James C. Tomlinson and Charles F. McKelvey, v. Edna J. Kelley and Jeanette M. Coke

This appeal involves a controversy surrounding the appointment of a local city official. The mayor and the city manager of the City of Berry Hill filed a defamation action in the Circuit Court for Davidson County against two city residents who publicly questioned the circumstances surrounding the interim appointment of a member of the Board of Commissioners. The trial court granted the residents’ motion for summary judgment and dismissed the city officials’ complaint. On this appeal, the city officials assert that the trial court should not have granted the summary judgment because the record contains evidence that the residents knew or should have known that their critical statements made to a local newspaper were false. We affirm the trial court.