METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY v. GOVERNOR BILL LEE ET AL. - Articles

All Content

METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY v. GOVERNOR BILL LEE ET AL.

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Apr 28, 2025

Court: TN Court of Appeals

Attorneys 1: Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter; J. Matthew Rice, Solicitor General; and Philip Hammersley, Assistant Solicitor General, for the appellants, Governor Bill Lee, Speaker of the Senate Randy McNally, and Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton.

Attorneys 2: Wallace W. Dietz, Metropolitan Director of Law; Melissa Roberge; Michael Dohn; Robert E. Cooper, Jr.; and Wesley S. Love, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County.

Judge(s): FRIERSON

In this dispute, the trial court found that certain subsections of 2023 Tennessee Public Acts, chapter 488, violated the home rule amendment and the equal protection guarantee found in the Tennessee Constitution. The defendants, who are officials of the State of Tennessee, have appealed the trial court’s ruling. Following our thorough review, we affirm the trial court’s determination that section two of the act is unconstitutional. However, we reverse the trial court’s determination that sections two, six, seven, eight, and nine of the Act violate the equal protection guarantee found in the Tennessee Constitution. We therefore also reverse the trial court’s elision of sections six, seven, eight, and nine from the statute.

Attachments: