FMS partners Arthur G. Seymour, Jr. and Benjamin C. Mullins recently won a case for a local quarrying company before the Tennessee Supreme Court.
In a unanimous decision the Tennessee Supreme Court upheld the Jefferson County Chancery Court’s holding that our client’s quarrying activities may continue under the “grandfather clause” despite the enactment of a county zoning ordinance which sought to limit the uses of the 300 acre parcel to agricultural. The “grandfather clause” is a statute that permits a business to continue if it is “in operation” at a time an otherwise prohibitive zoning ordinance takes effect. The opinion, which included a separate concurrence by Justice William C. Koch, Jr., reversed the Tennessee Court of Appeals’ ruling which dismissed our client’s case because it did not exhaust its administrative remedies prior to filing a declaratory judgment lawsuit. The Tennessee Supreme Court held that under these unique circumstances, our client did not have to go before a local Board of Zoning Appeals prior to commencing litigation.
You can read the Court’s unanimous decision here .
You can read Justice Koch’s concurring opinion here.
Frantz, McConnell & Seymour, LLP offers legal services in virtually every area of civil and business law representing clients throughout East Tennessee.
