-suit has been dismissed in Tennessee—this one a mere 12 days after filing. Once again, the rapid dismissal was made possible by the Tennessee Public Participation Act—Tennessee’s relatively new anti-SLAPP statute—which affords defendants targeted by bogus speech-based lawsuits a wealth of powerful tools to secure (or negotiate) prompt dismissals, recover their attorney’s fees, […]
Tennessee Court of Appeals Affirms Outright Dismissal of Fired Credit Union CEO’s Defamation, Whistleblower Claims
By Daniel A. Horwitz: In February 2018, Janet Tidwell—the CEO of Holston Methodist Federal Credit Union—was fired following an audit. According to Ms. Tidwell, she was actually terminated because she confronted the Chairman of the credit union’s Board of Directors and the Chair of its Supervisory Committee about the Board being out of compliance with […]
Second-Ever Anti-SLAPP Petition Granted Under the Tennessee Public Participation Act, $26,500.00 in Attorney’s Fees and Sanctions Awarded to Prevailing Defendant
The second-ever anti-SLAPP petition filed under the Tennessee Public Participation Act (TPPA)—Tennessee’s new anti-SLAPP statute—has officially been granted, accompanied by the largest fee-shifting award ($26,500.00) ever awarded in a defamation case filed in Tennessee. The final order—granted by Davidson County Circuit Court Judge Joe P. Binkley—comes on the heels of a February 2020 ruling by […]
Fired Preschool Teacher Loses Defamation, False Light Claims Against Church Preschool Due to Common Interest Privilege, Absence of Damages
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 […]
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, […]