KNOXVILLE (LN) — U.S. Magistrate Judge Debra C. Poplin on Friday ordered Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon to submit to a deposition in a First Amendment retaliation case brought by a bar owner, ruling that her official responsibilities do not provide a blanket exemption from discovery obligations.
Poplin granted the plaintiffs’ motion to compel the deposition and denied the city’s motion for a protective order, rejecting the city’s contention that Kincannon lacks personal knowledge of the events at issue and that her testimony would impose an undue burden on city government operations.
The dispute centers on allegations that Kincannon conspired with city officials and the Tennessee Alcohol Beverage Commission to shut down Billiards and Brews, LLC, and silence its owner, Richard Lawhorn, after he publicly opposed the mayor’s enforcement of a COVID-19 curfew.
Lawhorn, who ran for mayor in 2023, alleged that Kincannon directed police to cite his business 18 times for violating the curfew and conspired with TABC agents to revoke his liquor license without a hearing.
The city argued that Kincannon should be protected from deposition because the remaining claims involve a July 2022 raid on the bar, which was conducted by TABC agents and a police officer, not the mayor directly.
Defendants contended that Lawhorn’s claims against Kincannon were based on “information and belief” rather than facts, and that her deposition would amount to an impermissible “fishing expedition” into the operations of a high-ranking public official.
Kincannon filed a declaration stating that she has no personal knowledge of the case and that taking time for depositions would impede her ability to direct city government efficiently.
Poplin found that Lawhorn’s deposition testimony provided sufficient evidence to overcome the low relevance threshold, noting that a police sergeant explicitly threatened Lawhorn with retaliation.
“Sergeant Coward told him that if he ‘didn’t start following Mayor Kincannon[’s] 432(b)[,] she would put [him] out of business,’ ” Poplin wrote, citing Lawhorn’s deposition transcript.
Lawhorn also testified that an unknown officer told him in June 2022 that if he “didn’t quit stepping on the [M]ayor’s toes, she’s going to put [him] out of business,” and that he was out of business about 45 days later.
The magistrate judge acknowledged that the plaintiffs had not presented much evidence directly implicating Kincannon or Lawhorn’s subsequent booking, but ruled that the city failed to demonstrate the “clearly defined and serious injury” required to justify a protective order.
“Obligations, time constraints, and official responsibilities[;] however, ‘are all part of the job of any busy official,... and cannot be used as a blanket pass against being deposed in any and all cases involving the duties of the office,’ ” Poplin wrote, citing Sixth Circuit precedent.
Poplin limited the deposition to 90 minutes to balance the plaintiffs’ right to discovery with the need to prevent harassment, noting that Kincannon’s own declaration suggested her testimony would likely be short given her claimed lack of knowledge.
The case now proceeds to discovery, with Lawhorn’s mayoral campaign having concluded after he ran for the office in 2023.