From Lowery v Redmond, decided Monday by the Tennessee Court of Appeals, in an opinion by Judge J. Steven Stafford, joined by Judges Kenny Armstrong and Carma Dennis McGee:
According to Petitioner/Appellee Mickell Lowery …, Respondents/Appellants Cora and Michael Redmond … defamed his character in an attempt to ensure that he would not succeed in his bid for election to public office, by distributing defamatory information about him to prospective voters. [Lowery sued for defamation. -EV] On October 30, 2017, the trial court issued a temporary restraining order in Appellee's favor…. On December 8, 2017, the trial court entered a consent order granting a temporary injunction against Appellants, relying in part on the parties' agreement to continue the temporary restraining order already in place…. [Lowery was elected as Commissioner on August 2, 2018. -EV]
The trial court apparently entered another a temporary restraining order on November 4, 2019, which enjoined Appellants from distributing certain material about Appellee. The trial court then granted Appellee's requests for injunctive relief ….
The court concluded that the trial court (the Chancery Court) lacked jurisdiction, because its jurisdiction excluded, by statute, any claims "for unliquidated damages for injuries to person or character," and that meant that the accompanying claims for injunctive and declaratory relief couldn't be decided by the trial court, either. In the process, the court noted:
