The Tennessee Supreme Court returned to a summary judgment standard consistent with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in an opinion released today in a Memphis health care liability case. The Court’s ruling in Michelle Rye v. Women's Care Center of Memphis holds that when a party moves for summary judgment, its burden can be satisfied by either negating an essential element of the other party’s claim or by demonstrating that the other party’s evidence at the summary judgment stage is insufficient to establish that party’s claim or defense. Justice Gary R. Wade authored a dissenting opinion, concluding the summary judgment standard applied during the last two decades in Tennessee -- based on the 2008 judgment in Hannan v. Alltel Publishing Co. -- is preferable to the federal standard.

WKRN reports that a new hearing for Cory Batey and Brandon Vandenburg, the former Vanderbilt football players accused of rape, has been set for Oct. 29. The hearing will review the district attorney’s request for the trial to begin on Feb. 29, 2016, with jury selection on Feb. 22, and the defense’s response. The trial was delayed earlier this month; the retrial is expected to cost an estimated $74,000.

South College will host the "Domestic Violence Symposium: Awareness and Prevention in East Tennessee" on Oct. 28 at its Parkside campus located at 400 Goody’s Lane in Knoxville. The event begins at 5:30 p.m., followed by a panel discussion at 6 p.m., which will include Knox County 4th Circuit Court Judge Greg McMillan. The candlelight vigil will begin at 8 p.m.

An attempt by the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association (TECA) to take advantage of a little known state tax break for electric cooperatives has been shut down by Attorney General Hebert Slatery, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. In an opinion issued on Oct. 21, Slatery said that the tax break violates the state constitution because rural electric cooperatives are not included in any of the authorized categories for exemptions. “This attorney general’s opinion comes completely out of the blue. We’re still discussing our next steps," TECA executive director David Callis said.

The Tennessee Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a defamation suit filed by former state GOP Executive Director Mark Winslow against U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., and his campaign manager, John "Chip" Saltsman, The Times Free Press reports. Winslow claimed in the lawsuit filed in 2011 that he had been defamed by Fleischmann’s campaign ads and Saltsman’s public comments. “[The case was dismissed] because Mr. Fleischman and Mr. Saltsman demonstrated that the undisputed facts negate the element of actual malice which is essential to the defamation and false light claims,” Appellate Judge Richard H. Dinkins wrote in the opinion issued on Oct. 22. 

An appeal filed today by the Pacific Legal Foundation will present yet another challenge to President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, the Associated Press reports. The appeal, filed in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of a small-business owner, says that the law violates the provision of the Constitution that requires tax-raising bills to originate in the House of Representatives. The foundation said the health care overhaul is expected to generate roughly $500 billion in new taxes by 2019.

The University of Tennessee College of Law, University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and Vanderbilt University Law School were included in the annual Princeton Review guide, “The Bests 173 Law Schools: 2016 Edition.” The Review includes 11 ranking lists of the top law schools in various categories based on student responses. 

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that State Attorney General Herbert Slatery will not issue an opinion on a gun ban at Chilhowee Park during last month’s Tennessee Valley Fair. Rep. Eddie Smith, R-Knoxville, and other lawmakers requested the opinion after a resident filed a suit asking the court to allow her to carry a concealed handgun in the park. Slatery said he does not want to influence litigation already underway.

As Tennessee state officials determine the fate of Gov. Bill Haslam’s proposed privatization plan, Terry Cowles with the governor’s office of Strategies for Efficiency in Real Estate Management is asking that conversations regarding the plan are not discussed in email. The Nashville Ledger reports that Cowles said a timetable for outsourcing state facilities released last month was an early draft and his office wants control over what is shared. 

Bradley County Assistant District Attorney Cynthia LeCroy-Schemel closed a Cleveland hospital rape case, citing insignificant evidence from a rape kit results, the Times Free Press reports. Stacey Cordell claimed that she was raped while she was unconscious at SkyRidge Medical Center on Jan. 25. "Based on (the results), we don't believe we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that it happened in Bradley County," LeCroy-Schemel said.