Tennessee: Anti-SLAPP Laws

The short answer

Tennessee's Public Participation Act (TPPA), enacted in 2019, gives a
defendant sued over protected speech, petitioning, or association activity a
petition to dismiss the case early. File within 60 days of being served, and
discovery stops automatically the moment you do. The statute walks the court
through three steps in order, and a prevailing petitioner is entitled to
attorney's fees as a matter of course.

Requirements one by one

Governing law

The TPPA lives in Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 20-17-101 through -110, added by 2019
Tenn. Acts, ch. 185, effective July 1, 2019. The enacting act itself says it
applies only to a legal action commenced on or after that date. Every section
of the chapter still carries only that same original 2019 enactment note —
there has been no substantive amendment since.

What speech or conduct is protected

Three categories trigger the petition: the right of free speech (a
communication tied to a matter of public concern or religious expression),
the right to petition (a communication meant to prompt or encourage a
government body's review of an issue), and the right of association
(collective action on a matter of public concern). Each must independently
fall within First Amendment or Tennessee constitutional protection — the
statute doesn't cover speech generally, only speech the Constitution itself
protects. "Matter of public concern" is defined broadly: health or safety;
environmental, economic, or community well-being; the government; a public
official or public figure; a good, product, or service in the marketplace; a
literary, musical, artistic, political, theatrical, or audiovisual work; or
"any other matter deemed by a court to involve a matter of public concern."

The petition to dismiss

File within 60 calendar days of being served with the complaint; a court can
allow a later filing "at any later time that the court deems proper," but
that's discretionary, not a right. The opposing party must respond, including
any affidavits, at least 5 days before the hearing. The moment you file,
every bit of discovery in the case is automatically stayed until the court
rules on the petition — though a judge can still allow specific, limited
discovery on a showing of good cause.

Burden of proof

Tennessee's test runs in three distinct steps, not the two-step pattern most
other states use. First, you (the petitioner) must make a prima facie case
that the lawsuit is based on, relates to, or responds to your protected
activity. Second, if you clear that bar, the court must dismiss the case
unless the plaintiff establishes a prima facie case for every essential
element of its own claim. Third — and this is the distinctive step — even if
the plaintiff clears step two, the court must still dismiss the case if you
go on to establish a valid defense to the claim.

Attorney's fees

If the court dismisses the action on your petition, the award to you is
mandatory: court costs, reasonable attorney's fees, discretionary costs, and
other expenses you incurred filing and winning the petition. The court can
also order additional relief, including sanctions, to deter the same conduct
by that plaintiff or others. Fees only flow the other way — to the plaintiff
you petitioned against — if the court makes specific written findings that
your petition itself was frivolous or filed solely to delay the case.

Right to appeal

An order granting or denying the petition is immediately appealable as a
matter of right to the Tennessee Court of Appeals, under the normal appellate
rules for as-of-right appeals. Unlike California's statute, Tennessee's text
carves out no exception to this appeal right.

Exemptions

The TPPA does not apply to a government enforcement action brought in the
state's name by the attorney general, a district attorney general, or a
county or municipal attorney. Separately, the chapter is written to slot in
alongside existing law rather than replace it: it creates no private right of
action of its own, doesn't limit any remedy, defense, or immunity otherwise
available, doesn't change the substantive law governing the underlying claim,
and can't be used to create a cause of action for a government entity,
agency, or employee.

What trips people up

The 60-day clock is a hard deadline in practice, even though the statute
allows exceptions. The "later time the court deems proper" language gives a
judge discretion to accept a late petition, but it isn't automatic — plan to
file within 60 days of service rather than counting on that exception.

Three steps, not two. Several secondary sources describe Tennessee's test
as a "two-step" process borrowed from older state anti-SLAPP laws. The
statute's own text lays out three distinct steps, and the third — a valid
defense defeating an otherwise-adequate claim — is a real, independent way to
win even after the plaintiff clears step two.

The catch-all "public concern" category has real reach. Tennessee's Court
of Appeals held in Nandigam Neurology, PLC v. Beavers, 639 S.W.3d 651 (Tenn.
Ct. App. 2021), that a negative Yelp review about a doctor qualified as
protected speech under the TPPA's "good, product, or service in the
marketplace" language — a useful illustration of how far the statute's own
categories can stretch beyond obviously political speech.

Common questions

Could the TPPA cover a negative online review I wrote about a business?
Possibly. The statute's definition of "matter of public concern" names "a
good, product, or service in the marketplace" as one of its seven categories,
and Tennessee courts have applied that language to consumer reviews.

What happens if I miss the 60-day filing deadline?
You can still ask the court to accept a late petition, but the statute leaves
that entirely to the court's discretion — there's no guaranteed second
window once 60 days from service have passed.

If I lose my petition, do I have to pay the plaintiff's attorney's fees?
Only if the court specifically finds, in writing, that your petition was
frivolous or filed solely to delay the case. Losing on the merits alone
doesn't trigger a fee award against you.

Does the TPPA give me a separate lawsuit I can bring against someone who
sued me improperly?
No. The chapter explicitly creates no private right of action of its own —
it's a defense and dismissal mechanism inside the lawsuit already filed
against you, not a new claim you can bring on your own.

Statutes and sources

• Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-17-103 — "“Exercise of the right of free
  speech” means a communication made in connection with a matter of
  public concern or religious expression that falls within the protection of
  the United States Constitution or the Tennessee Constitution... “Matter
  of public concern” includes an issue related to: Health or safety;
  Environmental, economic, or community well-being; The government; A public
  official or public figure; A good, product, or service in the marketplace;
  A literary, musical, artistic, political, theatrical, or audiovisual work;
  or Any other matter deemed by a court to involve a matter of public
  concern." Source:
  https://unicourt.github.io/cic-code-tn/transforms/tn/octn/r74/gov.tn.tca.title.20.html
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-17-104 — "If a legal action is filed in response
  to a party's exercise of the right of free speech, right to petition, or
  right of association, that party may petition the court to dismiss the
  legal action. Such a petition may be filed within sixty (60) calendar days
  from the date of service of the legal action or, in the court's discretion,
  at any later time that the court deems proper... All discovery in the legal
  action is stayed upon the filing of a petition under this section." Source:
  https://unicourt.github.io/cic-code-tn/transforms/tn/octn/r74/gov.tn.tca.title.20.html
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-17-105 — "The petitioning party has the burden of
  making a prima facie case that a legal action against the petitioning party
  is based on, relates to, or is in response to that party's exercise of the
  right to free speech, right to petition, or right of association. If the
  petitioning party meets this burden, the court shall dismiss the legal
  action unless the responding party establishes a prima facie case for each
  essential element of the claim in the legal action. Notwithstanding
  subsection (b), the court shall dismiss the legal action if the petitioning
  party establishes a valid defense to the claims in the legal action."
  Source:
  https://unicourt.github.io/cic-code-tn/transforms/tn/octn/r74/gov.tn.tca.title.20.html
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-17-106 — "The court's order dismissing or
  refusing to dismiss a legal action pursuant to a petition filed under this
  chapter is immediately appealable as a matter of right to the court of
  appeals." Source:
  https://unicourt.github.io/cic-code-tn/transforms/tn/octn/r74/gov.tn.tca.title.20.html
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-17-107 — "If the court dismisses a legal action
  pursuant to a petition filed under this chapter, the court shall award to
  the petitioning party: Court costs, reasonable attorney's fees,
  discretionary costs, and other expenses incurred in filing and prevailing
  upon the petition; and Any additional relief, including sanctions, that the
  court determines necessary to deter repetition of the conduct... If the
  court finds that a petition filed under this chapter was frivolous or was
  filed solely for the purpose of unnecessary delay... the court may award to
  the responding party court costs and reasonable attorney's fees incurred in
  opposing the petition." Source:
  https://unicourt.github.io/cic-code-tn/transforms/tn/octn/r74/gov.tn.tca.title.20.html
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-17-108 — "Nothing in this chapter: Applies to an
  enforcement action that is brought in the name of the state or a political
  subdivision of this state by the attorney general, a district attorney
  general, or a county or municipal attorney... Creates a private right of
  action; or Creates any cause of action for any government entity, agency,
  or employee." Source:
  https://unicourt.github.io/cic-code-tn/transforms/tn/octn/r74/gov.tn.tca.title.20.html
  (accessed 2026-07-05).