The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that Tennessee courts lack jurisdiction to confirm arbitration awards when the parties agree that the arbitration occur in another state, according to a press release from the Administrative Office of the Courts. In Berkeley Research Group LLC v. Southern Advanced Materials LLC, the parties entered into a contract providing that any disputes would be resolved through arbitration in Philadelphia. When a dispute arose, the parties conducted arbitration over Zoom with the arbitrator located in Philadelphia. The arbitrator ruled in favor of Berkeley Research Group, which then filed a case in Shelby County Chancery Court to confirm the arbitration award. The Supreme Court held that under the Uniform Arbitration Act, Tennessee courts do not have subject matter jurisdiction to confirm an out-of-state arbitration award.

As Shelby County grapples with growing caseloads, state Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis, is exploring splitting the 30th Judicial District. Taylor told The Tennessee Journal that splitting the county would involve either waiting for the Judicial Redistricting Committee’s recommendation due by 2027 or changing state law. “We've not done a statewide judicial redistricting since the 1980s, so it's been like 40 years,” he said. In 2024, Taylor recommended that Memphis-area suburbs split from the county court system and hire their own district attorney.

In anticipation of inclement weather this weekend in Tennessee, the state legislature has made changes to its schedule. The Senate has cancelled committee meetings and floor sessions for all of next week. The House has delayed floor proceedings until Wednesday. The deadline for filing legislative proposals remains unchanged for Feb. 2. The Tennessee Journal reported on the change.

Two former Soddy-Daisy police officers who claimed they were wrongfully terminated for speaking out about another officer's behavior will get $830,000, evenly split, in a settlement of their federal lawsuit against the city, the Times Free Press reports. According to the officers, they were fired after exposing another officer's alleged dishonesty by revealing the officer had lied in a previous internal affairs investigation. Their attorneys claimed the terminations were retaliation for their clients’ truthful actions, a violation of their freedom of speech.

A federal judge has rejected the U.S. government's request to limit public access to court records from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid and arrest in the Knox County community of Hardin Valley. The government had argued that release of the records would endanger ICE agents, Knox News reports. U.S. District Court Judge Clifton Corker said he saw no evidence that agents would be put at risk by making the records accessible online, but allowed the government to redact information as needed. The case involves Diego Hernandez Garcia, a 24-year-old Maryville man, who has been detained since his Dec. 11 arrest.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has announced three judicial appointments, including the selection of Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Kyle Hixson for the Tennessee Supreme Court. Hixson will replace Justice Holly Kirby, who will retire at the end of June. Lee also named 26th Judicial District Chancellor Steve Maroney to the Western Section of the Tennessee Court of Appeals. He fills a vacancy that will be created when Judge Kenny Armstrong retires in February. Finally, Lee appointed Knoxville lawyer Rachel Hurt to the Eastern Section of the Tennessee Court of Appeals. A partner at Arnett, Baker, Draper, and Hagood and current president of the Knoxville Bar Association, Hurt will fill a vacancy created by the Jan. 12 retirement of Chief Judge D. Michael Swiney. In announcing the three, Lee said, “I am proud to announce the appointment of these highly qualified individuals and value the significant experience they will bring to their respective roles. I appreciate their leadership and am confident they will serve Tennesseans with integrity.” Read more about the appointees from the governor's office or the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts.

The Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board will hear in-person oral arguments in four cases on Feb. 12 in Knoxville at 9 a.m. EST. Cases to be considered include Gandy v. Marten Transport Ltd., Russell v. Benchmark Contractors LLC, Forrest v. Concrete Structures Inc. and Hernandez v. Wal-Mart Associates. Read more about the cases in the court’s blog.

The Tennessee Department of Revenue will host a free webinar on Jan. 27 at 9 a.m. CST. During the session, participants will learn about consolidated net worth election for the franchise and excise tax. The webinar is part of a series the department offers to the public each quarter. Each webinar covers topics such as tax registration, sales and use tax, business tax, franchise and excise taxes, and how to get help from the Department of Revenue and other state agencies. Registration is available on the department’s website.

Shelby County lawyer Aaron Michael Connolly Nutting was reinstated to the practice of law on Jan. 16. He had been placed on inactive status more than five years ago, on Oct. 8, 2019. The Board of Professional Responsibility reported to the Tennessee Supreme Court that the petition for reinstatement was satisfactory.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has extended the deadline for commenting on its Sept. 16 order from March 16 to April 30. The order sought feedback from the legal community about potential changes to regulation of the profession “to ensure that all Tennesseans have access to affordable quality legal service.” On Jan. 13, the Tennessee Bar Association filed a motion requesting that the court extend the deadline for comments to June 1. Comments now should be submitted by April 30 via email or by mail to James Hivner, Clerk, Re: Regulatory Reform, 100 Supreme Court Building, 401 7th Ave. N., Nashville, TN 37219. Comments should reference docket No. ADM2025-01403. The TBA also is seeking feedback. Comments to its Legal Access and Regulatory Reform Task Force should be submitted via email to townhall@tnbar.org. Visit TBA's Legal Access & Regulatory Reform resource page to learn more about the areas the court is reviewing.