Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett has announced election updates for six counties impacted by Hurricane Helene. In Carter County, two election day polling places have temporarily changed. In Cocke County, the election commission has moved and early voting will take place at a new location. In Greene County, all locations are expected to be open by Election Day but voters are encouraged to monitor road conditions for possible closures. In Johnson County, officials are monitoring one polling place for access issues. In Unicoi County, early and election day voting locations have been updated. In Washington County, election officials are monitoring absentee ballots sent to affected areas. Voters can track their ballot status online or call 877-850-4959.

Gov. Bill Lee has announced that three more counties — Claiborne, Grainger and Sullivan — have been approved for FEMA’s public assistance program. Public assistance helps state and local governments in debris removal, life-saving emergency protective measures, restoring public infrastructure and hazard mitigation for future disasters. Several counties also received approval for permanent work assistance. The TBA Disaster Resources page offers general information for those impacted by disasters, as well as those seeking to provide assistance. The TBA's Helene Disaster Response page has information and resources specific to this disaster.

The Tennessee Supreme Court last week heard arguments in two challenges to redrawn legislative districts for the state Senate and House, the Nashville Banner reports. A three-judge panel ruled in 2023 that the Senate map was unconstitutional because the districts in Davidson County were not numbered consecutively. The state is challenging that decision, questioning the plaintiff’s standing to sue. The same panel found the House map to be constitutional even though it split Gibson County, saying the legislature acted in good faith. Attorney Scott Tift argued the court should overturn that decision because the state constitution only allows splitting to comply with federal redistricting laws.

Florida-based employment law attorney Gary Martoccio has opened a Martoccio Law Group office in Nashville. Located downtown at 414 Union St., Ste. 1900, 37219, the office is home to two attorneys and three staff members, with plans to grow in the future, Martoccio tells the Nashville Post. For the past 12 years, Martoccio has represented employees in disputes against their employers in state and federal courts, as well as before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and equivalent state agencies. He focuses on wrongful termination, Family and Medical Leave Act violations, discrimination and sexual harassment. The firm also has offices in Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas.

Tennessee Corrections Commissioner Frank Strada told a legislative panel this week that the state expects to unveil a new process for executing inmates by the end of the year. "We should have our protocols in place by the end of this calendar year or at the first week or two of January," Strada said. "We've been working with the attorney general's office on writing those protocols to make sure that they're sound." He did not reveal any details about the new process, only that effort had taken a long time because of the many lawyers working on the issue to ensure it was "within the law," the Associated Press reports. The state stopped executions in May 2022 following concerns about the proper testing of lethal injection drugs. A report issued later that month found that the state had not followed its own lethal injections policies in the four years that executions had been reinstated.

The TBA’s 2024 Environmental Forum will take place in person on Nov. 15 in Nashville. This year’s program will address topics such as endangered species litigation, underground storage tanks, drinking water, the Chevron decision, brownfields, ethics and more. Breakfast and lunch will be included. The program will feature Stephanie Durman and Ellery Richardson with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Office of General Counsel; Jaz Boon, Bridgestone Americas; and Emily Vann with the Tennessee Attorney General's Office.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today held that a party could not recover attorney’s fees for fighting a SLAPP lawsuit when the person bringing the suit dropped the case. In the matter before the court, Robert E. Lee Flade sued several defendants based for what he considered to be disparaging remarks on social media. In response, two defendants filed petitions under the Tennessee Public Participation Act (TPPA), arguing that that the suit was brought primarily to chill speech rather than to prevail on the merits. Before the petitions were heard by the trial court, Flade voluntarily dismissed his suit. The defendants sought payment of their attorney’s fees, as allowed under TPPA, but the court found that the dismissal precluded consideration of the fee request. Read more in a release from the court.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced a $52 million multistate settlement with Marriott International to resolve a data breach of one of its guest reservation databases that affected 131.5 million guest records. The breach exposed personal information such as contact details, birthdates, passport numbers, and payment card information. Under the settlement, Marriott agreed to strengthen its data security practices, provide consumer protections and pay $52 million to states. Tennessee will receive $919,043.00 from the settlement, according to a press release.

The list of those applicants who achieved a passing score on the July 2024 Uniform Bar Examination in Tennessee will be released Friday by the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners. Results will be posted by the board by 2 p.m. CDT and will be available on the TBA.org website as soon as they are released. The board also recently announced that applications for the February 2025 exam, originally scheduled to open on Oct. 1, will open later in October due to updates.

Shelby County lawyer Larry A. Weissman has received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court. The court found that Weissman was not diligent in checking a client’s case status, which led to him not discovering that the case, which had previously been dismissed, was never reopened. This led to a delay in moving the case forward. Weissman also did not consult with the client about how her case was being handled and did not abide by her decision to set the case for trial. Later in the case, he stopped communicating with the client, stopped doing any work on her case and disregarded the client’s requests that he withdraw. His actions were determined Rules of Professional Conduct 1.2(a), 1.3, 1.4(a), 1.16(a) and 3.2.