Tennessee Supreme Court: Under Anti-Slapp Law Attorney's Fees Cannot be Recovered if the Plaintiff Drops the Case

Nashville, Tenn- The Tennessee Supreme Court today held that a party could not recover attorney’s fees under the Tennessee Public Participation Act (“TPPA”) after the original lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed.  The TPPA is Tennessee’s version of an anti-SLAPP statute.  SLAPP stands for “strategic lawsuit against public participation” and refers to a lawsuit that is brought primarily to chill the speech of individuals by subjecting them to costly litigation, without regard to prevailing on the merits.  A defendant in what is believed to be a SLAPP suit may file a petition under the TPPA, which provides a mechanism to achieve the swift dismissal of a non-meritorious lawsuit before litigation costs mount.  The TPPA also shifts the attorney’s fees incurred by the defendant to the party that brought the SLAPP suit.

In this case, Robert E. Lee Flade brought a lawsuit against several defendants based on what he considered to be disparaging remarks that were made on social media.  In response, two of the defendants filed petitions under the TPPA, arguing that Mr. Flade’s lawsuit was a SLAPP suit that should be dismissed.  Before the petitions were heard by the trial court, Mr. Flade voluntarily dismissed his lawsuit.  Nevertheless, the defendants sought to have the trial court rule on their petitions.  The trial court declined, finding that Mr. Flade’s voluntary dismissal concluded the matter.  The Court of Appeals upheld the trial court’s decision.

In a unanimous opinion, the Supreme Court affirmed the decision below.  The Court noted that the availability of a voluntary dismissal is a longstanding right under Tennessee law subject only to certain limited exceptions.  The Court examined whether the filing of a TPPA petition fell within one of those exceptions, such that Mr. Flade could not unilaterally dismiss his lawsuit without having the TPPA petitions adjudicated.  The Court considered three arguments advanced by the defendants for an exception, but it held that none of them amounted to a valid exception to the voluntary dismissal rule.

To read the Supreme Court’s opinion in Flade v. City of Shelbyville, authored by Justice Jeff Bivins, visit the opinions section of TNCourts.gov.