The Supreme Court of Tennessee temporarily suspended Joseph Houston Crabtree Jr., from the practice of law today finding that Crabtree failed to respond to the Board of Professional Responsibility concerning a complaint of misconduct. Section 12.3 of Supreme Court Rule 9 provides for the immediate temporary suspension of an attorney’s license to practice law in cases of an attorney’s failure to respond to a complaint of misconduct. Crabtree previously was suspended on Nov. 22, 2022, for a period of three years, with one year served on active suspension and the remaining two years on probation. That suspension remains in effect.

The Tennessee Supreme Court reinstated two lawyers yesterday and one lawyer today who had been suspended for failing to complete annual continuing legal education requirements in 2022. View the Sept. 6 order, the Sept. 7 order or see the list of all those reinstated online.

Florida based law firm Bernheim Kelley Battista has announced the opening of a Nashville office. BK Law focuses on personal injury, product liability and consumer advocacy, reports the Nashville Post. The local office will be led by managing partner Gregory Marangos. Marangos, a graduate of University of New Hampshire School of Law, practiced with related firm Bernheim Dolinsky Kelley from 2015 to 2017 and has practiced with Steinger, Greene & Feiner since 2017.

JOHN K. BUSH, Circuit Judge. Plaintiffs Republic Building Company, Inc. and Michael Torres sought to develop condominiums at a property acquired from University Builders, Inc. But there was one problem: they needed rezoning approval from the Charter Township of Clinton, Michigan (the Township). After a protracted dispute over rezoning, plaintiffs sued the Township in Michigan state court to gain approval. The state court entered a consent judgment that dictated the conditions for rezoning the property and completing the project. Years later, after experiencing several setbacks, plaintiffs sought to amend the consent judgment, but the Township refused. Plaintiffs then filed this suit in federal district court, alleging several constitutional violations as well as a breach-of-contract claim. The Township moved to dismiss for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, which the district court granted, finding plaintiffs’ complaint to be a collateral attack on the consent judgment. Contrary to the district court’s opinion, it did not lack subject-matter jurisdiction, but dismissal was nevertheless proper for failure to state a claim based on res judicata. We therefore AFFIRM.

Petitioner, Kellum Williams, appeals as of right from the Montgomery County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, wherein he challenged his convictions for first degree premeditated murder, first degree felony murder, and especially aggravated kidnapping and resulting sentence of life without the possibility of parole plus twenty-five years. Petitioner contends that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel based upon trial counsel’s failure to: (1) sufficiently emphasize at trial the theory that the victim died in Montgomery County rather than in Robertson County, as testified to by the State’s experts; (2) seek an independent expert “to test samples from the crime scene”; (3) raise as a defense that venue of the trial should have been in Robertson County instead of Montgomery County; and (4) more extensively question witnesses to demonstrate Petitioner’s “non-participation in the events leading to [the victim’s] death.” Petitioner further asserts that he is entitled to relief based upon cumulative error. Following a thorough review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

A Shelby County jury convicted Defendant, Deshaun “Bushwick” Tate, of first degree premeditated murder. On appeal, Defendant argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal, his motion for new trial, and his motion to suppress witness identification. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The parents of Jayla S. appeal the termination of their parental rights. Jayla was removed from her parents’ custody because Jayla tested positive for amphetamines at birth. The Department of Children’s Services (“DCS”) subsequently filed a petition to terminate both parents’ parental rights. Following a two-day trial, the trial court found that multiple grounds for termination had been proven, including the ground of severe child abuse. Finding it also to be in the best interest of Jayla that her parents’ parental rights be terminated, the court terminated both parents’ parental rights. This appeal followed. Finding no error, we affirm.

The plaintiff appeals from the grant of summary judgment to the defendants in this action. The trial court dismissed the plaintiff’s claims for false arrest, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence as barred by the statute of limitations. The trial court also dismissed the plaintiff’s claim for malicious prosecution after finding the plaintiff could not establish that the defendants had initiated the issuance of a criminal warrant without probable cause and with malice. Discerning no error, we affirm the trial court.

This is an action to recover amounts due under a promissory note. The trial court awarded the plaintiffs $50,000.00 in compensatory damages, attorney’s fees of one-third of that amount, and prejudgment interest on both the compensatory damages and attorney’s fees. We affirm the trial court’s judgment that the individual defendants are individually liable on the obligation and that the ad damnum clause permitted the plaintiffs to recover $50,000.00 in compensatory damages, plus attorney’s fees and prejudgment interest. We vacate the attorney’s fees award and remand for a determination of the plaintiffs’ reasonable attorney’s fees. We reverse the award of prejudgment interest on the attorney’s fees award only. Affirmed in part, vacated in part, reversed in part, and remanded.

The Harpeth Conservancy has reached a settlement in an administrative lawsuit against the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and the Water Authority of Dickson County over bacterial and algae pollution in Trace Creek in White Bluff. The Tennessean reports the conservancy was represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center. The suit was filed last year after residents noticed slime growing around a discharge pipe in the White Bluff Wastewater Treatment Plant. The water authority made operational changes at its sewage treatment plant to correct the problem while the suit was pending. As part of the settlement, the water authority will continue to work to eliminate the growth and monitor pollution levels.