Two Davidson County clerks allegedly have hired relatives for taxpayer-funded jobs without considering other applicants, WSMV4 reports. The news station says Davidson County Criminal Court Clerk Howard Gentry gave his daughter a part-time job handling social media and outreach to those needing expungements without advertising the job or collecting applications. When asked about the decision, Gentry said, “The position was there. We didn’t ask for new money. It was an open position.” The station also reports that three relatives of Davidson County Clerk Brenda Wynn received paid internships in her office. Both Gentry and Wynn say they are not violating nepotism rules because they do not directly supervise their relatives. Watch their responses in interviews with the station.

In this interlocutory appeal, an intermediate contractor challenges the trial court’s order compelling it to provide a panel of physicians to the injured worker of a subcontractor for authorized medical care. At an expedited hearing, evidence indicated that the injured worker’s immediate employer had no workers’ compensation insurance. Other contractors asserted that the injured worker’s immediate employer was, himself, an independent contractor, and that the injured worker was, therefore, not eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. At the close of the claimant’s proof, one of the defendants moved for involuntary dismissal of the claimant’s request for interlocutory relief, which the trial court declined to consider. The court concluded that an intermediate contractor, who acknowledged having workers’ compensation insurance, was obligated to provide benefits to the employee of an uninsured subcontractor in accordance with Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-113. The intermediate contractor has appealed. We affirm the trial court’s order and remand the case.

The Tennessee Supreme Court Historical Society will host a reception on Oct. 4 from 5:30-7 p.m CDT to honor the current, outgoing and new members of the court. Retiring Justice Sharon Lee and incoming Justice Dwight Tarwater specifically will be honored. The event will take place at the Nashville office of Holland & Knight, 511 Union St., Ste. 2700, Nashville 37219. For more information contact Stacie Beishuizen. The society was founded in 1995 to ensure the preservation and accessibility of the records of the court.

JANE B. STRANCH, Circuit Judge. On January 18, 2019, then-sixteen-year-old Nicholas Sandmann and his classmates had an interaction with a Native American man named Nathan Phillips by the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Video of the incident went viral, and national news organizations, including the five Defendants (Appellees, or News Organizations) published stories about the day’s events and the ensuing public reaction. Sandmann sued, alleging that the Appellees’ reporting, which included statements from Phillips about the encounter, was defamatory. The district court granted the News Organizations’ joint motion for summary judgment, finding that the challenged statements were opinion, not fact, and therefore nonactionable. Sandmann appealed. For the following reasons, we AFFIRM.

Longtime Monroe County Clerk & Master Judith “Judy” Ann Burris Lee of Madisonville died Aug. 6. Lee, mother of Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee, served in the role for 38 years from 1963 to 2001. When she retired in 2001, she was one of the longest serving clerk and masters in the state. She then went on to serve eight years on the Monroe County Board of County Commissioners. Lee was active in the state clerk’s association and her community, serving on the Hiwassee College Board of Trustees and the American Legion Auxiliary Tennessee Chapter, American Ex-Prisoners of War Smokey Mountain Chapter, Madisonville Kiwanis Club and Sequoyah Trail Garden Club. She also was active in politics, serving as chair of the Monroe County Democratic Party and Monroe County Democratic Women. Memorial donations may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice.

NALBANDIAN, Circuit Judge. An indictment charged motorcycle-gang members Marvin Nicholson and Bryan Sorrell with one count of conspiracy and one count of aiding-and-abetting assault under the Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering (“VICAR”) statute. At trial, the district court instructed the jury that either of those two offenses could serve as a predicate offense for another count involving the use or carrying of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). The jury convicted both Nicholson and Sorrell on those three counts, among others. And we affirmed. Now, under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, they appeal the district court’s refusal to vacate their § 924(c) convictions. Because the § 924(c) convictions rested on a valid predicate offense, and because the jury-instruction error on an invalid predicate offense was harmless, we affirm.

THAPAR, Circuit Judge. Two judicial candidates sued the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission after they heard the Commission planned to investigate their campaign speech. The district court denied a preliminary injunction, and the candidates appealed. We enjoined the Commission from initiating an investigation during the campaign. But the candidates have since lost their elections. Thus, they no longer face a threat of irreparable harm. We affirm the denial of the preliminary injunction and dissolve the injunction pending appeal.

State House members have filed 15 bills so far for consideration during the special legislative session, including two from House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland. His first proposal, HB7007, would block the release of sensitive county medical examiner and autopsy reports of minor children who are victims of violent crime. WKRN reports on that bill. His second, HB7012, would require the state to provide free firearm locks and lessons on safe gun storage. In addition, Rep. Gino Bulso, R-Brentwood, has introduced HB7005 to clarify that private schools serving students in any of the grades of pre-kindergarten through 12th can permit handgun carry on their property.

This appeal arises out of a claim filed by a decedent’s wife against his estate. Of note, the decedent’s will contained a provision bequeathing his wife all of his clothing, personal effects, automobiles, and all of his other tangible personal property. During an inspection of the decedent’s home following his death, the decedent’s relatives located a checkbook with a sizeable amount of money contained in it, while also locating a large sum of money left in his clothing and in a wallet taped to a pipe in the decedent’s bathroom. The decedent’s wife argues that this money constitutes tangible personal property left to her in the decedent’s will. The trial court rejected this argument, determining that the money constituted intangible personal property. Having reviewed the record, we affirm.

This is an interlocutory appeal as of right, pursuant to Rule 10B of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, filed by the plaintiff, Karen Elizabeth Phillips Lowe (“Former Wife”), seeking to recuse the judge in this post-divorce case. Having reviewed the petition for recusal appeal filed by Former Wife, and finding no error, we affirm.