The Tennessee Supreme Court has found that a trial court could order a man who voluntarily dismissed his own lawsuit to pay his ex-wife’s attorney fees associated with that suit. The court said that under Tennessee law, “the challenger who forfeits, loses, and his opponent wins.” Even if the dismissal was voluntary, it held, the wife successfully kept her alimony and prevailed over efforts to end it. Justice Sarah K. Campbell wrote a separate opinion that concurred in the judgment and cautioned that the majority’s reasoning in the case should be limited to the family law context. She was joined in the concurring opinion by Justice Jeffrey S. Bivins. Read more about the case in a news release from the Administrative Office of the Courts or read the opinions.

The East Tennessee Lawyers' Association for Women (ETLAW) will hold its annual Tennessee Supreme Court Luncheon on May 7 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT. The event, which will take place at Jackson Terminal in Knoxville, will honor the state’s Supreme Court justices and recognize successful initiatives of the court. A keynote address will be given by Justice Mary L. Wagner, the court’s newest justice. Tickets are available online. For questions contact ETLAW President-elect Jennifer Franklyn at jfranklyn@realtytrustgroup.com.

Cody Smith, the former director of the 12th Judicial Drug Task Force, last week pleaded guilty to two charges of possession of meth with intent to sell in Marion County. He received two 10-year sentences, which will be probated after 11 months and 29 days, WCYB reports. This week, the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office released an investigative report finding that Smith misappropriated more than $7,000 from the task force between 2017 and 2021. He was fired in May 2021. Writing in the report, Comptroller Jason Mumpower said, “It is critical for law enforcement agencies to maintain clear, thorough documentation and strict oversight of both evidence and financial transactions. Written policies must also be in place for the collection, recording, storage and destruction of evidence.” The office says it sent the findings to the Hamilton County District Attorney's Office but the district attorney says the information “could not be presented to a grand jury before the statute of limitations had run."

The state criminal trial of three former Memphis police officers accused of killing Tyre Nichols got underway Monday in Memphis. Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith Jr. are facing charges that include second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression. Yesterday’s proceedings included not-guilty pleas from all three defendants, opening statements from the prosecution and defense, and testimony from Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells. The jury in the case has been brought to Memphis from Hamilton County. The Commercial Appeal provides a wrap up of the day.

Death row inmate Oscar Smith, who is scheduled to be executed on May 22 after a three-year hiatus in executions, has declined to choose the method of his execution. The Nashville Banner reports that Federal Public Defender Kelley Henry has confirmed that by default, Smith will die by lethal injection rather than electrocution. Smith previously was scheduled to be executed on April 21, 2022, but that was called off a little more than an hour beforehand when problems with the execution procedures were revealed. The state has now shifted from a three-drug cocktail to a one-drug protocol using barbiturate pentobarbital. Read more in a newsletter from the paper.

The Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled unanimously on Monday that the legislature’s attempt to take over the Metro Nashville Airport Authority was unconstitutional because it singled out Nashville and thus violated the state constitution’s Home Rule Amendment. The decision upholds that portion of a ruling from an October 2023 special three-judge panel. According to The Tennessean, however, the appeals court reversed the lower court's ruling that five sections of the law violated equal protection guarantees and remanded the case back the special court “for further proceedings consistent” with the opinion. In 2023, the state legislature passed a law to vacate the mayor-appointed airport board and create a new system by which the governor and Republican legislative leaders would appoint a majority of board members. Metro Nashville sued to block the move at the time the bill was signed into law. The state had argued that the law did not single out Nashville and that because the airport authority is a separate legal entity, Metro Nashville did not have standing to sue.

The Chattanooga Bar Association will hold its annual Law Day event on May 14 at the Marriott from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT. The event will feature presentation of the Liberty Bell Award and a keynote address by former TBA President Bill Haltom, who will talk about his book "The Other Fellow May Be Right: The Civility of Howard Baker." The book looks at the life and career of Tennessee’s former U.S. senator and how he used strategic civility to bring people together. According to Haltom, his example remains a role model of what can be accomplished, even in the most contentious arenas of American life, through civility and collegiality. RSVP by to 423-602-9430 or lhood@chattanoogabar.org before May 12, or purchase tickets online.

TBA’s Entertainment & Sports Law Section will host its annual forum next Wednesday at Belmont College of Law in Nashville. The event will feature discussions on the latest legal issues in the entertainment and sports industries. Registration opens at 11:15 a.m. with programming running from noon to 4:45 p.m. A networking reception will follow from 4:45-6:30 p.m. CDT. Speakers will include Nashville lawyers Steven Gaches, Jordan Keller with Keller Turner Andrews & Ghanem, Bill Ramsey with Neal & Harwell, Tim Warnock with Loeb & Loeb, and Daniel Werly with the Tennessee Titans. Register online.

The TBA Creditors Practice Section social event originally planned for April 30 has been postponed. Once a new date has been set, the section will be notified and encouraged to RSVP. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Police records show that 20 people were shot and killed in Memphis over a two-week span in a surge of gun violence, The Daily Memphian reports. That brings the number of homicides in the city to at least 29 so far this month, according to Memphis Police Department records through April 26. Mayor Paul Young and MPD Chief C.J. Davis addressed the violence during a news conference on Friday afternoon. Young outlined actions his administration and the department are taking to reduce crime, including the city’s violence-reduction strategy, efforts to arrest individuals with active warrants, and the installation of surveillance cameras across Memphis. “We are not going to accept this anymore in our community,” Young said. In related news,the Commercial Appeal reports that the police department has opened a new Downtown Real Time Crime Center with the goal of improving crime rates in the downtown area.