A trial court’s order permitting two plaintiffs to nonsuit their claims while a Tennessee Public Participation Act petition was pending but following an earlier Tennessee Court of Appeals reversal must be vacated, the Tennessee Court of Appeals has ruled. The ruling is a precedent-setting victory for Horwitz Law, PLLC clients Joshua and Leah Debity.
Defendants who are sued for protected First Amendment activity and seek dismissal under the Tennessee Public Participation Act “maintain a vested right to appellate review of the trial court’s denial of their TPPA claim,” Tennessee the Court of Appeals’ opinion explains. “The trial court’s other line of reasoning is also flawed. Specifically, the trial court adopted Plaintiffs’ argument that this Court’s mandate to the trial court is somehow nonbinding. . . . As Defendants aptly argue in their brief, the trial court was not at liberty to ignore that instruction on remand.”
The victory makes eleven straight Tennessee Court of Appeals wins (all as appellant) for the Horwitz Law, PLLC appellate practice team. Selected case documents appear below.
Tennessee Court of Appeals Opinion: https://www.tncourts.gov/sites/default/files/OpinionsPDFVersion/David%20L.%20Richman%20v.%20Joshua%20Debity%20Et%20Al.%20COA%20Opinion.pdf
Horwitz Law, PLLC’s Principal Brief: https://horwitz.law/wp-content/uploads/Appellants-Principal-Brief-1.pdf
Horwitz Law, PLLC’s Reply Brief: https://horwitz.law/wp-content/uploads/Debity-Reply-Brief-Stampfiled.pdf
Oral Argument: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRI8DZIqSc0
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