If you missed the panel discussion with Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Holly Kirby and Justice Dwight Tarwater in Memphis last month, the video from the event is now available on demand. Moderated by attorneys Will Perry and Buck Wellford, the justices discussed their paths to the bench, the importance of mentors, the manner in which members of the court interact and the importance of the Rule of Law in our society. Watch it here and earn up to 1.5 general CLE credit hours.

A Maury County jury convicted the Defendant, Joshua W. Gabehart, of the unlawful sale of fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to serve twelve years in confinement. On appeal, the Defendant argues that the evidence is legally insufficient to support his conviction because the State failed to prove that he knew he was selling fentanyl instead of heroin. Upon our review, we respectfully affirm the judgment of the trial court.

For the week of March 25, 2024 - March 28, 2024

The TBA Young Lawyers Division, in conjunction with the Williamson County Bar Association and the City of Brentwood, held a Wills Clinic for first responders in Brentwood. Fourteen volunteer attorneys helped 42 first responders and their spouses. Thank you to all who volunteered for your service.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled today that Meta Platforms cannot delay a U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) probe into alleged privacy failures by its Facebook unit while the company pursues a lawsuit challenging the agency's authority. Reuters reports that the court found that Meta had not shown its challenge was likely to be successful. The court said Meta has "not met its heavy burden of showing entitlement to an injunction pending appeal." The same appeals court panel on March 12 denied a separate request by Meta in a related case to pause the FTC’s probe, which was announced last year, despite Meta's objections that it already paid a $5 billion fine and agreed to a range of safeguards.

Gov. Bill Lee on Thursday signed off on the repeal of police traffic stop reforms made in Memphis after the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols by officers in January 2023, despite pleas from Nichols’ parents to give them a chance to find compromise, reports the Associated Press. The governor’s signature means the law immediately renders some of Memphis’ ordinances null and void, including one that outlawed so-called "pretextual" traffic stops, such as those for a broken taillight and other minor violations.

Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law (LMU Law) has announced that Maha Ayesh has been promoted to associate dean for academic affairs. Ayesh has served as LMU Law’s director of experiential learning since October 2020. During that time, she has overseen a growing externship program while developing clinical offerings to provide students with practical experience and meeting the law school’s mission to serve the underserved. These efforts have included a domestic violence clinic and mediation clinic in neighboring Sevier County and an immigration clinic with Catholic Charities of East Tennessee. Ayesh also has taught a variety of doctrinal and experiential courses and served on the law school’s Curriculum Committee, allowing her to gain an understanding of its curricular process and needs.

Belmont College of Law’s transactional and mock trial teams have experienced success this year, with teams and individuals earning regional and national recognition. Ally Bojczuk (3L), Kendall McMullen (2L) and Katelyn Watlington (3L) were declared national champions at the L. Edward Bryant Jr. National Health Law Transactional Competition. Nate Conder (3L), Garrison Luckett (3L) and Kaitlyn Phillips (3L) were regional finalists at the National Trial Competition (NTC) in Birmingham, Alabama. Belmont’s team of Zach Lambert (3L), Hunter Lindsey (3L), Taylor Patton (2L) and Alexis Phelps (3L) were regional semifinalists at the American Association of Justice Mock Trial Competition. And Torin Shanahan (3L) and Mary Kate Tumelty (2L) represented Belmont and advanced to the semifinal round of the Magnolia Cup Negotiation Competition, a new competition for the school.

Section Colleagues,
 
Thank you for your membership and support of the Real Estate Law Section. 

For those of you who may be new to the Real Estate Law Section, the section has a highly active and enthusiastic executive council that continues to work diligently on behalf of its members. It meets every month to help guide the section and to express the needs of the section to the Tennessee Bar Association. Each council member sacrifices significant time to read proposed statutes, draft responses, educate new members and attend various meetings. Thanks to their efforts, we are able to pursue collectively the many goals and initiatives that Tennessee real estate attorneys cannot address individually.

This year, the executive council has been actively following over 30 proposed pieces of legislation and submitted our comments for consideration and action by the TBA. Thus far, we have actively opposed SB2448/HB2215 (Real Estate Fraud Reduction Act) and SB2863/HB2889 (covering registered agents of a foreign corporation), all as amended, due to the issues to which the proposed legislation would expose our members. We will continue working with TBA’s legislative team through the rest of this session to advance the interests of Tennessee real estate attorneys.
 
The section has also produced two educational seminars during this bar year. Our annual Real Estate Essentials was held last June and provided vital practice tips for non-real estate attorneys. During this seminar, we focused on the basics of title insurance, thanks to participation from First American Title, and information on cybersecurity in real estate transactions, thanks to participation from the FBI’s Memphis office. Our fall seminar, Hot Topics in Real Estate, was held in November and covered topics ranging from commercial leases to our annual real property law update. Thanks to Kirby Yost and Joe Kirkland for teaching! Both CLEs were designed and planned by the section’s executive council, which is currently composed of Chair David Wicker, Chair-elect Jay Moneyhun, Ryan McNally, Courtney Hollins, James Lenschau, Kirby Yost, Ashley Jones, Andy Maloney, and Joe Kirkland, in conjunction with the TBA staff assigned to our section. 
 
As we dive further into 2024, I encourage you to take full advantage of your Real Estate Law Section membership and to continue learning. The executive council is currently planning this year’s Real Estate Essentials seminar, and we hope you will be able to participate or attend. As a reminder, all section members receive a discount on section-sponsored CLE, which offsets the cost of both your section and TBA membership. 

We are busy, but welcome your participation and are always seeking section members to serve on the executive council! In order to better serve its members, the council seeks to maintain a balance between large, medium and small firms and solo practitioners and also geographic diversity within the state. Accordingly, if you or someone you know is interested in serving on the executive council, please do not hesitate to reach out.

J. David Wicker

Eads attorney and longtime Local Government Practice executive council member Charlotte Knight Griffin will serve as president of the Tennessee Bar Association in 2026-2027. After taking office as vice president at this summer’s TBA Convention, Griffin will become president-elect in 2024-2025 and then take over the organization’s leadership in June 2026. Knight Griffin began her career in private practice in Memphis after earning her law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1976. In 1978, she joined Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division as a staff attorney. She was named the manager of legal services in 2000. She retired in April 2023 after 45 years of service. Knight Griffin has been active in the TBA for many years, currently serving as speaker of the House of Delegates and member of the Board of Governors. She is a past chair of the Local Government Practice and Litigation sections, charter fellow of the Young Lawyers Division and a past executive officer of the YLD. Read more about her background.

In addition to Knight Griffin’s election as vice president, several other key positions for the 2024-2025 bar year were certified via uncontested election results. These include TBA Board of Governors members as well as Tennessee representatives to the ABA House of Delegates. Two vacancies will be filled by the Board of Governors. No contested elections will be held in 2024. See all election results here.