The Tennessee Supreme Court is scheduled to hear two significant cases on January 8, 2024, in Knoxville. The hearings will take place at the Tennessee Supreme Court building and will be available via livestream on the TNCourts YouTube page.
The first case involves Matthew Long against the Chattanooga Fire and Police Pension Fund. Long, a former firefighter diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), applied for disability benefits under the Fund's policy. His application was denied by the Board of Trustees, citing that the events causing his PTSD were not "unexpected." After challenging this decision in Hamilton County Chancery Court, the court found ambiguity in the term "unexpected" and ruled in favor of Long, awarding him disability benefits. The Court of Appeals upheld this decision but acknowledged deference to the Board's interpretation under state law. The Tennessee Supreme Court will now review how courts should assess claims related to administrative denials of disability benefits.
In another case, Brett Houghton and Ceree Houghton are contesting a ruling involving Malibu Boats, LLC. The plaintiffs, owners of Great Wakes Boating, Inc., claimed that Malibu Boats misled them about continuing their business relationship after terminating a dealership agreement. A jury awarded them $900,000 for loss of equity; however, Malibu Boats argued post-judgment that the plaintiffs lacked standing since the loss affected their company rather than them individually. While the Circuit Court agreed with Malibu Boats and vacated the judgment due to lack of standing, the Court of Appeals reversed this decision. It held that standing was not jurisdictional and Malibu had waived its objection by not raising it earlier. The Supreme Court has granted an appeal to explore third-party or shareholder standing principles.
Media representatives intending to cover these oral arguments must adhere to Supreme Court Rule 30 and submit any necessary requests through Samantha Fisher at samantha.fisher@tncourts.gov.