In this appeal, the employee asserts the trial court erred in granting the employer’s motion for summary judgment and dismissing his petition with prejudice. The employer asserts that the employee’s claim is barred by the statute of limitations because he failed to timely file a petition for workers’ compensation benefits within one year of the alleged accident. The employer also contends it did not issue payments to or on behalf of the employee related to his claim for benefits within one year of the alleged accident. The court granted summary judgment based on the expiration of the statute of limitations, and the employee has appealed. Having thoroughly considered the record on appeal, we affirm and certify as final the trial court’s order.

Victims of sexual assault in Tennessee will soon get more time to receive financial compensation, reports WPLN. Current state law allows a victim of sexual assault one year to pursue civil action. A recently passed bill would extend that time frame to three years and is on its way to Gov. Bill Lee for his signature. Two other bills recently passed the Senate. The Parental Accountability Act would allow juvenile court judges to require parents to pay restitution of up to $1,000 for every crime their child commits after being arrested, while the Juvenile Organized Retail Theft Act would allow juveniles 15 years of age or older to be transferred to criminal court for smash and grabs, or for stealing firearms from vehicles. These bills now have been assigned to a House subcommittee. Action News 5 has more.

Thank you for your support of the Tort & Insurance Law Section! It’s been a busy year, led by section chair Courtney Creal. In December, section members Parke Morris and Holland Matthews presented a session focused on premises liability, which is available on demand in the TBA CLE catalog. Also available in the CLE catalog are sessions from the section's yearly forum that took place virtually in February. This year's forum featured a course with a health care professional with tips on how to read/understand medical reports, a session on health care liability updates, a discussion of the Anti-SLAPP statute, and an ethics panel. These sessions were led by Tort & Insurance Law Section members, including Lauran Stimac, Alan Bean, Lauren Roberts and Parke Morris. If you missed the event, no worries; the sessions are available as a 1-Click Package. 

Thank you for being part of the Tort & Insurance Law Section. If you have thoughts or ideas for future section initiatives, don’t hesitate to reach out.

RONALD LEE GILMAN, Circuit Judge. Kyle Brandon Richards, a Michigan prisoner, appeals the district court’s judgment dismissing his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 civil-rights suit because Richards failed to exhaust his administrative remedies. For the reasons set forth below, we REVERSE the judgment of the district court and REMAND the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I wanted to briefly express my gratitude for the ongoing support for the Tax Law Section of the Tennessee Bar Association! We have strived to continue to provide quality content and materials on new, emerging and important topics pertinent to tax law practitioners in the Tennessee area. In February, our section’s Ex Officio Chair Brad Sagraves and guest speaker E. Michael Brezina did a superlative job discussing the fundamentals of name, image and likeness (NIL) income and its potential tax implications under new policies promulgated by the NCAA. If you missed the program, it is currently available on demand in our CLE catalog. We also invite you to join us on May 2, as we review the history, nature and intricacies of Tennessee’s Franchise & Excise Tax along with Jeffrey Foster from the Tennessee Department of Revenue.
 
For the upcoming bar year, we are looking for attorneys interested in joining the section executive council. The council members meet each month, discuss any relevant legislation and plan continuing legal education (CLE) programming throughout the year. We are always looking for ways for the section to do more and welcome your ideas! If you are interested in being considered or would like to recommend someone, please contact TBA Section Coordinator Jamie Rhode.

Thanks,
Joe Fernandez

The Defendant, Adrian Moore, was convicted in the Shelby County Criminal Court of second degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, especially aggravated robbery, and two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and received an effective sentence of forty-six years in confinement. On appeal, the Defendant claims that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions of second degree murder and especially aggravated robbery. Based upon our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Petitioner, Carl Franklin Pendergrast, appeals the Bedford County Circuit Court’s denial of post-conviction relief from his guilty-pleaded convictions for four counts of sale of methamphetamine less than .5 grams, two counts of sale of hydrocodone, one count of sale of cocaine less than .5 grams, and one count of conspiracy to deliver methamphetamine less than .5 grams, for which he received a total effective sentence of twenty-six years’ incarceration. Petitioner contends that he is entitled to post-conviction relief because his guilty pleas were the product of coercion and, therefore, not voluntarily entered. Following a thorough review, we affirm the post-conviction court’s denial of relief.

The Chancery Court for Knox County (the “Trial Court”) granted the motion for partial summary judgment filed by Haren Construction Company, Inc. (“Plaintiff”), concluding that Olen Ford d/b/a Olen Ford Masonry and Construction (“Defendant”) had breached his contract with Plaintiff. The Trial Court awarded a judgment to Plaintiff against Defendant in the amount of $64,971.40. Defendant has appealed. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm the Trial Court’s judgment.

A Shelby County jury convicted the Defendant, Antonio Turley, of attempted first degree murder, attempted first degree murder with serious bodily injury, and reckless endangerment with a dangerous weapon. The trial court imposed a total effective sentence of two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. On appeal, the Defendant challenges the admission of certain evidence and the sufficiency of the evidence. He also alleges prosecutorial misconduct. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the trial court’s judgments

For events in 2001, a Shelby County jury convicted the Petitioner, Nakomis Jones, of murder, kidnapping, and gun related charges, and the trial court sentenced him to an effective sentence of life in prison plus thirty-eight years. The Petitioner unsuccessfully appealed his convictions, as well as filed for post-conviction relief, Federal habeas corpus relief, and motions to reopen the denial of relief in each instance. As relevant here, in 2022, the Petitioner filed a petition pursuant to the Post-Conviction Fingerprint Analysis Act of 2021. He sought fingerprint analysis of the palm print and a handgun collected during the investigation. The post-conviction court summarily dismissed the petition. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the post-conviction court erred when it denied his petition. After review, we affirm the post-conviction court’s judgment.