Flade v. City of Shelbyville
| Decision Date | 24 February 2023 |
| Docket Number | M2022-00553-COA-R3-CV |
| Parties | ROBERT E. LEE FLADE v. CITY OF SHELBYVILLE, TENNESSEE ET AL. |
| Court | Tennessee Court of Appeals |
Assigned on Briefs January 3, 2023
Appeal from the Circuit Court for Bedford County No. 13837 M. Wyatt Burk, Judge
This appeal involves application of the Tennessee Public Participation Act (TPPA). Plaintiff filed multiple causes of action against the City of Shelbyville, the Bedford County Listening Project, and several individuals - one of whom is a member of the Shelbyville City Council. Defendants filed motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure 12.06, and two of the non-governmental Defendants also filed petitions for dismissal and relief under the TPPA. The non-governmental Defendants also moved the trial court to stay its discovery order with respect to Plaintiff's action against the City. The trial court denied the motion. The non-governmental Defendants filed applications for permission for extraordinary appeal to this Court and to the Tennessee Supreme Court; those applications were denied. Upon remand to the trial court, Plaintiff voluntarily non-suited his action pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 41.01. The non-governmental Defendants filed motions to hear their TPPA petitions notwithstanding Plaintiff's nonsuit. The trial court determined that Defendants' TPPA petitions to dismiss were not justiciable following Plaintiff's nonsuit under Rule 41.01. The Bedford County Listening Project and one individual Defendant, who is also a member of the Shelbyville City Council, appeal. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Tenn R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Circuit Court Affirmed and Remanded
Daniel A. Horwitz, Lindsay Smith, and Melissa K. Dix, Nashville Tennessee, for the appellant, Stephanie Isaacs.
Sarah L. Martin, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Bedford County Listening Project.
Jason R. Reeves, Shelbyville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Robert E. Lee Flade.
Cassandra M. Crane, Shelbyville, Tennessee, for the appellee, City of Shelbyville. [1]
Kenny Armstrong, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which Frank G. Clement, Jr., P.J., M.S., and Thomas R. Frierson, II, J., joined.
This appeal requires us to construe the Tennessee Public Participation Act ("the TPPA" or the "Act"). The relevant facts are largely undisputed.
Plaintiff/Appellee Robert E. Lee Flade is a Bedford County resident who purchased a duplex in Shelbyville, Tennessee, in December 2020. According to Mr. Flade, he purchased the duplex with the intent to repair and resell it. Defendant/Appellant Stephanie Isaacs is a member of the Shelbyville City Council. Ms. Isaacs is also associated with Defendant/Appellant Bedford County Listening Project ("the BCLP," and together with Ms. Isaacs, "Appellants"). The BCLP is a non-profit organization that, according to its TPPA petition, "provides, among other things, resources to and advocacy on behalf of tenants in Bedford County, Tennessee[.]" From the record, Ms. Isaacs' association with the BCLP is unclear.[2]
In July 2021, Mr. Flade filed an action against the City of Shelbyville (the "City"), Ms. Isaacs, and the BCLP.[3] In his complaint, Mr. Flade asserted that Ms. Issacs contacted him by text in January 2021 stating: Mr. Flade asserted that he contacted Ms. Isaacs, who informed him that "he had tenants with a water leak and that he had to fix it for them." In his complaint, Mr. Flade asserted that, when he purchased the duplex, he informed the tenants that they needed to vacate the property, and that he was unaware that anyone was residing in the property when Ms. Isaacs contacted him. He asserted that he informed Ms. Isaacs that, to the best of his knowledge, no tenants were occupying the duplex.
Mr. Flade asserted that he began to receive "unknown calls and texts demanding he make repairs for his tenants, threatening him and calling him names." He asserted that Ms. Isaacs and the BCLP had published his personal information on social media, including his address and telephone number, and had "encouraged others to contact [him] and demand that he make repairs." He asserted, "specifically, Defendants Isaacs and BCLP falsely claimed that [Mr. Flade] was the reason for a child going with[out] heat and water." He asserted:
Defendants Isaacs, BCLP and [Kelly Sue] Waller placed a video on their social media page in which Isaacs claims she is acting as a city council person, that [Mr. Flade] is a slum lord and that people like Robert Flade are just messing with people's lives, among other numerous defamatory and libelous per se statements.[4] That said statements were harmful to [Mr. Flade], demeaning and false in every manner. Defendant Isaacs begged people watching her video to contact him and pressure him to make repairs and be a good neighbor.
Mr. Flade also asserted in his complaint that Ms. Isaacs at all times identified herself as a City Council member and a member of BLCP and that her comments "were not made in a public meeting as an act of government sufficient to remove her conduct from immunity under the [Governmental Tort Liability Act ("GTLA")]." He further asserted:
Defendant Isaacs and BCLP caused Defendants Ford and/or Rivera to contact the City Codes Department to file a complaint against Plaintiff for codes violations he did not create or have an opportunity to know about. That said conduct resulted in the City's codes department issuing the Plaintiff a Notice of Repair demanding certain repairs be made within 30 days, a Notice Plaintiff was forced to file an appeal and request a formal hearing on costing him additional funds out of pocket.
Mr. Flade asserted causes of action against Ms. Isaacs and the BCLP for: (1) "libel per se"; (2) intentional interference with business; (3) intentional infliction of emotional distress; (4) stalking; and (5) harassment. He sought compensatory damages in the amount of $1,000,000 and an additional $1,000,000 in punitive damages. Mr. Flade asserted that "as an agent of the City of Shelbyville, Isaacs conduct should be related to the city making the city liable for all damages caused by her conduct." He also sought damages against Ms. Isaacs in her personal capacity should her conduct be determined to be "not part of her employment and responsibility to the City."
Mr. Flade sent written discovery requests to the City on August 12, 2021, and the City agreed to respond to his discovery requests no later than October 26, 2021. In the meantime, on August 25, 2021, the City filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 12.02(6), along with a memorandum of law in support of its motion. The City asserted that under the GTLA, Tennessee Code Annotated section 29-20-101, et seq., it was immune from liability for Mr. Flade's intentional tort claims. The City's motion was set to be heard on October 28, 2021 but was reset for December 9, 2021 by agreement of the parties. In its October 9, 2021 order resetting the matter, the trial court stated that Ms. Isaacs and the BCLP would have until December 17, 2021, "to answer, move, or otherwise respond to [Mr. Flade's] complaint."
On November 8, 2021, Ms. Isaacs filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 12.02(6) and pursuant to the TPPA. In her November 23, 2021 memorandum of law in support of her Rule 12.02(6) motion to dismiss, Ms. Isaacs asserted, "Councilwoman Isaac's alleged actions are categorically barred from suit based on her absolute legislative immunity." She also asserted that Mr. Flade's claims were "inactionable as a matter of law[.]" Ms. Isaacs adopted the City's arguments concerning Mr. Flade's "GTLA claims . . . by virtue of her role as a city official."
In her memorandum, Ms. Isaacs argued that the TPPA governed Mr. Flade's claims against her in her personal capacity. She asserted that her statements were within the purview of speech protected by the Act because it concerned a "matter of public concern[.]" Ms. Isaacs maintained that she had met her burden of demonstrating that Mr. Flade's "legal action against [her] [was] based on, relates to, or is in response to [her] exercise of the right to free speech, right to petition, or right of association" under section 105(a) of the Act and that the court was required to dismiss the action unless Mr. Flade established a prima facie case for each essential element of his claim. Ms. Isaacs additionally asserted that she had established defenses to Mr. Flade's claims for the purposes of section 105(c) of the Act. She further asserted that Mr. Flade's defamation claim was "foreclosed from liability by the qualified common interest privilege." She prayed for dismissal of the claims against her with prejudice, attorney's fees, and costs. Ms. Isaacs additionally prayed for "discretionary sanctions" in the amount of $60,000 "to deter "future misconduct[.]" Ms. Isaacs attached a number of exhibits to her petition, including selected sections of the "International Property Management Code," several City proclamations, and a September 2020 Shelbyville Times-Gazette article that quotes her as stating that she was running for City Council to advocate for renters' rights and to "'work to hire a City manager that cares about renters.'"
On November 30, 2021, Mr. Flade filed a motion to compel the City to respond to his August discovery requests. He asserted that: (1) at the request of the City's legal counsel...
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