In the course of two separate dependency and neglect proceedings, a mother and father were found to have committed severe child abuse on their two children. In this termination proceeding, the trial court found that the grounds for termination of (1) severe child abuse, and (2) failure to manifest an ability and willingness to personally assume custody or financial responsibility of the children had been proven and that it was in the children’s best interest to terminate their parents’ parental rights. The parents appealed. We affirm.

Employee alleges that his termination from a county election commission was based on discrimination. His timely-filed federal case against the State of Tennessee was subsequently dismissed on Eleventh Amendment grounds. Twenty-one days after the federal case was dismissed and a total of almost three years after his termination, Employee refiled in state court, raising the same allegations of violations of the Tennessee Human Rights Act and the Tennessee Disability Act against the State. Relying on United States Supreme Court precedent that the federal savings statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1367(d), does not apply against a nonconsenting State defendant dismissed on Eleventh Amendment grounds, Raygor v. Regents of the University of Minnesota, 534 U.S. 533 (2002), we conclude that Employee’s state court complaint was untimely. We therefore affirm the grant of summary judgment on a different ground than that relied upon by the trial court.

This is a divorce action. Wife appeals the trial court's division of property and debt and asserts that the trial court erred by not classifying and awarding certain real property in accordance with the parties' stipulations. She also appeals the trial court's denial of her request for an extension of the order of protection issued against Husband and the assignment of costs to her. We reverse the trial court's interpretation of the parties' stipulations regarding the classification of real property inherited by Wife. Because this holding impacts the value of the parties' separate property and the marital estate, we remand for reconsideration of the division of marital assets. We affirm the trial court's equal division of marital debt and denial of Wife's request for an extended protective order. We vacate the assignment of costs to Wife and remand the case to the trial court.

In this interlocutory appeal, the defendant municipal board claimed that a document attached to the plaintiffs’ amended complaint was protected by the attorney work product doctrine and therefore could not be relied upon or otherwise utilized by the plaintiffs. The defendant further urged that such protection had not been waived. The trial court disagreed, finding that although portions of the document were protected by the work product doctrine, such protection had been waived. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm.

The appeal is dismissed because Appellant’s brief fails to comply with Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 27(a)(7)(A) and Tennessee Court of Appeals Rule 6(a). In addition, Appellant failed to provide a written transcript of the relevant proceedings despite our order requiring same. The absence of a transcript negates our ability to review the trial court’s substantive findings, and the failure to comply with the rules of briefing puts this Court in the position of having to create Appellant’s arguments, which we decline to do. Appeal dismissed.

The U.S. Supreme Court today again declined to block an Illinois state ban on assault-style rifles and large capacity magazines that was enacted after a 2022 deadly mass shooting in Chicago's Highland Park suburb. The court rejected a renewed request by a firearms retailer and national gun rights group to halt implementation of the law while an appeal continues, Reuters reports. The justices' action leaves the law in place pending the appeal of a lower court's decision brought by the National Association for Gun Rights and Robert Bevis and his firearms store. No justice publicly dissented from the decision.

The Nashville Bar Association (NBA) is seeking an executive director to provide leadership and direction to the organization. The executive director serves as the chief executive of the association and is responsible for day-to-day administration and management. The position also serves as the executive director of the Nashville Bar Foundation (NBF) and works with its board of trustees. Read more about the position.

President Joe Biden yesterday approved an expedited federal disaster declaration for areas in Tennessee affected by the Dec. 9 tornado outbreak, reports WKRN. The declaration will make recovery assistance available to four counties hit by the storms: Davidson, Dickson, Montgomery and Sumner. The disaster declaration includes FEMA’s Individual Assistance (IA) Program, Hazard Mitigation Grant Program and Direct Federal Assistance. Individuals in the declared counties can apply now for direct assistance through the FEMA IA program online at any time or by phone at 1-800-621-3362 between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Multilingual operators are available.

State Rep. Sam Whitson, R-Franklin, announced today he will not seek reelection, reports the Tennessean. Whitson's decision will leave the House District 65 seat open in 2024. In his announcement, Whitson noted several highlights of his legislative career, including fulfilling a campaign promise to complete the southwest Mack Hatcher Parkway, securing funding for Fairview High School and passing the Katie Becket Waiver Program to aid families caring for children with severe disabilities. Whitson says he will continue to focus on Williamson County issues during his final months in office.

Memphis Mayor-elect Paul Young announced today that Police Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis will remain as head of the Memphis Police Department (MPD) in the new mayoral administration, Daily Memphian reports. Davis was appointed police director in April 2021 by Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland. She is the first woman to hold the position since it was created in the early 1970s, and the first MPD leader to come from outside the ranks of the department in 40 years. Davis faced heavy criticism in the aftermath of the death of Tyre Nichols in January 2022.