The Tennessee Court of Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board in recent weeks has made several key rulings regarding medical records. The opinions examined the admissibility of Form C-32 at two different stages—summary judgement and at an expediated hearing. Full descriptions of those opinions can be found on the Court of Workers’ Compensation’s website.

East Ridge City Court Judge J. Cris Helton has resigned and will step down from the bench effective Aug. 1, the Chattanoogan reports. City officials say Helton cited health reasons for his departure. Helton was elected to the bench in 2014, defeating incumbent Arvin Reingold.

A Nashville woman recently named Miss Tennessee has some special connections to the Tennessee Bar Association. Tally Bevis, the daughter of Springfield attorney and TBA member Charlotte Fleming and Dan Bevis, is also the niece of TBA IT Coordinator Dave Bevis. She took home the crown Saturday during the competition in downtown Memphis. Fleming is the managing partner of the Fleming Law Firm & Mediation Center. According to the Commercial Appeal, Bevis’ social impact initiative is a nonprofit she hopes will combat voter apathy called Vote with a Vision. Her current goals for the organization are registering 10,000 voters, engaging young voters and protecting voter access—something she worries is under attack. “We see people are disproportionately affected and disenfranchised because of long wait times, voter suppression and really strict voter ID laws,” Bevis said. "It is not only a responsibility to vote, but it is a constitutional right. And so I want to protect that in the next year." Next up for Bevis is the December Miss America competition in Connecticut. 

The Tennessee Supreme Court today reversed the dismissal of a lawsuit that had been refiled after having been previously dismissed ahead of trial. The decision stems from a 2014 lawsuit filed by Regions Bank against a Shelby County man. Finding that Regions did not timely prosecute the case, the trial court dismissed the suit, but did not give notice to either party. Upon learning of the dismissal, Regions asked the trial court to set aside the dismissal and allow the suit to proceed. The court denied that request but noted the dismissal didn’t prevent Regions from refiling at a later time. However, when Regions refiled the suit, the trial court dismissed it, citing res judicata. The Supreme Court unanimously held that the original dismissal did not prevent refiling the lawsuit because that dismissal had not resolved the lawsuit on its merits. Read the high court’s opinion authored by Chief Justice Jeff Bivins on the Administrative Office of the Courts website.

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands will host two upcoming in-person legal advice clinics and one phone clinic for members of the public with questions about housing and renters’ rights, bankruptcy, medical bills, debt collection, domestic violence, SNAP benefits and unemployment benefits. The in-person clinics will take place Saturday from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the McHugh Clinic, 2005 12th Ave. S. in Nashville, and on Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. CDT at Operation Stand Down Nashville, 1125 12th Ave. S. The phone clinic will be held Tuesday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. CDT. To volunteer, contact Andrae Crismon or Kendra Cheek or call 615-780-7131.

Mark your calendar for the TBA LGBT Section’s Annual Forum 2021 on Sept. 17 from 10 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. CDT. This year’s program will focus on political concerns for Tennessee’s LGBT community, including an advocacy panel that will address how to become more involved locally in the fight for equal justice, how to build a grassroots movement and more. The section also will host a booth at the Nashville Pride Festival to answer basic questions and provide attendees with relevant resources. If you are interested in volunteering to assist at the festival, please contact section coordinator Jarod Word.

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery says he will join a coalition of attorneys general from 37 other states in filing a lawsuit against Google in California. The complaint accuses Google, specifically the Google Play Store for Android devices and Google Play Billing, of violating antitrust law by maintaining an app store monopoly that harms consumers by limiting their choices and driving up app prices. The AG’s website has more on the lawsuit.

Nashville-Davidson County Juvenile Court Judge Sheila Calloway recently appeared on the Tennessee Voices videocast, a 20-minute program produced by the Tennessean that features leaders, thinkers and innovators who have written guest columns for the paper. Judge Calloway used her appearance to talk about the challenges of presiding over court during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as her optimism for the future as Nashville public schools implement youth courts to help students resolve conflicts and disputes. Watch it here.

TVA attorney Jill E. McCook reportedly will replace federal Magistrate Judge Bruce Guyton, who is retiring Jan. 31, 2022, Victor Ashe writes in Knoxnews. The appointment has not been officially announced but those who did not receive the appointment have been notified, Ashe reports. McCook, 38, was selected by the current active and senior federal judges in the Eastern District after a special committee chaired by former state representative and attorney Wayne Ritchie submitted her name along with four other attorneys to the judges. She will serve an eight-year term. McCook graduated from Washington and Lee College of Law, previously worked at Baker Donelson and was a senior law clerk for U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Varlan. She recently co-authored "Getting to Know the Federal Executive Branch Ethics Laws: A Primer," Part I in March and Part 2 in May for the Tennessee Bar Journal. With her selection, four of the five federal magistrate judges in East Tennessee will be women.

The state legislature passed the Jim Coley Protection for Rape Survivors Act in May to enhance protections for victims of sexual assault. The new law went into effect on July 1 but one of its key provisions — an electronic tracking system for sexual assault kits — may take a year to be up and running, Tennessee Lookout reports. To help expedite the process, state law enforcement officials are looking at a software system developed by the Portland, Oregon, Police Bureau to provide justice and accountability for assault survivors. The system will allow law enforcement, prosecutors and victims to monitor the status of rape kits with an assigned identification number. Portland had discovered more than 5,000 untested rape kits in 2015. Within three years, it had reduced the backlog to almost zero.