A federal court on Monday dismissed the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust complaint against Facebook, which could have forced the company to divest from two of its major social media acquisitions, Instagram and WhatsApp, CNBC reports. The FTC sued the company last December, joined by attorneys general from 48 states, including Tennessee, alleging that Facebook is illegally maintaining its social networking monopoly through an extended course of anticompetitive conduct. The judge described the complaint as "legally insufficient," but acknowledged that the FTC may be able to cure the weaknesses and file an amended complaint. A spokesperson for the FTC said the agency is "closely reviewing the opinion and assessing the best option forward."

Johnson City attorney Tony Seaton will serve as president of the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association (TTLA) for the 2021-2022 term. Seaton replaces John Griffith of Franklin, who now assumes the role of immediate past president. Mark Chalos of Nashville advances to the office of president-elect. TTLA also presented awards at its recent annual convention in Memphis. The TTLA Trial Lawyer of the Year Award was presented to Chattanooga attorney Danny Ellis, and the association honored Jerry Summers, also from Chattanooga, with its most distinguished award for Lifetime Achievement as a practicing attorney. An item in yesterday's TBA Today incorrectly identified the TTLA officers. 

The Upper Cumberland Young Lawyers Association recently elected new officers for the 2021-2022 bar year. They are: President Matthew McClanahan with McClanahan & Winston in Crossville; Vice President Ethan Copeland, Division of TennCare, Cookeville; Treasurer Amber Vargas and Secretary Justin Morgan, who both work at the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands in Cookeville; and Immediate Past President Caroline Sapp with The Barnes Firm in Sparta.

Two lawyers recently were reinstated to the practice of law in Tennessee. Le’dell Sanders Joiner, who is active in the U.S. Army, was reinstated on June 4, retroactive to March 8, 2016, after being summarily suspended on Dec. 3, 2010. North Carolina lawyer Aaron Alexander Smith was reinstated on June 23, retroactive to June 1, after being placed on inactive status on Aug. 11, 2015.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee will hold a portrait unveiling and memorial garden dedication on Aug. 27 to honor former TBA president and late District Court Chief Judge Pamela L. Reeves. Watch for more details coming soon.

The TBA has four webinars planned in July to help attorneys work smarter not harder. Each virtual program will take place from noon to 1 p.m. CDT and offer one hour of dual CLE credit. The series kicks off with “Make Meetings Meaningful” on July 8 followed by "Email Management" on July 15, "Task Management" on July 22 and "Using Core Financial & Productivity Reports" on July 29.

Johnson & Johnson has settled an opioid lawsuit with the state of New York for $230 million days before the company was set to be put on trial, The Hill reports. Under the settlement, the company will leave the opioid business, not just in New York, but across the country. Payments to the state will be made over nine years and be contingent on the legislature creating an opioid settlement fund. The lawsuit began in September 2020 when New York sued the company for allegedly committing insurance fraud by promoting addictive painkillers.

Hamilton County Public Defender Steve Smith will serve as the next president of the Tennessee District Public Defenders Conference. Smith was elected public defender in 2014. During his first term, he expanded the number of attorneys in the office and helped establish the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Mental Health Court. Prior to becoming public defender, he served as an assistant district attorney and was a partner in a litigation firm. Smith earned his law degree from the University of Memphis School of Law. The conference supports public defenders across the state’s 31 judicial districts.

Lieff Cabraser partner Mark P. Chalos, managing partner of the firm’s Nashville office, has been elected the next president of the Tennessee Trial Lawyers’ Association (TTLA). He will serve as president-elect for 2021-2022 and then as president for 2022-2023. The association defends the principles of trial by jury and advances the cause of those who experience personal harm or property damage. At the firm, Chalos represents those with catastrophic personal injuries and families whose loved ones died due to the negligence of others. He is also an adjunct professor of law at Vanderbilt University Law School. He earned his law degree from Emory University School of Law.

The U.S. Supreme Court today declined to consider an appeal from a Virginia school board in a long-running battle over bathroom access, effectively handing a victory to transgender student Gavin Grimm, SCOTUSblog reports. The development leaves in place a federal appeals court ruling in favor of Grimm, a transgender student who first sued his school district in 2015 for access to the boys’ bathroom. In other action today, the justices added a First Amendment case and an immigration case to their docket for next term. And they ordered a lower court to take a closer look at a wrongful-death lawsuit by the parents of a man who died after police officers pinned him to the ground while he was handcuffed.