Chattanooga radio host David Tulis has filed a lawsuit against Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Page, alleging Page conspired to have him falsely imprisoned, the Tennessee Tribune reports. Tulis was arrested in November 2021 while “covering” the Tennessee Judicial Conference in Franklin and charged with criminal trespass. The charge was ultimately dismissed. In February, Administrative Office of the Courts Director Michelle Long established a new blanket closure policy that prohibits members of the press from attending conference sessions. The policy drew a lawsuit from news organization The Center Square for allegedly violating First Amendment rights of access. In addition to Page, the suit filed by Tulis names his arresting officer, the City of Franklin, the AOC education manager John Crawford and Atrium Hospitality. Tulis seeks $75,000 in compensation and an order to open the judicial conferences to the public.

U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-TN, and Richard Blumenthal, D-CT, are asking the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) how it plans to combat the use of online bots following an incident involving Ticketmaster’s presale of Taylor Swift tickets. Ticketmaster says it canceled the general public ticket sale for Swift’s upcoming tour after online bots, in this instance used by scalpers, briefly crashed its site. Blackburn and Blumenthal co-sponsored the 2016 Better Online Ticket Sales Act, or BOTS Act, which bans the use of such bots to buy tickets in bulk from online sites for the purpose of reselling them at higher prices. “The recent difficulties consumers have faced while attempting to purchase tickets is a serious concern and reflective of anti-competitive conduct in the online ticket marketplace,” Blackburn said in a statement. “Fortunately, a solution is already in place that would go a long way in reducing ticket costs and protecting consumers and artists from scammers." The Tennessean has more on the story.

Memphis lawyer Stephen H. Biller died on Nov. 27 and was laid to rest today at Temple Israel Cemetery. A graduate of Boston University School of Law, Biller was recruited by the National Labor Relations Board in Memphis and joined the practice of Goodman Glazer as a litigation attorney. He then joined what is now known as Baker Donelson as a partner practicing in civil litigation and labor and employment law. Biller later practiced at the Bogatin Law Firm and later the Biller Law Firm. He served as commissioner of the Memphis Civil Service Commission, as trustee and chairman of the Tennessee Bar Foundation and as a fellow on the American Bar Foundation. Contributions can be made in Biller’s memory  to the Tennessee Bar Foundation, the Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County or Temple Israel in his memory.

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GriffithLaw in Franklin is now accepting applications for an associate attorney to join its growing team of personal injury attorneys. Personal injury experience is preferred, but not required. The successful candidate will have a strong academic background, a desire to better their skills as a trial attorney and will align with the firm’s core values of honesty, integrity, respect of others and team-first attitude. Visit the TBA’s JobLink page for instructions on how to apply.

The TBA’s 2022 Ethics Roadshow will stop in Chattanooga on Dec. 9 after kicking off in Knoxville the day before. This year’s program is again presented by Memphis attorney Brian Faughnan, owner of Faughnan Law. The theme is “While You Were Sheltering,” because while most of us were “sheltering in place” during the last couple of years, there have been some significant changes to Tennessee's ethics rules. Each program will offer three components: an update on which rules have changed, an overview of important rules that remain unchanged and a look ahead at rules changes that may be on the horizon.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi today announced she will step down from her post, The Hill reports. Her announcement came after news that control of the U.S. House had officially flipped to Republicans. Though she will cede her leadership seat at the end of the term, Pelosi will remain in Congress. She has led House Democrats since 2003. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-NY, is widely viewed as the favorite to replace Pelosi, but Katherine Clark, D-MA, and Pete Aguilar, D-CA, are also expected to launch bids for higher leadership positions.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today reappointed two members of its Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission to second terms. Lori Thomas Reid and J. Marcus Rudolph will each serve another three-year term that will expire on Jan. 9, 2026. The high court noted it was reappointing Reid and Rudolph “because of their outstanding contributions to the Commission.” Read the order.

Tennessee attorney Luther H. Icenhour passed away on Sept. 28. He was 87. Icenhour graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law and practiced law for 58 years. He is survived by his wife of 64 years and enjoyed traveling, boating, football and fishing. Icenhour was interred at Glenwood Cemetery in Virginia. Donations can still be made in Icenhour’s name to St. Lukes United Methodist Church in Bristol, Virginia, or to a local animal shelter of your choosing.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti joined 21 states in filing a petition for rulemaking, asking the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to repeal the federal vaccine mandate for healthcare workers. “Evidence continues to mount that the ongoing mandate is an unprecedented overreach of the Federal government and has exacerbated shortages of healthcare workers in Tennessee and other states,” Skrmetti said. The petition asks HHS and CMS to repeal the vaccine mandate and withdraw any related guidance. Read more from the AG’s office.