Vanderbilt University quarterback Diego Pavia has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee against the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA). The suit claims rules that count junior college years toward NCAA eligibility are an antitrust violation, and that he should have at least one more year of eligibility in 2025 — and potentially two. Pavia, who played two years at New Mexico Military Institute before moving on to New Mexico State for two years and then Vanderbilt this year, argues in the complaint that the rule restricts the name, image and likeness (NIL) earning ability of college athletes. The Associated Press has the story.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has extended a limited disaster plan for all the trial courts in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Judicial Districts following severe flooding that occurred in the wake of Hurricane Helene. Deadlines for filings, statutes of limitation and certain court orders that were extended through Nov. 12 are now extended through Dec. 25. Read the full order.

Nashville lawyer John Edward Anderson Sr. died Oct. 29 at age 63. He graduated from the University of Tennessee and received his law degree from Washington and Lee University School of Law. Anderson later served as a member of the University of Tennessee (UT) Board of Governors and the Davidson County UT Alumni Association Board of Directors. Anderson practiced law with the Nashville firm of Dickinson Wright. Visitation will be held at St. Henry Catholic Church, 6401 Harding Pk., Nashville 37205, on Nov. 15 from 9-11 a.m. CST, followed by a funeral mass at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Heart Association or a charity of the donor's choice.

Produced by the TBA Women in the Profession Committee, the third annual Raising the Bar program will be held Dec. 4 at Baker Donelson's Nashville offices. Attendees will hear from a full roster of speakers and enjoy opportunities to network during breakfast and a reception after the program. This year's Raising the Bar CLE will address ways to successfully tackle personal and professional life transitions. The program will kick off with keynote speaker Megan Barry, who will discuss her new book 'It's What You Do Next: The Fall and Rise of Nashville's First Female Mayor.' The next two sessions will focus on personal and professional life transitions for attorneys and feature panelists such as Chancellor Anne Martin, former Judge Bernice Donald, former Chancellor Ellen Lyle, Casey Duhart, Paul Ney and Kisha Cheeks Rucker. The program will wrap up with a session on career development, including ways to advocate for professional advancement.

TBA’s Group Health Insurance, provided by BlueCross BlueShield, offers guaranteed issue coverage, with no health questions and no pre-existing condition exclusions. The Nashville law firm Sherrard Roe Voigt Harbison made the switch. Here is what firm administrative assistant Leah Atkinson says about the program: "Our firm joined the TBA group health insurance in 2024. We could not ignore the fact that it would be cost effective with a significant savings of about $25,000 on our monthly premiums. The transition to the new medical plan was seamless. The team held enrollment meetings with our group and answered any questions we had about the plan. We are committed to providing our employees with the best possible health care coverage but then to pass on savings to our employees, it was an easy decision to make for our group." Find out more or get your quote now.

An article in Friday's issue of TBA Today included an incorrect death date for Judge Robert E. Lillard. The Nashville councilman, judge and civil rights activist died Nov. 6, 1991.

Veterans are campaigning to mainstream psychedelic therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder, despite the Food and Drug Administration's rejection of an ecstasy-based treatment back in August, Axios reports. While psychedelics have been classified as controlled substances since 1970, interest has grown in their potential to treat mental health conditions, particularly among veterans. About 29% of veterans who served in Afghanistan and Iraq are expected to develop PTSD, and veteran suicide rates are higher than the general population, according to the paper. In 2017, the FDA granted fast-track review to a PTSD treatment combining ecstasy and talk therapy. The Veterans Affairs Department began funding psychedelic therapy research this year, and Congress passed legislation directing the Pentagon to study the treatments. However, the FDA's August rejection of the fast-tracked therapy, citing safety concerns and allegations of misconduct in clinical trials, set back those efforts. Veterans have continued to advocate for changes at the state and federal level with mixed results. Oregon and Colorado have legalized psychedelic mushrooms, while Massachusetts voters recently rejected a similar proposal.

Just in time for Veterans Day, the TBA's "General Introduction to the Practice of Veterans Law" program is now available on demand. The CLE program for attorneys interested in representing veterans covers topics such as Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) claims procedures, eligibility for benefits and appeals processes. The program features presentations by experts from the VA Office of General Counsel and a VA accredited practice. For more information about the program visit TBA’s website.

Tennessee attorney Carol Anne Mutter died Nov. 3 at the age of 78. Mutter, who grew up in Jonesborough, earned her law degree at the Georgetown University Law Center. She practiced law privately and served as a professor at the University of Tennessee Law School for 30 years, specializing in civil procedure, torts, insurance and health law. Later in life, Mutter transitioned to local government, serving as mayor of Lookout Mountain, for six years. Read more about Mutter’s life in a tribute. Donations in her honor may be made to the Children's Nutrition Program of Haiti, P.O. Box 3720, Chattanooga, TN 37404 or Volunteers in Medicine, Chattanooga, 5705 Marlin Rd., Chattanooga, TN 37411.

A federal judicial committee on Friday agreed to develop rules to regulate the use of certain evidence generated by artificial intelligence (AI), Reuters reports.  The U.S. Judicial Conference's Advisory Committee on Evidence Rules said it would press ahead with developing policies to help judges deal with claims that a piece of audio or video evidence is a "deep fake." The meeting comes amid broader efforts by federal and state courts nationally to address the rise of generative AI and its ability to learn from large datasets and then generate text, images and videos. According to the committee, the rules will address concerns about the reliability of the processes used by computer technologies to make predictions or draw inferences from existing data, akin to how courts have addressed the reliability of expert witness testimony. According to Reuters, judges are looking at the possibility of subjecting computer-generated evidence to the same reliability standards as expert witnesses. Interested in learning more about the impact of AI on the law? Don't miss the TBA's Conference on Artificial Intelligence & the Law on Dec. 6.