Clerk of the Appellate Courts James M. Hivner and Dodson, Parker, Behm & Capparella attorneys Donald Capparella and Kimberly Macdonald will lead E-Filing Appeals in Tennessee on Feb. 25 from 1 to 2 p.m. CST. The trio will discuss tips and best practices regarding Tennessee's TrueFiling system for appellate briefs. Members of the Appellate Practice Section will receive discounted pricing. Not a section member? Join today!

The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that Tennessee’s Health Care Liability Act (HCLA) requires defendants to provide plaintiffs with written notice when plaintiffs sue the wrong defendant but does not provide a penalty or a remedy when defendants fail to comply with the statute. Read the Supreme Court’s majority opinion in Bidwell ex rel. Bidwell et al. v. Strait et al., authored by Justice Cornelia A. Clark, as well as the separate concurring opinion authored by Justice Holly Kirby and separate concurring in part and dissenting in part opinion authored by Justice Sharon G. Lee.

Former general counsel for the Administrative Office of the Courts David William Haines Jr., died on Jan. 16. Haines earned his law degree from Samford University Cumberland School of Law in 1982 and served as the City of Clarksville’s first full-time attorney for 14 years before joining the AOC. Over his eight years as general counsel, Haines provided education and training to trial court, general sessions and juvenile judges through conferences and other educational opportunities. He also worked on several major initiatives, including indigent representation, jury selection processes, judicial elections, the use of guardian ad litem representation in juvenile cases and employment law.

Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Paula Skahan last week released a written order further explaining her comments last week in the Pervis Payne death penalty case, the Commercial Appeal reports. Skahan said last week that a new DNA analysis report does not exonerate Payne, who was convicted of a 1987 double murder and sentenced to death. In yesterday’s order, Skahan said the possible presence of Payne’s DNA on the murder weapon, a washcloth taken from the victims’ apartment and on a tampon found near one victim’s body were “not favorable” to Payne and the new report did not establish that other people were present during the crimes. Her order formally closes this stage of the case. Payne’s legal team will now prepare a request for clemency to Gov. Bill Lee.

An agreement has been reached in a federal lawsuit filed against Shelby County officials for failure to address the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the Daily Memphian reports. The lawsuit, filed in May on behalf of a dozen inmates, claimed that conditions at the jail were putting medically vulnerable and disabled detainees at risk of contracting the virus. Both parties have agreed to a proposed consent decree that would provide guidelines for the jail on how to curb COVID-19 numbers. Under the consent decree, the jail must be inspected by an independent inspector every 90 days, improve its ventilation and air flow system, provide COVID-19 tests to those with symptoms, provide access to cleaning supplies and more. U.S. Judge Sheryl Lipman must approve the proposed consent decree, which would remain in place for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., today blocked the release of Lisa Eisenhart, the mother of Eric Munchel of Nashville, the “zip tie guy,” the Associated Press reports. The judge also ordered that Eisenhart be transferred from Nashville to D.C. for further proceedings, the same order which was issued for Munchel on Sunday. In both cases, prosecutors have argued the defendants should remain jailed pending trial because they are a danger to the community and a flight risk. Eisenhart and Munchel are charged with violent entry and disorderly conduct on the Capitol grounds, conspiracy and civil disorder. They could each face up to 20 years if convicted.

Atlanta-based Miles Mediation & Arbitration has announced it will open a new alternative dispute resolution office in Nashville. The office will provide mediation, arbitration and dispute management services, with 15 conference rooms and full amenities for clients, including free parking, refreshments and an on-site concierge team. Nashville-based mediator and arbitrator Michael Russell will serve as the lead neutral in the Miles’ Nashville office. Additional panel members include mediators: Andy Rowlett of Howell Fisher in Nashville and Melissa Maravich of Burch, Porter & Johnson in Memphis, as well as Miles panel members Winter Wheeler, Jennifer Grippa, and Matt Thiry. The office is set to open in April and will be located at 120 Brentwood Commons Way, Suite 575, in Brentwood.

Major worldwide law firm K&L Gates is opening a Nashville location that will be staffed by a team of former Butler Snow attorneys, the Nashville Post reports. The firm, which has dozens of offices in five continents and more than 1,800 lawyers, has added Butler Snow attorneys Erin Palmer Polly, Joe Wellborn, Charlie Malone, Bob Walker, Lauren Patten, Beau Creson and Jason Callen. The group of attorneys come from Butler Snow’s commercial litigation group, where they frequently represented locally based private prison operator CoreCivic in litigation. They had all joined Butler Snow in 2015 when the firm brought on 13 attorneys from Walker Tipps & Malone. K&L Gates representatives did not say if the firm plans to add more attorneys locally. The new office will be located at the 222 Second Avenue building. 

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Memphis lawyer Robert Louis Green died Jan. 24. He was 92. Green earned his law degree from Tulane Law School in 1956 and afterward was invited to join the law practice of Charles L. Neely. He was a partner at Neely, Green & Fargarson for many years, focusing primarily on litigation, before ending more than 60 years of legal practice with Allen, Summers, Simpson, Lillie & Gresham. Green was a past president of the Memphis Bar Association and was selected for the Judge Jerome Turner Lawyer's Lawyer award in 2005, and also received the Pillars of Excellence award from the University of Memphis Alumni Chapter in 2011. He served with the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners for 19 years and frequently volunteered with Memphis Area Legal Services. A funeral mass will be held at St. Louis Church, 203 S. White Station Road, on Jan. 28 at 10 a.m. CST, with burial to follow at Memorial Park Cemetery. The funeral mass will be viewable online. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Green's honor to the veteran's organization of your choice.