Jury selection began Monday in the first of two criminal cases against Cleotha Abston, who is accused of the 2021 rape of Alicia Franklin. He is also charged separately in the 2022 kidnapping and killing of Memphis schoolteacher Eliza Fletcher. The Daily Memphian reports that the trial on Abston’s charges in the Franklin case — including aggravated rape and aggravated kidnapping — is expected to last through the week, and the jury will be sequestered. Abston will go on trial for Fletcher's murder later this year.

Bass, Berry & Sims was named the firm recipient of the 2024 National Public Service Award by the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Business Law Section. This annual award honors significant pro bono legal contributions of law firms, corporate law departments and individual lawyers that demonstrate a commitment to providing legal services to individuals and entities that could not otherwise afford them. The award was presented to Pro Bono Member David Esquivel at the ABA’s Business Law Spring Meeting in Orlando, Florida, on April 5. Read more about the award and the firm's pro bono work in a press release.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has suspended Georgia attorney John Cris Helton from the practice of law in Tennessee for five years, with four years to be served on active suspension and the remainder on probation with the condition that Helton engage a practice monitor. The court found that Helton failed to file required federal income tax returns for several years and willfully attempted to avoid tax liabilities. After the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) initiated civil litigation against Helton to recover approximately $400,000 in owed income taxes, Helton filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy protection, asserting that the IRS lien should be discharged. The federal bankruptcy court determined that the tax debt was non-dischargeable because the failure to pay was willful and intentional. On appeal, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court ruling. Helton agreed to a conditional guilty plea acknowledging his conduct violated Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 8.4(c).

A Shelby County jury convicted Defendant, Phennix Givens, of three counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, one count of aggravated rape, two counts of aggravated assault, and one count of aggravated cruelty to animals. The trial court sentenced Defendant to an effective forty-six-year sentence. Defendant appeals, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions and that the trial court abused its discretion in imposing consecutive sentencing. Following our review of the entire record, the briefs of the parties, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Following a bench trial, the trial court found the Defendant, Timothy Whitby, guilty of: vandalism under $1,000, a Class A misdemeanor; disorderly conduct, a Class C misdemeanor; and assault, a Class A misdemeanor. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to concurrent sentences of eleven months and twenty-nine days on each count, suspended to supervised probation. On appeal, the Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his assault conviction, and the trial court’s sentence of eleven months and twenty-nine days for his disorderly conduct conviction. After review, we conclude that the trial court erred when it sentenced the Defendant to eleven months and twenty-nine days for his Class C misdemeanor disorderly conduct conviction. Thus, we remand for entry of a sentence within the appropriate sentencing range. We affirm the judgments in all other respects.

Week of April 1, 2024 - April 5, 2024

This interlocutory appeal involves an alleged slip and fall incident that occurred at the defendant’s grocery store. The plaintiff’s amended complaint included allegations of vicarious liability, premises liability, negligent training, and negligent supervision against the defendant. In an attempt to dismiss the plaintiff’s negligent training and supervision claims, the defendant filed a motion for partial judgment on the pleadings and asserted two alternative arguments, both of which the trial court rejected. First, the trial court rejected the defendant’s argument that courts must dismiss “negligent activity” claims, such as claims for negligent training and supervision, when asserted concurrently with a premises liability theory of recovery. Second, the trial court rejected the defendant’s argument that the plaintiff’s direct negligence claims were no longer legally viable due to the defendant admitting it was vicariously liable for the conduct of its employee, commonly referred to as the “preemption rule.” After denying the defendant’s motion, the trial court granted permission to file an interlocutory appeal pursuant to Rule 9 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure. The Court of Appeals denied the defendant’s application. The defendant then appealed to this Court, and we granted review. We hold that the preemption rule is incompatible with Tennessee’s system of comparative fault and decline to adopt it. In addition, we decline to adopt the rule proposed by the defendant pertaining to “negligent activity” claims asserted alongside premises liability claims. As a result, we affirm the trial court’s order denying the defendant’s motion for partial judgment on the pleadings and remand to the trial court for further proceedings.

A bill to require public schools in Tennessee to teach children age-appropriate firearms safety concepts as early as pre-Kindergarten is on its way to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk after a final Senate vote last week. The Senate passed HB2882 in a party-line vote of 24 to 3 last Thursday. It passed the House of Representatives in February. Sponsor Sen. Paul Bailey, R-Sparta, said, "This curriculum would be developed to instruct children on how to properly stay away from a firearm if they happen to see a firearm, and what to do as far as reporting if they find a firearm." Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, argued that the training requirement represents a hurried effort to address the symptom of a systemic problem, and lawmakers should be doing more to address the root cause. The Tennessean has the story.

Tennessee Eastern Bankruptcy Court Judge Shelley Rucker retired on April 1. A graduate of Texas Christian University and the University of Georgia School of Law, Rucker joined Miller & Martin in Chattanooga in 1983 and remained with the firm for 27 years. She was one of Miller & Martin’s first female partners and served as the chair of the firm’s bankruptcy practice group, playing a key role in many large Chapter 11 cases. Rucker was appointed to the bench in 2010. The Hamilton County Herald has this tribute to her long career.

Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP) held its annual Camp TLAP Conference last weekend at Montgomery Bell State Park in Dickson. Dr. Michael Baron received TLAP's "Stephenson Volunteer of the Year" Award. Baron serves on the TLAP Commission. He is a medical doctor and psychiatrist and also the director of the Tennessee Medical Foundation and Physician's Health Program. Baron has dedicated many hours of expert medical support to TLAP in designing approved diagnostics, treatment and monitoring. With Baron's input, TLAP's programming is delivering "gold standard" clinical and monitoring services to the legal profession in Tennessee. See photo from the event.