Nearly a decade after flames roared out of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and into Gatlinburg, survivors are not done fighting in court. Plaintiffs in the long-running suits over the 2016 Chimney Tops 2 fire filed a notice of appeal on April 28, 2026, after a judge dismissed key claims tied to the blaze that devastated the resort town. The filing follows a final judgment entered March 31, 2026, that wiped out consolidated Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) cases and sharply narrowed potential recoveries for survivors and insurers. The lawsuits all track back to the Thanksgiving‑week inferno that killed 14 people and leveled thousands of properties as flames pushed out of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Plaintiffs take the case back to the appeals court
The new notice asks the U.S. Court of Appeals to review the dismissal, according to WATE. The appeal covers both groups of plaintiffs, including family members of people killed in the fire and insurance companies that paid claims, and it aims to overturn the March 31 judgment that shut down the consolidated litigation.
Appeals history has already been winding
This case has already done a tour between the Eastern District of Tennessee and the Sixth Circuit, with a federal appellate panel previously vacating an earlier dismissal and sending failure‑to‑warn claims back for more fact‑finding, as outlined by the Sixth Circuit. That back‑and‑forth means the latest appeal is just the newest turn in a dispute the courts have repeatedly framed around a narrow but critical question: were park policies binding rules that officials had to follow, or broad guidelines that left room for judgment calls?
District court: warning choices were protected
U.S. District Judge J. Ronnie Greer granted the government's renewed motion to dismiss on March 31, 2026, finding that park officials’ decisions about when and how to warn the public “represented the kind of judgment calls that are protected under the discretionary function exception.” As reported by WVLT, Greer dismissed 11 consolidated cases after concluding the Park had carried out required assessments and issued some warnings under its Fire Management Plan.
What the ruling means under federal law
The decision turns on the Federal Tort Claims Act’s discretionary‑function exception, a provision that shields the United States from suit when an official's conduct reflects policy judgment rather than a strictly mandatory duty. The Sixth Circuit has laid out the two‑step Gaubert test that courts use to separate mandatory directives from judgment calls, and that framework will drive the next round of review. If the appellate court concludes Judge Greer misapplied those standards, plaintiffs could secure another remand for additional factual development; if it affirms, sovereign‑immunity protections will likely keep them from recovering damages. The Sixth Circuit explains the test that will guide that analysis.
Local toll and next steps
Federal analyses put the Chimney Tops 2 fire’s toll at roughly 14 deaths, about 17,140 acres burned, and approximately 2,460 structures damaged or destroyed. Federal data compiled by the U.S. Fire Administration lays out those figures and the event’s financial and human costs. With the notice of appeal filed April 28, 2026, the appeals court will decide whether to accept the case, set briefing deadlines, and potentially schedule oral argument. That process is expected to take months and will determine whether this chapter of the Gatlinburg litigation finally closes or continues its run through the federal courts.
