An inmate at the Shelby County Jail, 49-year-old Jerome Mimes, died on Tuesday, bringing the total to at least 51 deaths since 2019. He is the second to die at the jail in the last three months and at least the third this year. The Shelby County Sheriff's Office says it does not suspect foul play, but Mimes' cause of death has not yet been determined. The jail has faced scrutiny over its conditions, including overcrowding, understaffing and dilapidated facilities. Recent inmate deaths have prompted investigations and calls for reform, with concerns raised about the cause of death and the overall treatment of inmates within the jail. The Daily Memphian has the story.

U.S. District Judge Kelley Hodge in Philadelphia has rejected a tree-trimming company’s request for a preliminary injunction against the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) ban on noncompete agreements. Hodge said the agency has the power to ban practices that it deems anticompetitive, Reuters reports. By contrast, a federal judge in Texas earlier this month blocked the FTC from enforcing the rule against a coalition of business groups while they pursue legal challenges, but did not issue a nationwide injunction. The FTC adopted the ban in April. It estimates that about 30 million people, or 20% of U.S. workers, have signed noncompete agreements.

If you’re tired of performing “find and replace surgery” on word processor documents, this comparison chart will help you pick a document automation tool to make document creation quicker, easier and error-proof. Find this and more in the Document Automation and Assembly section of TBA’s Law Firm in a Box.

Make plans now to Join Davidson County Circuit Court Judge Phillip Robinson for an informative family law CLE on Aug. 5 from 8 a.m. to noon CDT. Co-sponsored by the TBA Family Law Section, the event will focus on financial and tax planning in divorce, a Q&A session with the judge and updates from the 3rd Circuit Court. The program will take place in the Davidson County Courthouse Jury Room.

The TBA Environmental Law Section would like to thank newsletter sponsor Bass Berry & Sims. A national law firm with more than 350 attorneys, it represents numerous publicly traded companies and Fortune 500 businesses in significant litigation and investigations, complex business transactions, and international regulatory matters. Established in 1922, the firm employs a client-centric approach, leading to a majority of clients doing business with the firm for 10 or more years. It has offices in Knoxville, Memphis, Nashville and Washington, D.C. Learn more about the firm on its website.

The recent Tennessee Environmental Network Show of the South (TENSOS) was a successful event, with around 800 industry professionals in attendance. The three-day conference took place at the Chattanooga Convention Center, with more than 70 unique education courses. The TBA Environmental Law Section was instrumental in building the legal track, which provided sessions on the current state of Tennessee wetlands, legislative updates, brownfields, CERCLA and more. The forum also featured a reception honoring Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation Commissioner David Salyers. Sponsors of the reception included Grant Kovalinka & Harrison; Burr Forman; Davey Resource Group; Chambliss Bahner & Stophel; Bass Berry & Sims; Butler Snow; Baker Donelson; Bradley Arant Boult Cummings; and the Tennessee Bar Association. View photos from the event here.

The TBA would like to recognize its Environmental Law Section Executive Council. The group meets monthly to plan continuing education opportunities, and to review, proffer and comment on relevant laws and policies. The organization thanks all council members for their hard work and dedication in providing TBA members essential and substantive education on environmental law.

Section Chair: Ellery Richardson, Tennessee Dept. of Environment & Conservation
Vice Chair: Payton Bradford, Tennessee Dept. of Environment & Conservation
Immediate Past Chair: Katherine Barnes, Butler Snow

Delegates:
Ashley Strittmatter, Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, East Tennessee
Courtney Keehan, Chambliss Bahner & Stophel, East Tennessee
David Higney, Grant Konvalinka & Harrison, East Tennessee
G. Scott Thomas, Bass Berry & Sims, Middle Tennessee
Jaz Boon, Bridgestone Americas, Middle Tennessee
Jennifer Brundige, Tennessee Valley Authority, East Tennessee
Jenny Howard, Tennessee Dept. of Environment & Conservation, Middle Tennessee
Jim Lenschau, Wyatt Tarrant & Combs, West Tennessee
Meryl Harris, Tennessee Valley Authority, Middle Tennessee
Randy Womack, Glankler Brown, West Tennessee

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) this week announced the first round recipients of Brownfield Redevelopment Area Grants (BRAG), which will fund remediation projects across the state. Part of the Rural Brownfield Redevelopment Investment Act, BRAG grants will be awarded in three categories — identification, investigation and remediation. The recent grants fall in the identification category, providing applicants up to $20,000 to conduct brownfield inventories. “The Brownfield Redevelopment Area Grants are a key mechanism in enabling communities to repurpose contaminated properties,” said TDEC Commissioner David Salyers. “We are grateful to Governor Lee and the General Assembly for their commitment to this important initiative, and we look forward to the improvements that will come from this process.” View the 36 initial grant recipients on the TDEC website.

The Biden administration last week announced plans to halt the purchase of single-use plastics by the federal government. Its strategy is mapped out in the recently published "Mobilizing Federal Action on Plastic Pollution: Progress, Principles and Priorities," an interagency effort to phase out use of these plastics for food, events and packaging by 2027, and ban single-use plastics from all government operations by 2035. The administration outlined simple measures such as switching to refillable printer cartridges and cleaning supplies, and eliminating single-use plastic bottles in favor of water refill stations. Another step in the plan is to eliminate plastic bags from U.S. military base commissaries. Brenda Mallory, chair of the White House's Council on Environmental Quality, said the initiative would “require unprecedented action at every stage of the plastic life cycle,” and that because of its purchasing power “the federal government has the potential to significantly impact the supply of these products.” Currently, the government is the largest buyer of consumer goods in the world. The New York Times has more.

Chattanooga lawyer and past TBA President Sam Elliott was confirmed as chair-elect of the Tennessee Bar Foundation (TBF) Board of Trustees at the group's annual meeting in Memphis. He will serve a one-year term and move into the chair position beginning in June 2025, succeeding Jackie Dixon, also a past TBA president. The TBF administers Tennessee’s Interest On Lawyers’ Trust Accounts program, honors distinguished attorneys as “fellows” and supports law-related public interest projects through grants. Chattanoogan.com has more.