Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands has launched a new disaster preparedness website to help residents better prepare for disasters. Executive Director DarKenya W. Waller tells the Smith County Insider that the site is designed to help speed up the process of recovery by educating people how to prepare and safely store essential paperwork — such as advance care plans, powers of attorney, titles, deeds of property, citizenship verification, contracts and agreements — before disaster strikes. The site also includes advice on developing a disaster plan and a checklist of emergency supplies to have on hand. 

The Shelby County Office of Re-Entry is an innovative community agency dedicated to providing education, support and advocacy for justice involved individuals. Director DeAndre Brown tells the Commercial Appeal that the agency's focus on citizenship restoration, including voting rights, is a key element of reentry post-incarceration and is a way to "make a person whole again." Five individuals have successfully completed the restoration of citizenship application process and have filed their petitions with the county circuit court clerk. The filing fees were paid by Just City, a Memphis-based criminal justice reform group.

Family law issues can be fraught, so attorneys need to have as many tools at their disposal as possible. Join your colleagues in Nashville this Wednesday to learn more at the Family Law Forum. The event will take place from 9 a.m.- 2:45 p.m. CDT at the offices of Alliance Bernstein, 501 Commerce St., Nashville 37203. On-site registration begins at 8 a.m. This program, hosted by the TBA Family Law Section, will provide information on topics from using mental health expert witnesses to criminal contempt and everything in between.

Senate Speaker and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally confirmed to the Tennessee Lookout that he plans to run for re-election to the post in 2024. The Oak Ridge Republican, however, did not guarantee he would seek another term representing District 5, which contains Anderson and Loudon counties and a portion of Knox County. Some had expected McNally not to run for the leadership position again after facing down a no-confidence vote earlier this year. Leadership changes are being made by the House Democratic Caucus as Rep. Torrey Harris, D-Memphis, and Rep. Ronnie Glynn, D-Clarksville, have been elevated to floor leader and treasurer, respectively. Harris replaces the late Bill Beck of Nashville, and Glynn takes the spot of Rep. Gloria Johnson, who left her post to focus on a U.S. Senate campaign.

Retired Court of Appeals Judge Richard H. Dinkins died yesterday at the age of 71, the Administrative Office of the Courts reports. A native of Nashville, Dinkins earned his undergraduate degree from Denison University in Ohio and then returned to Nashville for law school, graduating from Vanderbilt University in 1977. Dinkins joined state Sen. Avon N. Williams Jr. in practice and they worked together for more than 20 years. During his time in private practice, Dinkins was the lead attorney for Nashville's school desegregation cases as well as other high-profile civil rights and discrimination cases. From 2003-2008, he served as a Davidson County chancellor. He joined the Court of Appeals in 2008 and served until his retirement in 2022. Dinkins held leadership positions with a number of legal organizations, including president of the Napier-Looby Bar Association and board member for the Nashville Bar Association. Among his many honors, Dinkins was awarded the William M. Leech Jr. Public Service Award from the TBA Young Lawyers Division Fellows in 2004. Funeral services will be held on Oct. 21 at First Baptist Church Capitol Hill, 625 Rosa L Parks Blvd., Nashville 37203. Visitation will be at 10 a.m. with the service following at 11 a.m. CDT. Read remembrances or post your own on the AOC website.

The U.S. Supreme Court began its new term today with arguments in a criminal sentencing case, SCOTUSblog reports. Tomorrow, the justices will consider the first of at least three disputes that could result in new limits on the authority of regulatory agencies. Axios has more on that case. Other issues to be heard this term include a review of state laws that prevent social media platforms from taking down certain posts, the right of domestic abusers to have guns, Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy settlement, and the FBI’s “no-fly” list for terrorism suspects. The new term begins as questions linger about the need for an ethics code for the justices. A series of articles over the summer from Pro Publica has raised concerns about justices and their involvement with wealthy donors. The court's website indicates that it plans to continue to provide live audio of oral arguments this term, and recorded audio is posted daily following arguments. In related news, a new stamp honoring former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was issued today timed with the opening of the court's new session, Bloomberg Law reports.

For the week of September 25, 2023 - September 29, 2023

This is an appeal of a compensation order denying benefits. The employee alleged he suffered a laceration to his left forefinger resulting in a need for medical treatment. Following an expedited hearing, the trial court ordered the employer to provide a panel. The employer complied with the order, and the employee had one appointment with the panel-selected physician. The court also issued a scheduling order with various discovery and proof deadlines. Neither party filed documents in compliance with that order, and, at the compensation hearing, neither party introduced any medical proof or offered any admissible exhibits. The trial court found the employee failed to prove his alleged injury arose primarily out of and in the course and scope of his employment and denied benefits, and the employee has appealed. Upon careful consideration of the record, we affirm the order and certify it as final.

In this appeal, we address whether a Tennessee resident may sue an Alabama corporation in a Tennessee court for alleged breach of contract and breach of warranty pertaining to its construction of a custom lake house in Alabama. Tennessee resident Roger Baskin hired Pierce & Allred Construction, an Alabama corporation with its principal place of business in Alabama, to build a house on a parcel of land in Alabama. Mr. Baskin supplied the architectural plans and some of the materials, all sourced from Tennessee, and the parties communicated throughout the project from their respective states. However, all of Pierce & Allred Construction’s activities on the project occurred in Alabama. Mr. Baskin ultimately became dissatisfied with the quality and expense of the construction work, and he filed suit in the Davidson County Chancery Court. Pierce & Allred Construction moved to dismiss the complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction, arguing that the corporation lacked the “minimum contacts” with Tennessee that due process protections require. Int’l Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 316 (1945). The trial court granted the motion, finding that the events relevant to the claims occurred in Alabama and that the corporation’s contacts with Tennessee were minor and attenuated. The Court of Appeals reversed, looking to recent decisions from this Court, see Crouch Ry. Consulting, LLC v. LS Energy Fabrication, LLC, 610 S.W.3d 460 (Tenn. 2020), and the United States Supreme Court, see Ford Motor Co. v. Mont. Eighth Jud. Dist. Ct., 141 S. Ct. 1017 (2021) (explaining that the exercise of specific personal jurisdiction requires that a plaintiff’s claim arise out of or relate to the defendant’s forum contacts). We granted permission to appeal. Based on our review, we have determined that Pierce & Allred Construction’s contacts with Tennessee were not such that the corporation reasonably should have anticipated being haled into a Tennessee court to answer this suit. In making this determination, we conclude that certain contacts with Tennessee did not reflect that the corporation purposefully availed itself of the privilege of conducting business activities in Tennessee, while certain other contacts were not sufficiently related to Mr. Baskin’s claims to support the exercise of specific personal jurisdiction. Thus, we hold that Mr. Baskin failed to establish a prima facie case of the minimum contacts necessary for a Tennessee court to exercise specific personal jurisdiction over the Alabama corporation. Accordingly, we reverse the decision of the Court of Appeals and reinstate the judgment of the trial court dismissing Mr. Baskin’s complaint.

The Tennessee Supreme Court recently issued several rulings. First, it clarified that the economic loss doctrine, which limits the recovery of economic losses under tort law, applies only to products liability cases, not to contracts for services, and should not be expanded. This decision allowed a construction subcontractor to recover damages on its tort claims against a general contractor. Second, the court addressed the concept of personal jurisdiction, ruling that for a Tennessee court to have authority over a case, there must be a sufficient connection between the defendant and the state. Lastly, the court held that defendants convicted of vehicular homicide by intoxication cannot receive probation as specified in the 2017 amendment to the probation eligibility statute.