Geri McBride, individually and d/b/a The Real Estate Shop (“Buyer”), sued Cynthia H. Allison (“Seller”) for breach of contract with respect to a real estate purchase and sale agreement. Following a bench trial, the trial court found that Seller had breached the agreement and granted Buyer specific performance but denied Buyer’s request for attorney’s fees. Seller filed a motion to alter or amend the judgment, or alternatively for a new trial. The trial court denied Seller’s post-judgment motion, and Seller appealed to this Court. We affirm the trial court’s grant of specific performance to the Buyer and reverse the trial court’s denial of Buyer’s request for attorney’s fees.

A Lake County jury convicted the Defendant, Christopher R. Smith, of two counts of aggravated assault, a Class C felony. The trial court sentenced the Defendant as a career offender to consecutive fifteen-year sentences for each conviction. On appeal, the Defendant asserts that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions. After review, we affirm the trial court’s judgment in Count 1 for aggravated assault, modify Count 2 to a conviction for assault, and remand for entry of an amended judgment and sentencing on Count 2.

October 7, 2024 - October 11, 2024

Former Memphis police officers Tadarrius Bean and Justin Smith Jr. each filed motions Friday requesting their convictions in the Tyre Nichols federal criminal case be reversed, reports the Commercial Appeal. Bean and Smith were convicted last week of witness tampering related to a cover-up of the beating of Nichols, but acquitted of civil rights charges. The motions allege a lack of evidence that adequately established that Bean and Smith were attempting to lie or mislead their MPD supervisors.

A federal judge has ruled that Georgia failed to show it would be harmed by the Biden administration's plan to forgive $73 billion in student loan debt held by millions of Americans. "There is no indication that the rule is being implemented to attack the states or their income taxes, so any loss of ... tax revenue is incidental and insufficient to create standing for Georgia," U.S. District Judge J. Randal Hall wrote. The ruling removes Georgia from a lawsuit challenging the forgiveness plan and moves litigation to federal court in Missouri, one of the other seven states that is suing. Reuters reports that the states have asked the Missouri judge to rule on whether to continue blocking the proposal.

Lincoln Memorial University's Duncan School of Law recently announced the addition of a new dean of admissions and several new faculty members. Dr. Stephen Adkins has been named director of admissions. He joins the law school after serving in other programs at the university. In addition, three other faculty members have joined the school. Laura Mott joins as an assistant professor of law from CUNY School of Law in New York. She served there as director of the Academic Skills Center for the Evening 1L Program. John Poore and Celsy Johnson join as visiting assistant professors of law for the 2024-2025 academic year. Poore has spent nearly 15 years as a prosecutor in Southern California. Johnson is a solo practitioner and previously an attorney at Held Law Firm in the areas of family law, juvenile law and estate planning.

A six-judge panel on Monday ruled that two bonding companies did not break local court rules after Bricen Rivers bonded out in Nashville and was later accused of killing his girlfriend, Lauren Johansen, in Mississippi. The Tennessean reports that a clerical error prevented full implementation of Rivers' bond conditions, which included restrictions on traveling outside the county. "Obviously a calamity of human and institutional errors occurred in the release process of (Rivers)," the panel of judges wrote. "Ultimately, however, the cause and responsibility for any violations of release conditions, including the commission of additional criminal acts, rests squarely with the Defendant himself."

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has filed a motion in Tennessee's 20th Judicial District requesting the court provide remedies to address TikTok’s failure to preserve and produce relevant evidence in response to a state investigation into possible violations of Tennessee consumer protection laws. Skrmetti also asked the court to compel TikTok’s compliance with an order entered by the court on April 17, 2023. Tennessee’s investigation is part of a bipartisan, nationwide investigation by state attorneys general into whether TikTok engaged in unfair and deceptive conduct that harmed the mental health of Tennessee kids. In related news, Reuters reports that 13 states and the District of Columbia today filed new lawsuits accusing the popular social media platform of harming and failing to protect young people.

The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals on Friday reversed a May 2023 ruling by Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Paula Skahan, declaring that a law removing all postconviction death penalty proceedings from local district attorneys is constitutional. The Commercial Appeal reports that the court's ruling focused on who initiates an action during a case. For example, it found that locally elected district attorneys have broad discretion in cases they initiate, but because these collateral review proceedings are initiated by a defendant on death row, that discretion is narrowed. The paper also noted that prosecutorial discretion is vastly limited after a defendant has been indicted by a grand jury.