Stay current with legal news in Tennessee. This page features the latest news for and about the Tennessee legal community, either produced by the Tennessee Bar Association or collected from news sources.
Knox County Circuit Court Judge Harold Wimberly today dismissed a bid by a Georgia trucking company to block Pilot Flying J from contacting customers in the wake of a federal probe into its fuel rebate program. Wimberly ruled the Georgia firm, which is suing Pilot for allegedly withholding rebates, lacked proof of its claims that Pilot was tampering with witnesses. The Georgia company had argued that Pilot's efforts to reach out to customers to offer rebates while the investigation was ongoing amounted to witness tampering. Meanwhile, petitions to certify class action suits against Pilot have been filed in Tennessee, Alabama and Arkansas. Knoxnews has more on both of these stories.
U.S. District Judge Todd Campbell, who is overseeing changes at the Tennessee Department of Children's Services (DCS), expressed cautious optimism that the agency's new leadership can resolve some of its problems, the Associated Press reports. At a hearing Monday, lawyers for the department said DCS has created a process for tracking and reviewing the deaths and near deaths of children the agency has tried to help. Campbell said the department was addressing the concerns he raised in January but he is waiting to see the final results. WATE News 5 in Knoxville has the story.
U.S. District Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays is considering whether he should change the terms of the 2011 consent decree that so far has governed the path to consolidation of Shelby County’s two public school systems, the Memphis Daily News reports. Mays today raised the possibility of changing the structure of the new school board that will take effect on Sept. 1, saying the current plan might raise equal protection concerns and could result in more than 400,000 Shelby County citizens being represented by school board members they did not elect.
An investiture ceremony for new Hamilton County Juvenile Court Judge Rob Philyaw will take place Wednesday at 3 p.m. at the Juvenile Court, 1600 E. 3rd St., Chattanooga. Philyaw replaces Judge Suzanne Bailey, whose retirement is effective at the end of April.
Memphis lawyer and former Memphis Bar Association president Susan M. Clark died this morning after a long battle with cancer. Details regarding funeral arrangements will be announced as soon as they are available, the MBA reports.
A number of new honorees were inducted into the Tennessee Journalism Hall of Fame last week, the Daily Times reports. Among them was Chris Clark, retired chief news anchor for Nashville’s WTVF-TV NewsChannel 5, who played a strategic role in convincing the Tennessee Supreme Court to allow cameras in courtrooms. Clark is the longest tenured news anchor in Tennessee with his 41-year stint at the station. He currently is a mass communication instructor at MTSU. Also inducted was John Seigenthaler, chairman emeritus of The Tennessean, founding editorial director of USA Today and founder of the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University. He also is the first to serve as MTSU’s Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies.
Investigative online newspaper Tennessee Watchdog warns that taxpayers could spend more than $165 million to replace federal courthouses in Nashville and Chattanooga even though a new audit by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) suggests replacements are not needed. The GAO report, according to the paper, found fault with the Nashville plan, saying the current building has more courtrooms than it does judges. In Chattanooga, it found that the current facility has the same number of judges and courtrooms. One of the GAO’s requirements for supporting new courthouses is the need for at least two additional courtrooms. Tennessee is not alone in the assessment. The report found that of the 12 courthouses planned across the country, only two are really needed.
Legal Aid of East Tennessee – through its Erlanger Health Law Partnership and Pro Bono Project – recently hosted a clinic at Chattanooga CARES. This first-of-its-kind clinic helped HIV-positive individuals take control of the legal aspects of their health by drafting powers of attorney and wills. Pro Bono Project Director Charlie McDaniel said the event was the first in a series of “Health Empowerment Clinics” that will take place in the city. For more information contact Legal Aid at (423) 756-4013.
CASA of Northeast Tennessee will hold its 5th Annual Benefit Motorcycle Ride on May 11 at Smith Brothers Harley Davidson in Johnson City. Registration begins at 10 a.m. The ride starts at 11 a.m. A $10 donation is requested per rider. Food and drinks will be provided after the ride. The event also will feature a corn hole tournament from 1 to 3 p.m. For more information contact the agency at (423) 461-3500 or admin@casanetn.org. In other news, the agency also recently announced it would conduct training for new volunteers on May 28.
Law Day events continue this week with a number scheduled for tomorrow, May 1. Events added to the list of activities taking place across the state include a luncheon in Greeneville hosted by the Northeast Tennessee Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and an evening session with U.S. Attorney Bill Killian hosted by the Bradley County Bar Association. See the latest information on the TBA website.
The Tennessee Supreme Court has sent back to the trial court a dispute between a Memphis law firm and a former partner and paralegal to determine whether arbitration is appropriate. The law firm of Glassman, Edwards, Wyatt, Tuttle & Cox filed a lawsuit against the two former employees, alleging fraud and breach of duties to the firm. Both asked the trial court to send their cases to arbitration. After the firm asserted arbitration was not required and other disagreements arose, the trial court expanded the scope of discovery and mediation to cover all aspects of the parties’ disputes. In an opinion issued today, the Supreme Court concluded that the trial court erred in expanding the case to issues other than enforceability of arbitration provisions.
The Tennessee Supreme Court temporarily suspended the law license of Knoxville lawyer Whitney Suzanne Bailey on April 26 for her failure to respond to a complaint of ethical misconduct. The suspension remains in effect until dissolution or modification by the court. Download the BPR release.
JANE DOE v. KNOX COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION ET AL.
Court: TN Court of Appeals
Attorneys:
Andrew C. Clarke, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, Jane Doe.
Susan E. Crabtree and Amy S. Hickerson, Knox County Law Director’s Office, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Knox County Board of Education.
This action against David Higgins (“the Instructor”) and his employer, the Knox County Board of Education (“KCBE”), is based upon events that occurred while the plaintiff Jane Doe1 (“the Student”) was a freshman ROTC2 student at West High School in Knoxville. In simple terms, the Instructor allowed the Student and other female ROTC students to drink alcohol to the point of intoxication and, while they were intoxicated, he persuaded them to expose their breasts. The Student reported the episodes to the school and her parents when the Instructor’s demands escalated to the point that he repeatedly encouraged the Student to allow him to film her and others in a sexual “threesome.” The case went to trial. The claims against the Instructor were tried to a jury. The claims against KCBE pursuant to the Governmental Tort Liability Act (“the GTLA”) were heard simultaneously by the trial court. The jury awarded the Student damages against the Instructor in the amount of $65,000 for negligent infliction of emotional distress. It rejected the claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress. The portion of the court’s judgment pertaining to the claims against the Instructor is not at issue in this appeal. The trial court determined that KCBE was not liable for the Instructor’s actions because the court concluded he was acting outside the scope of his employment. The court further determined that there was no negligence upon which liability as to KCBE could be imposed. After the judgment was entered, the Student learned that the trial judge’s wife was a retired employee of KCBE. On that basis, the Student moved the court to recuse itself and award her a new trial. The court denied the Student’s post-trial motion. The Student appeals only as to the claims against KCBE. We affirm.
Despite the repeal of similar laws in other states, Tennessee is moving ahead with a plan to drug test some welfare applicants, the Tennessean reports. Sen. Stacey Campfield, R-Knoxville, sponsored the bill last year, giving the Department of Human Resources until July 1, 2014, to implement it. Campfield and other proponents say the law would be considered successful if it drives down the number of welfare applicants simply because they knew they would be tested. Pam McMichael, executive director of the New Market-based Highlander Research and Education Center, opposes the law, saying "It doesn't take stigmas away, it doesn't make our neighborhoods safer … It's an extension of an already unsuccessful war on drugs." WBIR has this story on issues other states have faced trying to implement similar laws.
Sixth Judicial District Juvenile Court Judge Timothy Irwin has been added to the Judicial Ethics Committee, filling the remainder of Judge Suzanne Bailey’s term. View the full list of committee members here.
Lawmakers and advocates in Pennsylvania met recently in a public forum to discuss how to replace the state's current system of electing judges. While there is agreement that the current system is broken, there is still debate on what is the best way to fix it. Judges On Merit contributing writer Colin Emerle makes the case for merit selection.
Tennessee lawmakers passed a resolution designating August 31 as an annual celebration, “Traditional Marriage Day” the Nashville Business Journal reports. Chris Sanders of the Tennessee Equality Project said the resolutions sends the wrong message and his organization has declared August 31 “Tennessee Marriage Equality Day.”
In an opinion piece for the Tennessean, Washington Post columnist George Will examines the social and political history of the 1944 Korematsu v. United States decision, which affirmed President Franklin Roosevelt’s wartime power to sweep Americans of Japanese ancestry into concentration camps. Peter Iron, founder of the Earl Warren Bill of Rights Project at the University of California, is campaigning for a Supreme Court repudiation of the decision -- an unprecedented act. Will writes that it is “less important that the decision be repudiated than that it be remembered” and warns that the case is a reminder that waiving constitutional rights is rarely necessary and rarely ends well.
Gov. Bill Haslam has signed a measure outlawing library cards and other types of county or city issued photo ID cards for voting, the Murfreesboro Post reports. The House passed the bill and the Senate subsequently concurred with the House version, dropping an amendment that would have allowed use of state college issued IDs for voting.
Former Nashville Judge James Mayes Swiggart died Thursday (April 25). He was 91. Swiggart received his bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and his law degree from the University of Virginia. During World War II, he flew the F4U dive bomber for the United States Navy and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with one gold star and one silver star. After a career in private law practice, Judge Swiggart was appointed to Nashville's newly created Sixth Circuit Court where he served as judge for 23 years. During his career, he also served as president of the Tennessee Judicial Conference and led numerous civic organizations. Visitation will be held Friday at the Cheek House at Presbyterian Church on Franklin Road from noon to 1:45 p.m., followed by a service at Stanford Chapel at 2 p.m. Interment will follow at Woodlawn Memorial Park. At the family's request, please make donations to Monteagle Sunday School Assembly, P.O. Box 307, Monteagle, TN 37356, Winfield Fund or Capital Fund.
