A Madison County jury convicted the Appellant of aggravated assault for which she received a four-year sentence to be served on supervised probation after service of eleven months and twenty-nine days at 75% release eligibility. The sole issue presented for our review is whether the evidence is sufficient to support the serious bodily injury element of aggravated assault and self-defense. Upon our review, we affirm.

In this post-divorce action, the trial court denied the husband’s petition for contempt upon finding that the wife had satisfied a provision of the parties’ marital dissolution agreement allowing for the husband to retrieve items of personal property from a home awarded to the wife. The court initially awarded attorney’s fees to the wife, pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated § 36-5-103(c), for her successful defense against the petition. Upon the husband’s motion to alter or amend and following a hearing and supplemental briefing, the trial court concluded that the statute did not provide for attorney’s fees in an action involving enforcement of the distribution of property in a divorce. The trial court granted the husband’s motion to alter or amend, denying the wife’s request for attorney’s fees. The wife has appealed. Upon consideration, we hold that Tennessee Code Annotated § 36-5-103(c) provides for attorney’s fees solely in matters involving alimony, child support, permanent parenting plan provisions, and custody of children. We therefore affirm the trial court’s judgment.

Join us in Nashville on Jan. 26, 2024, for the Construction Law Annual Forum! This year's program will focus on the "gotchas" of construction law and will provide remedies to be utilized. Topics to be covered include contracts, dispute resolution, liens, the Prompt Pay Act and ethical considerations for each of these topics. We will end the day with a 30 minute legislative/case law update. Earn up to five general and one dual CLE hours.

Visit the course page to learn more and complete your registration. 

This appeal arises from a health care liability action following the death of Ashley Denson from a cardiac event she suffered after being treated and released from Methodist Medical Center. Ms. Denson was unmarried and had two minor children at the time of her death. The statutorily-required pre-suit notice listed Ms. Denson’s mother, Bobbie J. Denson, as the claimant authorizing notice. The minor children were not identified anywhere in the notice. The subsequent complaint was filed by “ASHLEY DENSON, Deceased, by and through her Next Friend and Mother BOBBIE JO DENSON, and BOBBIE JO DENSON, Individually.” The body of the complaint lists, for the first time, Ashley Denson’s children, and states that Bobbie Denson “brings this action individually, and on behalf of Plaintiff, decedent’s surviving minor children … as Grandmother and Legal Guardian.” The defendants filed motions to dismiss, challenging Bobbie Denson’s standing to bring the action and contending that the pre-suit notice failed to comply with the requirements of the Tennessee Health Care Liability Act. The trial court initially granted the motions to dismiss but reversed course after the plaintiff filed a motion to reconsider. We hold that, although Grandmother has standing, the pre-suit notice does not comply with the requirements of the Tennessee Health Care Liability Act. The judgment of the trial court is ultimately affirmed in part and reversed in part.

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024. Beginning on that date, certain newly-formed entities will be required to disclose information about their beneficial owners and company applicants to the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The CTA is intended to help law enforcement and regulators track down the identities of people who control shell companies and other opaque corporate structures.

Entities covered by the CTA include:

• corporations;
• limited liability companies;
• limited partnerships;
• other entities that are created by filing a document with a secretary of state or any similar office under the law of a state or Indian tribe; and
• similar foreign entities that file registrations to do business with the secretary of state.

Filing requirements under the CTA include:

• basic information about the entity;
• the name of each beneficial owner and company applicant of the entity;
• the beneficial owner's or company applicant’s date of birth and street address;
• a driver's license number, passport number, or other ID number for such person; and
• a copy of the document containing the document number, which includes a picture ID, for such person.

A beneficial owner under the CTA is an individual who owns a 25% or greater interest in an entity or who exercises control over an entity (including serving as a senior officer or otherwise having substantial influence or control). A company applicant is any person who files the document creating the company.

While some entities will be exempt, these exemptions are narrow and more focused on larger or institutional entities that may have reporting obligations elsewhere. Examples of such exemptions from the CTA include:

• entities that are publicly-traded;
• certain banks, credit unions, money-transmitting businesses, broker-dealers, investment advisers, insurance companies, commodity pool operators, and private investment funds; 
• certain governmental entities; and
• certain entities that have (i) more than 20 full-time employees in the U.S., (ii) a physical office in the U.S., and (iii) more than $5 million in gross receipts or sales in the aggregate.

A copy of the implementing regulations can be found here. Initial reports for new entities during 2024 will need to begin reporting within 90 days of formation (per a proposed temporary rule found here). Changes to the ownership information will be due within 30 days of the change. Starting Jan. 1, 2025, all entities, including entities existing prior to 2024, will be required to report their beneficial ownership information and new entities will be required to submit the first report within 30 days of formation. The penalties for non-compliance are substantial.

FinCEN has published a “Small Entity Compliance Guide” to help small businesses navigate this complex new law, available here. Business lawyers should be aware of the CTA and its requirements, as they may need to help their clients comply with the law. The CTA is a significant piece of legislation that will have a major impact on the way businesses are formed and operated in the United States.

Alexander Davie is a member of Riggs Davie PLC in Nashville and serves in the firm's corporate and securities practice. He represents investment advisers, private equity funds, venture capital funds, hedge funds, real estate partnership syndicators, securities brokers and other entities with regard to private offerings of securities and complex federal and state securities regulatory matters. He also works extensively with technology companies, including startups and emerging growth companies, as well as businesses in other industries, providing legal counsel on company formation, mergers and acquisitions, technology transactions, equity compensation and venture capital financings.

The NAACP Sumner County Branch and the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will hold an expungement clinic on Oct. 21 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. CDT at the Gallaton Shalom Zone, 600 Small St., Gallatin 37066. Registration is required.

Elizabethton lawyer William J. “Bill” Byrd died unexpectedly Oct. 8. He was 65 years old. Byrd practiced law with Norris, Bush and Byrd and was a member of the Carter County Bar Association and Tennessee Bar Association. Byrd practiced law in Elizabethton for over 35 years. He graduated from East Tennessee State University in 1981 and received his law degree in 1984 from the University of Tennessee College of Law. A service to remember Byrd's life was held yesterday at Happy Valley Memorial Park. Memorial donations may be made to the Valley Forge Freewill Baptist Church, Building Fund, 1502 Riverview Dr., Elizabethton, TN 37643.

A unanimous three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that Midwestern State University in Texas must face a Malaysian political science professor's race discrimination lawsuit, reports Reuters. The panel ruled that a lower court judge was wrong to toss out Sugumaran Narayanan's suit against the university because it did not involve an "ultimate employment decision" such as hiring, firing and setting pay – a test it previously used to determine whether cases should be allowed to continue. Narayanan claimed in 2018, that the university refused to let him teach summer courses based on his race and in retaliation for a previous discrimination complaint he filed against the school. Read the decision.

Campbell County Sheriff Wayne Barton says an investigation is underway after six inmates in the Campbell County Jail are believed to have overdosed, reports WATE Knoxville. Barton said that six inmates were taken to LaFollette Medical Center yesterday after suspected overdoses. The individuals were treated and are now back at the jail. The nature of the substance and its source are unknown at this time.

Lt. Governor Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, and House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville released a proclamation yesterday condemning the invasion of Israel by the terrorist group known as Hamas, reports the Chattanoogan. “The invasion of Israel by Hamas was illegal, immoral and unconscionable,” said McNally, who referred to Israel as “our greatest ally and the only true democracy in the Middle East … It was an act of war.” The speakers issued the proclamation on behalf of the members of the House and the Senate. In related news, Gov. Bill Lee announced Monday that flags would fly at half-staff for the rest of the week to honor those who have died in the conflict. WBIR has that report.