Former Red Bank Police Chief Larry SneedFormer Red Bank police chief Larry Sneed's wrongful termination suit against the city will be heard by a jury, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled last week.
Sneed sued in 2010 after he was fired by then-city manager Chris Dorsey. Dorsey said at a meeting days later that unspecified "issues" led to the firing, which the mayor and at least one commissioner opposed.
Sneed's attorneys filed a suit alleging, among other claims, that Sneed was the victim of age discrimination as outlined in the Tennessee Human Rights Act and that he suffered retribution for acting as a whistleblower in violation of the Tennessee Public Protection Act. The case was set to be heard in Hamilton County Chancery Court in 2012, but the city questioned whether it should be heard in that court.
The city claimed that under a state law, the Governmental Tort Liability Act, private citizens can't have their trials heard by Chancery Court juries.
The Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled the case should be heard in Circuit Court, but the Supreme Court's ruling reversed that decision. It ruled that the age discrimination portion of Sneed's suit, the part governed by the Tennessee Human Rights Act, should be decided by a Chancery Court jury. The jury will also hear the whistleblower violation portion of Sneed's case, which is governed by the Tennessee Public Protection Act, but a judge and not a jury will make decisions about those claims.
The high court's decision set a precedent, Red Bank Attorney Arnie Stulce said.
"To my understanding, several other, somewhat similar cases around the state ... have been waiting for this decision," Stulce said.
Sneed's attorney, Lee Davis, said he will request a jury trial date be set as soon as possible.
Contact staff writer Claire Wiseman at cwiseman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347.
From the future, March 2015: