The Nashville Conflict Resolution Center (NCRC) has been awarded a grant for $484,800 from the Metro Nashville CARES Fund to provide rent assistance through the NCRC’s Civil Mediation Program. NCRC provides free mediation between landlords and tenants in the Davidson County General Sessions Court, and mediators will use the available CARES funds to offer substantial assistance when rent has not been paid at least in part due to effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. NCRC Executive Director Sara Figal says a “tidal wave of evictions” are on the horizon and calls the funding “absolutely vital for our community.” Figal also says NCRC’s work is beneficial for the tenant and also the landlord. “When NCRC mediators intervene, we help stabilize precarious situations for both landlords and tenants, which has positive ripple effects throughout our communities.”

The 10th Judicial District Recovery Court resumed in-person sessions last month with a graduation ceremony held Sept. 8 — the first in-person session since March 6. Five participants graduated in the ceremony in Judge Andrew Freiberg’s Bradley County courtroom. Freiberg said that the recovery court team decided to keep meeting in-person on the first Tuesday of each month and meet via teleconference on the remaining Tuesdays. “We’re kind of merging and doing a hybrid model,” Freiberg said. “The hope is that by seeing each other at least once a month there is a rapport and a relationship built between us, while also being mindful of safety.” Read more on the AOC’s website.

Attorney General Herbert Slatery and Attorneys General in 27 other states today announced a settlement with Tennessee-based Community Health Systems over a data breach that impacted approximately 6.1 million patients, including 450,000 in Tennessee. Patient’s names, birthdates, social security numbers, phone numbers and addresses were exposed during the breach. The judgment requires a $5 million payment to all states. Tennessee will receive $666,686.77. Additionally, CHS will be required to implement and maintain a comprehensive security program to safeguard patients’ information.

Despite objections from the House and Senate speakers, the Tennessee Historical Commission is set to hear a petition this month to relocate the Nathan Bedford Forrest bust at the state Capitol, the Tennessean reports. The State Capitol Commission in July voted in favor of removing the bust and sent the issue to the Historical Commission for a final vote. However, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and House Speaker Cameron Sexton last month said they believe the Historical Commission couldn’t vote on the matter until it is first approved by the State Building Commission. Gov. Bill Lee this week said he believes proper protocol has been followed and a spokesperson for the Historical Commission confirmed yesterday that the bust issue will receive an initial hearing at the commission’s Oct. 16 meeting. 

Three criminal court judges and five sessions court judges from Knox County on Monday filed an order barring any attorney positive for the COVID-19 virus from their courtrooms, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. The order comes in response to complaints that a COVID-19 positive attorney recently showed up for a hearing in Blount County, despite being ordered to self-quarantine. That attorney has not yet been named, but is also known to practice in Knox County. The order bans attorneys who test positive for the virus from all courtrooms in the county until they are “no longer contagious or at risk of transmitting” the virus. It also states that attorneys deemed guilty of violating the order will face contempt of court charges and could be “barred from practice” in Knox County’s courts.

Joe Kwon of Joe Kwon Law in Nashville is guest host on the latest episode of the TBA BarBuzz podcast. Kwon helps cover recent legal news, what’s been going on at the bar association over the last month and news events and updates for the month of October. BarBuzz is part of the TBA Podcast Network and is available anywhere you listen to podcasts and on the TBA’s website.  

Memphis attorney and TBA member Brooke Hyman has been promoted to chief of staff for the legislative division of the Memphis City Council. Hyman joined the council four years ago, serving as the senior legal and legislative analyst. Prior to working for the council, she served as assistant public defender at the Shelby County Office of the Public Defender. Hyman is a member of the TBA’s Young Lawyers Division and of the TBA Leadership Law Class of 2020. “This is a wonderful opportunity and I am so grateful,” Hyman said of her promotion in an email to her TBALL classmates. The 2020 TBALL program was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Hyman and other class members will continue the program in the spring of 2021.

A group led by University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Professor Dr. Betsy Darken is asking the Hamilton County Commission to remove a Confederate statue from the lawn of the county courthouse, the Chattanoogan reports. Darken says the bust of Confederate General A.P. Stewart is “divisive and exclusive” and “belongs in a history museum, not in front of a court of law.” The statue has been on the south lawn of the courthouse since 1919. In 2017, the commission considered a similar request, but opted to leave the monument at the courthouse. Darken also started a petition in support of removing the statue, which currently has more than 1,000 signatures.

A Nashville non-profit led by formerly incarcerated women has established a fund to help restore voting rights to some Tennesseans with felony convictions, WPLN reports. The Free Hearts Fines and Fees Fund was launched this month to help those individuals pay off debts that would otherwise block them from the ballot box. Tennessee is one of only a few states that requires residents with felony convictions to pay off all court fines and fees before they can vote. Director of outreach for Free Hearts Jawharrah Bahar served as a case study for the organization to learn firsthand how daunting and overwhelming the voter restoration process can be. Bahar had to sit out several elections before pushing forward. Her court debt is now resolved and she says she’s looking forward to voting this fall. “I’m excited that I finally feel like I’m part of this community, that I’ll be able to vote locally and in the presidential election,” Bahar said. “I just feel like it’s very important for everyone to fight for what we’re doing and let your voices be heard.”

The Tennessee Supreme Court today released an opinion that affirms a holding of the Court of Appeals that the Brentwood company Crouch Railway Consulting LLC met its burden of establishing personal jurisdiction to sue LS Energy Fabrication LLC. Crouch filed a breach of contract and unjust enrichment action against LS Energy after it failed to pay what Crouch claimed it was owed for design and consulting services. LS Energy, a Texas company, filed a motion to dismiss, claiming that Tennessee lacked personal jurisdiction over the Texas company. The trial court granted the motion to dismiss, but that ruling was later overturned by the Court of Appeals. LS Energy appealed to the state’s high court, which, in a unanimous opinion, found that the Tennessee court’s exercise of specific personal jurisdiction over LS Energy in this case was constitutionally permissible. Read more on the Administrative Office of the Courts website.