Christopher Crider, vice chair of the Tennessee Human Rights Commission resigned earlier this month after repeatedly making insensitive remarks in meetings, seemingly disparaging different ethnic groups, the LGBTQ+ community and others, the Nashville Banner reports. Crider was an appointed member of the commission and was named vice chair in December. During a human resources investigation this spring, he admitted to making comments about different groups during meetings, but denied they were meant to discriminate. The investigation results were forwarded to the governor’s office, but Crider resigned a week later. As mayor of Milan, Crider settled a suit from a former employee who said he used a racially derogative term to describe a diverse neighborhood.

Nashville attorney Joe Curry Peel died June 19 at age 81. He received his bachelor of arts and master of theology degrees from Vanderbilt University, and did graduate theological study at St. Michael’s College in Toronto, Canada. Peel taught at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia, as well as Montgomery Bell Academy and Battle Ground Academy. He also worked for IBM before attending the University of Tennessee College of Law. Peel practiced for a few years at King & Ballow in Nashville. He then served for 39 years in the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office. He became a recognized expert in the fields of state and local taxation, interstate commerce and constitutional law. Services will be held at St. George’s Episcopal Church, 4715 Harding Pk., Nashville 37205 on June 27 at 11:30 a.m. CDT with visitation beginning at 10 a.m. Burial will follow at Mt. Olivet Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to the In Excelsis Concert Series at St. George's Episcopal Church of Nashville or to the charity of one’s choice.

Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy is pushing back on criticism of the work he is doing, Action News 5 reports. In his weekly newsletter, Mulroy emphasized his commitment to public safety, noting that his office prosecutes over 3,000 violent cases every year. He also offered to meet with anyone who has concerns. “Meanwhile, we’ll continue to do the actual work,” he wrote. In the last few weeks, Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis. announced he would file a resolution to remove Mulroy from office and Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally announced support for that effort. Asked about the situation in Memphis, Gov. Bill Lee said, “We have to make sure the legal system in Shelby County is doing ... its job and taking offenders off the street. We have a real serious crime problem there.”

The Tennessee Secretary of State's office has confirmed that it sent out more than 14,000 letters to potential non-U.S. citizens asking them to prove citizenship status for the next election. According to New Channel 5, many of those who received the letter say they have voted in previous elections. The Secretary of State's office says voter rolls were compared with data from the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security to identify those who were not citizens when they had their first interaction with the department. The office says individuals could have been naturalized since then, but have not updated their records. Anyone who received a letter and has questions may contact the Secretary of State's Elections Division at 615-741-7956.

MATHIS, Circuit Judge. Benjamin Stanley worked for Western Michigan University (“WMU”) for about one month when WMU terminated his employment. Stanley then sued WMU and a few of its employees. He claimed that WMU and certain supervisors discriminated and retaliated against in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). Stanley also brought a claim under Michigan’s Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act (“PWDCRA”), as well as a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress. The district court dismissed Stanley’s federal claims for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction based on Eleventh Amendment immunity and dismissed his state-law claims for failure to comply with the Michigan Court of Claims Act’s notification statute. See Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.6431. The district court also denied leave for Stanley to amend his complaint. We affirm the district court’s dismissal of Stanley’s federal claims and the denial of Stanley’s motion for leave to amend his complaint, but we vacate the judgment in part and remand to the district court to dismiss Stanley’s federal and state-law claims without prejudice.

MATHIS, Circuit Judge. Brent Adkins worked as a crew member on one of Marathon Petroleum Company’s inland river barges. He brought claims against Marathon under the Jones Act and general maritime law asserting that his service on the barge caused his lung function to deteriorate. The district court granted summary judgment to Marathon. For the following reasons, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand to the district court.

In this post-divorce dispute over child support, the mother has appealed an order striking her pleadings and granting the father a default judgment as to his counter-petition. Because the order appealed does not resolve all the claims between the parties, we dismiss the appeal for lack of a final judgment.

The company holding developer’s rights to a subdivision and the company’s principal member used the developer’s rights to unilaterally remove a board member from the board of the subdivision’s homeowners’ association. The aggrieved board member and his wife filed suit, asking for an injunction allowing the plaintiff to remain a board member. The trial court granted the plaintiff’s request for a temporary injunction and later held that the defendant company lacked the authority to remove the plaintiff as a board member. The trial court reasoned that the bylaw on which the company relied in removing the board member was contrary to state law and improper. Defendants appealed to this Court. We reverse in part and affirm in part, affirming the trial court’s ultimate ruling that the plaintiff is entitled to his seat on the homeowners’ association board.

Services have been set for Knoxville lawyer and former TBA Board of Governors member Jack Humphreys “Nick” McCall Jr., who died April 13 at the age of 63. A celebration of life will be held July 14 from 1-4 p.m. EDT at the Knoxville Botanical Gardens and Arboretum, 2743 Wimpole Ave., Knoxville 37914. Memorial donations may be made to Legal Aid of East Tennessee, 100 W. Martin Luther King Blvd., Ste. 402, Chattanooga, TN 37402 or East Tennessee Veterans Memorial Association (ETVMA), PO Box 3714, Knoxville, TN 37927. Read TBA's news of his passing in April.

In an appeal from a general sessions court judgment, the trial court awarded the plaintiffs compensatory damages for a misrepresentation by a car dealer, declined to award treble damages, and awarded the plaintiffs only a portion of their attorney’s fees. Both parties appeal. We vacate the denial of treble damages, but otherwise affirm the decision of the trial court.