TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Mar 18, 2020

The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled today that Shelby County firefighter Paul Zachary Moss received sufficient notice of the reasons for his termination. After being arrested for aggravated assault, Moss entered an Alford guilty plea and was placed on judicial diversion. The fire department gave him written notice he was facing possible termination for violating department rules, reckless and irresponsible conduct, and untruthfulness during a meeting intended to provide Moss a chance to explain why he should not be terminated. The lower courts upheld the termination but the Court of Appeals found that Moss was not given adequate notice of the grounds for his termination. The Supreme Court reversed that finding and sent the case back to the appeals court to resolve remaining issues on appeal.