Nashville, Tenn. The Tennessee Supreme Court has two cases set for its January 8, 2024 docket in Knoxville, Tennessee. The case will be heard at the Tennessee Supreme Court building in Knoxville, beginning at 9:00 a.m. EST. The case will be livestreamed to the TNCourts YouTube page at: www.youtube.com/@TNCourts/featured. The details of the case are as follows:
Matthew Long v. Chattanooga Fire and Police Pension Fund – Petitioner Matthew Long worked as a firefighter with the Chattanooga Fire Department for fifteen years. In 2019, Mr. Long was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from his work as a first responder to emergencies involving severe injuries and death. Mr. Long applied to the Chattanooga Fire and Police Pension Fund seeking disability benefits under the Fund’s disability policy. After a transcribed administrative hearing, the Board of Trustees for the Fund denied Mr. Long’s application on the basis that Mr. Long failed to show that the events causing his PTSD were “unexpected,” as is required by the Fund’s disability policy. Mr. Long filed a petition in Hamilton County Chancery Court challenging the Fund’s decision as arbitrary and capricious. After a hearing, the Chancery Court found that the term “unexpected” was ambiguous and that the disability policy should be construed in favor of Mr. Long. The Chancery Court vacated the Fund’s decision and awarded Mr. Long disability benefits. The Court of Appeals affirmed, finding that the Board’s interpretation was entitled to deference under the Tennessee Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, but the ambiguity in the policy must be construed in favor of Mr. Long. The Tennessee Supreme Court granted the Fund’s application for permission to appeal to determine the proper standard for courts to review claims involving the administrative denial of disability benefits.
Brett Houghton et al. v. Malibu Boats, LLC – Plaintiffs Brett and Ceree Houghton are the sole shareholders of a boat dealership called Great Wakes Boating, Inc. Great Wakes operated as a dealership for Defendant Malibu Boats, LLC. After the Defendant terminated its dealership agreement with Great Wakes, the Plaintiffs brought this civil action alleging that Malibu Boats fraudulently misled them into believing that their business relationship would continue. The Plaintiffs asserted only individual tort claims against Malibu Boats and brought no claims on behalf of Great Wakes itself. After a five-day trial, a jury found Malibu Boats liable for intentional misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, and promissory fraud, and awarded Plaintiffs $900,000 in damages for loss of equity in Great Wakes’ dealership buildings. After the judgment was entered, Malibu Boats argued for the first time that Plaintiffs lacked standing to bring their claims because the claimed lost equity was suffered by their company, Great Wakes, rather than the Plaintiffs individually. The Circuit Court agreed and vacated the judgment, concluding that it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction because Plaintiffs, as individual shareholders, did not have standing to bring their claims. The Court of Appeals reversed, holding that Plaintiffs’ lack of standing was not a jurisdictional issue, and that Malibu waived its objection to the Plaintiffs’ standing by not raising it sooner. The Tennessee Supreme Court granted permission to appeal to determine the proper application of principles involving third-party or shareholder standing.
Media members planning to attend oral arguments should review Supreme Court Rule 30 and file any required requests to:
Samantha Fisher
Communications Director
Administrative Office of the Courts
Samantha.fisher@tncourts.gov