On January 8, 2026, the Tennessee Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for its January docket in Knoxville, Tennessee. Oral arguments will be heard at the Tennessee Supreme Court building in Knoxville and livestreamed to the TNCourts YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/@TNCourts).
Beginning at 9:00 am EST, the Court will hear the following two cases:
• Tri-State Insurance Company of Minnesota a/s/o Campus Chalet, Inc. v. East Tennessee Sprinkler Company, Inc. – East Tennessee Sprinkler Company (“ETS”) installed a sprinkler system at the Campus Chalet in Johnson City in 1992. ETS also agreed to inspect, maintain, and repair the sprinkler system after installation. In 2020, nearly 30 years after installation, one of the water lines in the system burst, causing damage to Campus Chalet’s property. In 2023, Campus Chalet’s insurance carrier, Tri-State Insurance Company (“Tri-State”), filed a subrogation action—stepping into the shoes of Campus Chalet—against ETS, asserting tort and contract claims. ETS moved to dismiss the action. ETS relied on what is known as a statute of repose, a law that imposes a four-year time limit on claims that seek compensation for property damage arising out of a deficiency in the construction of an improvement to real property. The Washington County Circuit Court granted the motion, finding Tri-State’s lawsuit untimely. The Court of Appeals reversed, concluding that the allegations in the lawsuit challenged ETS’s inspection and maintenance of the sprinkler system rather than its installation. The Tennessee Supreme Court granted ETS’s application for permission to appeal to consider the pleading requirements for allegations like those in Tri-State’s lawsuit and the proper interpretation of the law imposing a four-year time limit for filing suit.
• Preston Garner et al. v. Southern Baptist Convention et al. – Preston Garner is an ordained minister who was working at a Baptist church and a Baptist-affiliated school. The Southern Baptist Convention (“SBC”)—a network of independent churches—determines whether local churches are in “friendly cooperation” with the SBC. The SBC had established a reporting mechanism for allegations of sexual abuse against individuals involved in Baptist ministry. The SBC inquired of Mr. Garner’s church whether it was aware of an allegation of sexual misconduct that allegedly had occurred years earlier at a different church in another state. After the inquiry, Mr. Garner lost his church and school employment. Mr. Garner subsequently filed what is primarily a defamation action against the SBC. The SBC moved to dismiss the lawsuit, but the trial court and the Court of Appeals ruled that it could proceed. The Tennessee Supreme Court granted the SBC’s application for permission to appeal to consider whether the “ecclesiastical abstention” or “church autonomy” doctrine, which generally limits courts from adjudicating questions of internal church governance, precludes the lawsuit. Also before the Court is a question of whether the Tennessee Public Participation Act, a law that is designed to protect the exercise of free speech rights, precludes the lawsuit.
Media members planning to attend oral arguments should review Supreme Court Rule 30 and file any required requests with:
Samantha Fisher
Communications Director
Administrative Office of the Courts
samantha.fisher@tncourts.gov