The Memphis Bar Association will hold its Second Saturday Legal Clinic on Dec. 9 from 10 a.m. to noon CST at the Benjamin Hooks Central Library, 3030 Poplar Ave., Memphis 38111.  Volunteers should arrive by 9:30 a.m. for instructions. Learn more here.

Newspaper publisher Gannett has asked a federal judge in Virginia to dismiss a proposed class action that accuses it of discriminating against white employees in an effort to diversify its newsrooms, Reuters reports. The five named plaintiffs in the suit say they were fired or passed over for promotions to make room for less-qualified women or minorities. The suit comes amid a growing backlash to corporate diversity policies following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that struck down race-conscious college admissions policies. Gannett says the plaintiffs failed to identify a discriminatory company-wide policy and cannot sue as a class because their claims involve isolated decisions by individual managers.

Memphis lawyer James Lewis Boren Jr. died Nov. 15 at the age of 95. A graduate of Christian Brothers High School, he attended Vanderbilt University for his undergraduate and law degrees. During law school, he was editor-in-chief of the law review and a member of the Dean's Council and Order of the Coif. In 1953, Boren joined Mid-South Title, which was co-founded by his father. He was CEO of the firm when it was acquired by Lawyer's Title in 1978. He retired in 1994 as senior vice president. Boren was a past president of the American Land Title Association and the Tennessee Land Title Association, and co-chair of the Tennessee Insurance Commissioner's Committee on Title Insurance. A private burial has been held. A celebration of life will take place Dec. 15 at 1 p.m. CST in the chapel at Second Presbyterian Church, 4055 Poplar Ave., Memphis 38111. Visitation will follow. Memorial gifts may be made to the church’s foundation, the Trezevant Foundation or JDRF International to support Type 1 Diabetes research (mail check to 3369 Pine Ridge Rd., Ste. 202 Naples, FL 34109 with Jim Boren in the memo).

In the Chancery Court for Knox County (“the Trial Court”), Christina K. Collins sought judicial review of a disciplinary order entered against her by the Tennessee Board of Nursing (“the Board”). Finding that Ms. Collins’s petition for judicial review was untimely, the Trial Court determined that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the matter and dismissed her petition. Ms. Collins has appealed the Trial Court’s order of dismissal. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm.

Gov. Bill Lee has appointed Quantel Lindsey of Cleveland — a man he pardoned for a previous life of drugs, violence and jail time — as the East Tennessee member of a newly created Inmate Disciplinary Oversight Board. “This is a full-time job to be on this board and I look forward to serving the state of Tennessee,” Lindsey tells the Knoxville News Sentinel. The board, which is still being created, will grant or deny sentencing credits for good behavior and determine whether previously awarded credits should be removed for certain infractions.

KETHLEDGE, Circuit Judge. Seldom is so ambitious a case filed on so slight a basis. The gravamen of Kevin Hardwick’s complaint is that his bloodstream contains trace quantities of five chemicals—which are themselves part of a family of thousands of chemicals whose usage is nearly ubiquitous in modern life. Hardwick does not know what companies manufactured the particular chemicals in his bloodstream; nor does he know, or indeed have much idea, whether those chemicals might someday make him sick; nor, as a result of those chemicals, does he have any sickness or symptoms now. Yet, of the thousands of companies that have manufactured chemicals of this general type over the past half-century, Hardwick has chosen to sue the ten defendants present here. His allegations regarding those defendants are both collective—rarely does he allege an action by a specific defendant—and conclusory. Yet Hardwick sought to represent a class comprising nearly every person “residing in the United States”—a class from which, under Civil Rule 23(c), nobody could choose to opt out. And as relief for his claims, Hardwick asked the district court to appoint a “Science Panel”—whose conclusions, he said, “shall be deemed definitive and binding on all the parties[.]”

The district court, for its part, certified a class comprising every person residing in the State of Ohio—some 11.8 million people. The defendants now appeal that order, arguing (among many other things) that Hardwick lacks standing to bring this case. We agree with that argument, and remand with instructions to dismiss the case.

For the week of November 20, 2023 - November 24, 2023

Sean Williams, a prison escapee indicted in connection with multiple counts of state and federal child sex charges as well as rape charges, has been captured in Florida after a month-long manhunt, KnoxNews reports. Williams had escaped from a transport van while being moved from Kentucky to the U.S. District Court in Greeneville. His alleged crimes and arrest have become the subject of several lawsuits in Johnson City, where he lived and worked.

The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments is now accepting applications for the Tennessee Supreme Court vacancy that will be created by the retirement of Justice Roger A. Page effective Aug. 31, 2024. Interested applicants must be licensed attorneys who are at least 35 years of age, have been a resident of the state for five years and are currently a resident of Tennessee’s Eastern or Western Grand Division. Applicants must complete the designated application and submit it to the Administrative Office of the Courts by noon CST on Dec. 11. Get full application instructions on the court's website. The council will meet on Jan. 4-5 to hold a public hearing and interviews for the vacancy. Additional details about that meeting will be released soon. Questions about the process should be directed to Assistant General Counsel John Jefferson.

Need last minute CLE? The TBA will have everything you need to meet your yearly requirement! Sign up now to stay in the loop as TBA launches its Year End CLE event on Friday. This annual tradition will offer hour-based packages (ranging from six to 15 hours of credit), topical packages, live interactive webcasts and more than 200 programs on demand. Want to get started before Friday? Check out the courses available now at cle.tba.org. Don’t forget to use the prepaid credits that come with your TBA Complete Membership and save on your CLE costs. Not a member? Join now to start saving.