William L. Boone v. Town of Collierville

Tenn. Ct. App.August 8, 2019No. W2018-02005-COA-R9-CV

Defendant WinTown of Collierville

Case Details

Judge(s): Presiding Judge J. Steven Stafford
Status: Published
Procedural Posture: motion to dismiss
State: Tennessee

Related Laws

No specific laws identified for this ruling.

Claim Types

RetaliationWrongful TerminationWhistleblower

Outcome

The Tennessee Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's denial of the Town of Collierville's motion to dismiss, holding that the general saving statute does not apply to PEPFA claims against governmental entities due to sovereign immunity, thus barring Boone's untimely refiled claim.

Excerpt

After the dismissal of his federal action, plaintiff filed a state court action alleging a violation of the Public Employee Political Freedom Act. The defendant city thereafter filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that because plaintiff's action was against a state entity, plaintiff could not rely on the saving statute, Tennessee Code Annotated section 28-1-115. The trial court denied the motion to dismiss but granted an interlocutory appeal. We granted the application for interlocutory appeal and now reverse the decision of the trial court.

What This Ruling Means

**What Happened** William Boone, a public employee, sued the Town of Collierville claiming they violated his political rights under Tennessee's Public Employee Political Freedom Act. This law protects government workers from being punished for their political activities. Boone had previously filed a federal lawsuit about the same issue, but that case was dismissed. He then tried to file the same claim in state court, using a Tennessee law that typically allows people to refile dismissed cases within one year. **What the Court Decided** The Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled against Boone. The court said he could not use Tennessee's "saving statute" (the law that allows refiling) when suing a government entity under the Public Employee Political Freedom Act. The town had argued that this special refiling rule doesn't apply to lawsuits against government employers, and the appeals court agreed. The court dismissed Boone's case entirely. **Why This Matters for Workers** This ruling makes it harder for Tennessee public employees to pursue political freedom claims against their government employers. If workers lose their initial federal case, they may not get a second chance in state court under this particular law. Public employees should be especially careful about how and where they first file political freedom lawsuits, since refiling options may be limited.

This summary was generated to explain the ruling in plain English and is not legal advice.

Browse more:Retaliation cases Wrongful Termination cases Whistleblower cases

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This ruling information is sourced from public court records via CourtListener.com. It is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.