This is an appeal from an order denying summary judgment. The appellee signed a YMCA membership application and release agreement prior to tripping and falling on a sidewalk in front of the YMCA. The appellee filed suit, alleging negligence. The YMCA then filed a motion for summary judgment, claiming that the appellee expressly assumed the risk of her injuries. The trial court denied the YMCA’s motion for summary judgment but granted a motion for interlocutory appeal. We reverse the trial court’s order denying summary judgment and remand with instructions to enter summary judgment.

Two former Knox County 4th Circuit Court supervisors filed identical age discrimination lawsuits that claim their ages and salaries were the reason for their termination in January 2015. But Knox County Criminal Court Clerk Mike Hammond paints a different picture of why they were let go, claiming the pair “acted as ringmasters over a circus atmosphere surrounding the handling of domestic violence cases.” The county also denied the women, ages 66 and 60, were the oldest on staff. The Knoxville News Sentinel reports the women are each seeking $500,000 in punitive damages as well as lost wages.

A Breitbart News post claims “the scope and legal authority of an ongoing investigation by Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery into the conduct of State Rep. Jeremy Durham is being questioned by a number of Tennessee political insiders, attorneys and individuals.” House Speaker Beth Harwell asked Attorney General Herbert Slatery to investigate Durham, R-Franklin, following allegations that Durham had an affair with a former representative. 

The Williamson County School Board approved last night a $36,500 counter settlement to a pending lawsuit, The Tennessean reports. The counter settlement came in response to the threat of a lawsuit that alleges a special needs student suffered from leaked student information and the board's reaction to a school fight.

Loeb & Loeb LLP, a Nashville entertainment firm, will take up residence on the city’s Music Row when it moves into 35 Music Square East, a $31 building that Panattoni Development Co. opened earlier this year. The firm, founded in Los Angeles, has been in Hillsboro Village for the past 15 years. Read more from the Nashville Business Journal.   

Tennessee was ranked towards the top in the recently published Justice Index 2016 that provided a snapshot view of the national and state-by-state commitment to providing access to the civil and criminal courts for some of the most vulnerable populations. The index, compiled by the National Center for Access to Justice at Cardozo Law School, includes Language Access and Self-Represented indexes. 

Republican lawmakers are considering holding a special session in an effort to direct Attorney General Herbert Slatery to sue the federal government over the recently announced federal directive to public schools over transgender restrooms, The Tennessean reports. More than two dozen state lawmakers have contacted Slatery and Gov. Bill Haslam to express concern about the directive, according to another report from The Tennessean. 

The University of Tennessee College of Law has named Sarah Busse its new director of admissions and financial aid. Busse currently serves as the director of admissions programs and recruitment for Cornell University Law School, where she has been a member of the admissions team since 2004. She also serves on the National Recruitment Calendar Workgroup of the Law School Admissions Council.

Gov. Bill Haslam signed yesterday into law the “Campbell Falk Act” that establishes a ward’s right to visit and communicate with family and close friends. Previously, state law allowed a conservator to restrict visitation and communication with the ward without going to court, even when it involved communication or visits by a family member. Under the Republican-sponsored measure, a conservator cannot restrict communication unless specifically authorized by the court. The law is named in recognition of country artist Glen Campbell and actor Peter Falk, according to a news release from Senate Republican Caucus.

A WSMV investigation revealed the Tennessee Department of Correction allowed for 115 parolees to avoid taking mandated domestic violence classes and hundreds of other criminals are still not enrolled in the classes. A TDOC administrator said there was a backlog of parolees assigned to classes because there were not enough parole officers to teach them. The department later hired a private company to teach the classes, but sentences has already expired for the 115 parolees.