Three Aldermen who sued their constituents for petitioning them about local issues must pay their constituents’ appellate attorney’s fees, the Tennessee Court of Appeals has ruled.  The appeal arose from a trial court’s January 23, 2024 order dismissing a “Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation” (a SLAPP-suit) filed by three City of Fayetteville Aldermen against two constituents who petitioned them.  Although the Aldermen initially filed a Notice of Appeal after losing in the trial court, the Aldermen later moved to dismiss their own appeal.  On May 28, 2024, the Tennessee Court of Appeals partially granted the Aldermen’s motion.  The Court of Appeals’ partial dismissal order provided that whether the Aldermen have to pay the victims of their SLAPP-suit for their attorney’s fees incurred on appeal would still be adjudicated, however.
Upon review, the Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that the two constituents are entitled to have their appellate expenses paid.  “If a court dismisses a petition under the TPPA, the statute provides that the court ‘shall award’ the petitioner ‘[c]ourt costs, reasonable attorney’s fees, discretionary costs, and other expenses incurred in filing and prevailing upon the petition.’ Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-17-107(a) (2022).  We have interpreted that language as authorizing ‘an award of reasonable attorney’s fees incurred on appeal’ as well as at those incurred in the trial court[,]” the Court of Appeals’ opinion explains.  Thus, “[w]e grant the request of Mr. Law and Ms. Sanders for attorney’s fees, costs, and expenses incurred on appeal.”

The victory makes six 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/MEMORANDUM%20OPINION%20-M2024-00255-COA-R3-CV.pdf

Horwitz Law, PLLC’s Principal Brief: https://horwitz.law/wp-content/uploads/Principal-Brief-of-Law-and-Sanders-2.pdf

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Horwitz Law, PLLC has successfully defended clients against multiple multimillion-dollar libel, slander, false light, and other speech-based lawsuits in Tennessee’s state and federal courts. Clients represented by Horwitz Law have avoided hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of threatened liability and frequently recovered some or all of their attorney’s fees against the people who baselessly sued them.  If you are seeking speech defense, anti-SLAPP, or First Amendment representation, you can purchase a consultation from Horwitz Law here.