A trial court’s dismissal—under the Tennessee Public Participation Act—of all claims against Horwitz Law, PLLC client Theresa Baldwin is affirmed, the Tennessee Court of Appeals has ruled. Ms. Baldwin also is entitled to payment of her attorney’s fees on appeal, and the trial court’s sanctions award against the Plaintiffs who sued Ms. Baldwin will stand.
“[W]here a trial court provides more than one separate and independent ground for its judgment and a party fails to appeal one or more of the independent grounds, we must affirm the judgment of the trial court on the ground that was not challenged on appeal[,]” the Tennessee Court of Appeals’ unanimous opinion explains. Here, “we must conclude that Plaintiffs have waived review of the trial court’s dismissal of the action pursuant to the TPPA by failing to appeal all alternative grounds of dismissal.”
The case arose out of a contentious dispute among the parties that arose from the Plaintiffs’ relationship with Ms. Baldwin’s minor child. The Plaintiffs ended up suing Ms. Baldwin for millions of dollars—asserting a host of speech-based tort theories—based ostensibly on critical TikTok videos. The trial court dismissed all claims against Ms. Baldwin, sanctioned the plaintiffs, and Ms. Baldwin has now secured affirmance of all issue on appeal.
The victory makes twelve straight Tennessee Court of Appeals wins 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/Majority%20Opinion%20-%20M2024-00151-COA-R3-CV.pdf
Horwitz Law, PLLC’s Principal Brief: https://horwitz.law/wp-content/uploads/Brief-of-Appellee-Stampfiled-1.pdf
Trial Court TPPA Dismissal Order: https://horwitz.law/wp-content/uploads/Baldwin-Order-Granting-TPPA-Petition.pdf
Trial Court Sanctions Order: https://horwitz.law/wp-content/uploads/Order-Granting-Sanctions.pdf
Oral Argument: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WirH0V8y124
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