The Chattanooga City Council last night voted to suspend Division II of City Court next year, the Chattanoogan reports. The resolution, sponsored by Council Chairman Chip Henderson, was passed with seven votes. Henderson and other members of the council have been in favor of closing Division II, saying the court has been hearing few cases and that its closure could save roughly $500,000 per year. The court will be suspended next year after Division II Judge Russell Bean retires.  

Former Vanderbilt Law School student and VU Board of Trust member Justin Ishbia has given his alma mater $10 million, the Nashville Post reports. Ishbia is founder and managing partner of Shore Capital Partners, a private equity firm with offices in Chicago and Nashville. He also is a member of the Vanderbilt Law School Board of Advisors, which in 2015 established the Justin R. Ishbia Scholarship to provide financial support for VU law school students. Ishbia earned his law degree from the school in 2004. According to law school dean Chris Guthrie, the gift will support “key strategic priorities" within the law school and "strengthen its position as one of the nation’s premier institutions for legal scholarship.”

U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw yesterday extended a temporary order blocking Gov. Bill Lee’s executive order that allows parents to opt their children out of school mask mandates, the Tennessean reports. Crenshaw has not yet ruled on the underlying legal issues in the lawsuit but extended the temporary order through Oct. 27 after hearing hours of testimony. The suit against Lee’s opt out order was brought by two Williamson County families under the Americans with Disabilities Act and other disability laws. The extension to Crenshaw’s original temporary order, which was issued last month, allows schools to enforce mask mandates while the case continues. Crenshaw will continue to hear testimony on Oct. 13.

Former Knox County Law Director Richard “Bud” Armstrong last week kicked off his campaign for the county’s Chancery Court Part II, the Knoxville Focus reports.  Armstrong, who served as the county’s law director from 2013 until 2021, is one of two candidates who have challenged incumbent Chancellor Clarence Pridemore for the seat. The publication says Knoxville attorney Deno Cole is in the running as well. 

Ragan Communications will host a free one-hour webinar tomorrow on prioritizing movement for better well-being. “How to Boost Employee Wellness: Move More and Sit Less,” will run from noon until 1 p.m. CDT and will teach attendees about the negative impact of sedentary behaviors in the workplace, the connection between movement and well-being and how to create a workspace program that prioritizes movement. A recording of the program will be sent to all those who register, even if they cannot attend the webinar live. Register here.  

The estate of Henrietta Lacks is suing Massachusetts-based biotechnology company Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. for allegedly selling cells taken from the Black woman in 1951 without her knowledge, NPR reports. Before Lacks died of cervical cancer, tissue was taken from her tumor and became the first human cells to be successfully cloned. HeLa cells, as they’re now known, have enabled countless medical innovations, including the development of the polio vaccine, genetic mapping and even COVID-19 vaccines. Lawyers for the Lacks family say Thermo Fisher has continued to commercialize the results long after the origins of the HeLa cell line became known. The estate is represented by well-known civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who called it “outrageous” that the company “would think that they have intellectual rights property” to Lacks’ cells. 

The Tennessee Supreme Court penned a letter today thanking all those who have celebrated the life and legacy of late Supreme Court Justice Cornelia “Connie” Clark. The justices wrote that they have decided to leave the Nashville courtroom draped in mourning throughout the month of October in honor of Clark. The public has access to the courtroom and can still sign the book of remembrances there or continue to leave comments through the Administrative Office of the Courts website. All remembrances will later be given to Clark’s family. The high court also reminded the public of a video which honors Clark and her “unwavering commitment to Access to Justice.” Read the full letter here.

Several faculty groups at the University of Tennessee are urging the school to reinstate former professor Anming Hu after he was tried and later acquitted of fraud-related charges, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. The U.S. Department of Justice had accused Hu of being a Chinese spy and prosecuted him twice on charges of wire fraud and making false statements. A federal judge threw out the charges in September. Hu’s lawyer, Phil Lomonaco, told the paper that after the university suspended him without pay, the federal government revoked his work authorization, leaving him in Knoxville apart from his family until he works out his employment status.  

Join the Federal Law Section on Dec. 8 as they take a deeper look into U.S. v Hu.

Longtime Nashville attorney Paul Ney has joined Momentus Inc., a startup planning to offer infrastructure services in space, the Nashville Post reports. Ney is the company’s new chief legal officer and corporate secretary. He previously served as general counsel for the Department of the Navy and deputy general counsel of the Department of Defense during George W. Bush’s second term. He returned to Nashville to lead the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Community Development under then-Mayor Karl Dean and later became general counsel for the Department of Defense under the Trump administration. In 2016, he was named chief deputy to Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III.

Chattanooga attorney Brian Bush yesterday announced that he is running for Chattanooga City Court Division I judge, the Chattanoogan reports. A campaign release said Bush “has a new vision for our city court that includes a system of rehabilitation and restoration that saves taxpayers both money and time.” After earning his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law, Bush became the legal liaison for the House of Refuge in Chattanooga and later served more than two years as an assistant district attorney. Bush is now an attorney at Spears, Moore, Rebman & Williams PC.