Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Bob Cooper provided insight for an article in Law360 outlining the groundbreaking decision in the case brought by the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County challenging the state’s attempt to reduce the size of Nashville Metro Council. In the article, Bob and Wally Dietz, Metro Legal Director, provided details about the case and the discussed the impact of the decision.
In 2023, the state of Tennessee passed a law aimed at reducing the size of the council from 40 to 20 members. Metro Nashville filed suit challenging the constitutionality of the law. In late July 2024, a three-judge panel ruled in favor of Metro Nashville, declaring the law unconstitutional.
“What we were facing here, particularly with regard to size of council, was not just loss of sovereignty with state coming in and telling Metro how large its governing body could be, but a timing issue,” Bob said noting that this was all occurring less than six months before local elections were to be held.
The issue was hotly debated for months. “The state tried to argue that the bill had not applied only to Metro Nashville but had general application across the state,” Bob said. “But legislators did not hide the fact that they were talking about Metro Nashville with this bill.”
In discussing the three-judge panel decision, Bob said, “I think we’ve been able to show that Metro Nashville judges are not outliers … [the decision was] a big win for the citizens of Nashville and their right to decide their own form of government.”
The Law360 article, “How Bass Berry Scored A Win For Nashville’s City Council,” was published August 21 and is available online. To read more about the case, click here.