TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

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Vandy Law Student Awarded Equal Justice Works Public Interest Honor

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on May 9, 2019
News Type: Legal News
Vanderbilt Law student Megan N. Mitchell has won the Equal Justice Works Regional Public Interest Award. Mitchell is one of eight regional winners recognized by Equal Justice Works for demonstrating their commitment to public interest law through their pro bono legal work as volunteers and in clinics and internships during law school. During law school, she worked as an intern in the Alaska Public Defender’s Office in summer 2018, in the Office of the Federal Public Defender in Nashville during her second year of law school, and with the Nashville Defenders in summer 2017. She plans to work as a public defender with the Colorado Public Defender Agency after graduation. 

Roane County Sues TVA Over Coal Ash Cleanup

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on May 9, 2019
News Type: Legal News
Roane County and two cities within its borders filed a lawsuit yesterday against the Tennessee Valley Authority and its prime contractor in the cleanup of the nation’s largest coal ash spill, Knoxnews reports. The lawsuit accuses TVA and Jacobs Engineering of hiding from the public internal records showing a coal ash ingredient list of dangerous toxins, heavy metals and radioactive isotopes; destroying evidence including exposure threat test samples, test results, videos and photographs; tampering with exposure threat testing by watering down monitors designed to warn the public — and the EPA and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation — to lower results; and lying to the public, ratepayers and TVA’s own board of directors about the cleanup and the toxicity of coal ash both at the time of the spill and now.

Trump Administration to Challenge Federal Courts' Ability to Issue Injunctions

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on May 9, 2019
News Type: Legal News
Vice President Mike Pence yesterday announced that the administration will challenge the ability of federal district court judges to issue nationwide injunctions that halt policies advocated by President Trump, The Hill reports. The administration's move — aimed at pushing back at unfavorable decisions from lower courts across the country — would set the stage for a vast legal debate and battle over the role that national injunctions play in the courts. Pence said that the Trump administration has been “unfairly” targeted by injunctions issued by lower courts, saying the rulings have prevented officials from implementing policies and regulations.

TSC Holds Cities Not Required to Share Liquor Tax Proceeds with Counties

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on May 8, 2019
In five separate lawsuits, the Tennessee Supreme Court held today that cities with their own school systems are not required to share with counties the tax proceeds the cities receive from the sale of liquor-by-the-drink. For over 30 years, cities that have approved the sale of liquor-by-the-drink have kept their portion of the tax proceeds, without sharing with the counties. Five Tennessee counties — Blount, Bradley, Coffee, Sullivan and Washington — claimed that Tennessee statutes required the cities to share a portion of those tax proceeds with the county schools. The TSC found that the General Assembly amended the liquor tax laws several times over the past decades, but it chose not to amend the laws on the cities’ responsibilities as to distributing the liquor tax proceeds.

Some Republicans Ask Casada to Step Aside, Dems Call for Investigation

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on May 8, 2019
Some Republicans are calling for House Speaker Glen Casada to step down after scandal has rocked his office, while Democrats are calling for a federal investigation following reports that the speaker’s former chief of staff could eavesdrop on committee rooms and fears that recording devices might have been placed in legislators’ offices. The Tennessean reports that while many GOP legislators offered support for Casada, several others called for resignation, including Rep. Bill  Dunn, R-Knoxville, Rep. Rick Tillis, R-Lewisburg, and Rep. Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby. Casada released an "action plan" late this afternoon, calling for an independent investigation and diversity training for legislators and staff.

Next Week: Environmental Show of the South

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on May 8, 2019
News Type: TBA CLE
The 48th annual Environmental Show of the South, the largest and most comprehensive environmental conference and trade show in the region, returns to the Chattanooga Convention Center May 15-17. This forum has proven to be a must-see, must-do event for environmental agencies and lawyers alike, featuring timely information on regulations, compliance and other hot topics relevant to your practice. Network with colleagues, learn about new developments and meet vendors offering a full spectrum of environmental goods and services, all while obtaining necessary CLE credits.

Bolivar Councilman Arrested for Defrauding Hardeman County

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on May 8, 2019
News Type: Legal News
Bolivar City Councilman Jonathan Joy was indicted by a Hardeman County grand jury Monday for allegedly defrauding Hardeman County out of $1,609, the Jackson Sun reports. Joy was hired by the county to install four HVAC units at several county-owned buildings over a 10-month period between 2017 and 2018, according to the Tennessee Comptroller investigation. Each time Joy claimed to install a larger HVAC unit than he actually put in place. He billed the county for a total of $25,100 of work, when in reality, the units he installed were worth $23,491. Joy was indicted on one count of theft over $1,000 and one count of official misconduct because of his position as a city councilman.

Judge Binkley Given NBA's Liberty Award

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on May 8, 2019
News Type: Legal News
The Nashville Bar Association bestowed one of its top honors on 20th Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Joe P. Binkley Jr. at its recent 2019 Law Day luncheon in Nashville. At the luncheon, Binkley was named the recipient of the NBA’s annual Liberty Bell Award, which is “given to a person or group who [has] promoted better understanding of the rule of law, encouraged greater respect for law and the courts, stimulated a sense of civic responsibility, or contributed to good government.” The other major award of the day, the Jack Norman Sr. Award, was given to First Assistant Federal Public Defender Mariah A. Wooten. 

Franklin-based Firm to Pay $17 Million in Healthcare Fraud Settlement

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on May 8, 2019
News Type: Legal News
Franklin-based Acadia Healthcare will pay $17 million in what the Department of Justice says is the largest health care fraud settlement in the history of West Virginia, the Nashville Post reports. The settlement resolves a lawsuit that accused the behavioral health care company of defrauding Medicaid of $8.5 million through a lab testing scheme in seven of its drug addiction treatment centers in West Virginia. As part of the settlement, Acadia and its chain of clinics have entered into a five-year corporate integrity agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that requires the company to maintain a compliance program, implement a risk assessment program and hire an outside organization to review Medicaid claims.

Chattanooga Bar Foundation to Honor 2019 Class at Luncheon

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on May 8, 2019
News Type: Upcoming
The Chattanooga Bar Foundation Fellows will honor five new members for the Class of 2019 on May 15 at its annual luncheon, The Chattanoogan reports. The event will be held at The Walden Club at noon. Honored this year are John W. Beard, W. Joseph Hollis Jr., C. Crews Townsend, Philip B. Whitaker Jr., and the Hon. Kevin B. Wilson. Tickets are available here.
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