The Beacon Center has a team of litigators who fight for Tennesseans’ liberty day in and day out. We believe all Tennesseans – regardless of their means – have the right to pursue the American Dream. Therefore, we take up their legal cause at no cost to them when senseless government barriers stand in their way. We have successfully challenged state and local laws and regulations to restore Tennesseans’ economic liberty and property rights, and to eliminate government overreach in their lives.
Recent Success:
Separation of Powers — May 2026: Our lawsuit on behalf of Christian schools was one of four cases that prompted the U.S. Department of Labor to repeal burdensome overtime requirements that it imposed during the Biden Administration. We argued that Congress never authorized the Department to issue the regulations, which was set to impose unforeseen costs on rural Christian schools that were not prepared to bear them.
Property Rights — October 2025: In our landmark class action lawsuit against Nashville’s stormwater capacity fee, a federal court approved a $1.4 million settlement for 361 property owners. Beacon was able to secure this victory — which compels Nashville to offer a full refund to every property owner who had paid the fee — by building on the precedent we set two years earlier in our sidewalks case.
Economic Liberty — August 2025: The Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled in favor of our clients— a record producer and a hairstylist who wanted to earn a living from their homes. The court struck down a Nashville law restricting the number of people our clients could serve because Nashville allowed other home-based businesses — such as daycares and short-term rentals — to serve more customers. The ruling set precedent under the Tennessee Constitution that the government can’t discriminate against businesses without any justification.
Food Trucks — January 2024: Mt. Juliet, in response to our case, changed the law that required food trucks to pay $100 per day to operate within city limits. As a result, our clients can take their award-winning food trucks back to Mt. Juliet.
Property Rights — May 2023: A federal appellate court struck down Nashville’s sidewalk fees, which forced builders to build new sidewalks they didn’t need or pay for new sidewalks that the city built miles away. The case set favorable precedent for property rights and was cited favorably by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2024.
