SUTTON, Chief Judge. Heavy rains prompted the Edenville Dam in Michigan to fail, flooding several cities downstream. Eight affected landowners sued Midland and Gladwin Counties, alleging a taking under the federal and state constitutions. The district court granted summary judgment to the counties. We affirm

Attorneys general from 19 Democratic-led states have pledged to help defend the American Bar Association’s (ABA) requirement that law schools advance diversity goals. The move comes after a coalition of Republican-led states, including Tennessee, questioned the ABA accreditation standard earlier this month, Reuters reports. The Democratic group argues that the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2023 ruling curtailing the consideration of race in college admissions does not extend into ABA policies or corporate diversity programs. The ABA previously announced it is revising its diversity standard and could adopt changes as early as August.

This is a child custody matter involving the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-201, et seq. (“the UCCJEA”). Leslie Burke and Melissa Burke (“the Burkes”) received temporary custody pending adoption of the minor child Jane Doe (“the Child”) from an Indiana court (“the Indiana Court”). The Burkes then brought the Child to Tennessee. The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (“DCS”) later filed a dependency and neglect action in the Juvenile Court for Greene County (“the Juvenile Court”). DCS alleged that the Child disclosed having been sexually abused in previous adoptive homes, and that the Burkes were not cooperating with individual therapy for the Child. The Juvenile Court ordered the Child’s removal into DCS custody. The Child’s legal parents in Indiana surrendered their parental rights. DCS moved for guardianship of the Child in the Circuit Court for Greene County (“the Circuit Court”), which the Circuit Court granted. The Burkes sued DCS2 in the Circuit Court challenging the legal parents’ surrender of their parental rights and the Circuit Court’s award of full guardianship to DCS. The Burkes and DCS filed motions for summary judgment. The Circuit Court ruled in favor of DCS, dismissing the Burkes’ complaint. The Burkes appeal, arguing that the Circuit Court lacked subject matter jurisdiction even though the Indiana Court expressly ceded jurisdiction to Tennessee. We hold, inter alia, that Indiana relinquished its exclusive, continuing jurisdiction. We affirm.

The Department of Children’s Services filed a petition to terminate the mother’s parental rights to her five children on multiple grounds. The trial court found that grounds had been proven and that termination of the mother’s parental rights was in the children’s best interests. The mother of all five children appeals. For the reasons stated below, we vacate that part of the judgment terminating Mother’s parental rights to Destiney S. and Serenity S. because they attained the age of majority prior to the entry of the final judgment. As for the three youngest children, Aurora R., Kanan R., and Kyaion R., we affirm the trial court’s determination that grounds for termination of Mother’s parental rights were proven and that termination of Mother’s parental rights is in their best interests. Accordingly, we affirm the termination of Mother’s parental rights to Aurora R., Kanan R., and Kyaion R.

In this case, an attorney appeals the recommended sanction of disbarment after three criminal convictions. The attorney was convicted by a jury of two counts of subornation of aggravated perjury and one count of criminal simulation, all Class E felony offenses and serious crimes under Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, section 22. All three criminal convictions arose out of the attorney’s conduct in representing a client. In the ensuing disciplinary proceedings, a Board of Professional Responsibility hearing panel recommended disbarment. The attorney appealed the hearing panel’s decision to the chancery court, which affirmed. The attorney appealed to this Court. On appeal, the attorney argues the hearing panel should have reviewed similar cases of attorney misconduct where a suspension was imposed, and that he should be suspended based on the sanction imposed in those cases. Under Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, Board of Professional Responsibility hearing panels and trial courts considering attorney discipline promote consistency in the imposition of sanctions by anchoring their decisions on punishment to the American Bar Association Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions. Rule 9 does not give either hearing panels or trial courts authority in attorney disciplinary cases to base recommended attorney disciplinary sanctions on a review of sanctions imposed in comparative cases. The Supreme Court’s more expansive perspective from seeing the broad swath of attorney disciplinary matters in the entirety of the State—whether appealed or not—puts it in the best position to consider comparative cases for the sake of uniformity of punishment throughout Tennessee. In this case, considering the nature of the attorney’s misconduct, no comparable case convinces us that suspension, rather than disbarment, is the appropriate sanction. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the chancery court and the decision of the hearing panel and impose the sanction of disbarment.

Defendant, Michael David Mosley, appeals his Davidson County Criminal Court convictions for two counts of first degree murder, one count of attempted first degree murder, and one count of assault, for which Defendant received a total effective sentence of two consecutive life terms plus 40 years. Defendant asserts on appeal that: (1) the indictment was invalid because it was signed by an Assistant District Attorney General; (2) the trial court erred by allowing evidence of other bad acts in contravention of Tennessee Rule of Evidence 404(b); (3) the trial court’s instructions to the jury should have included a “no duty to retreat” instruction; (4) the State made improper comments during closing argument; (5) the evidence was insufficient to show premeditation; and (6) the trial court abused its discretion by imposing consecutive sentencing.1 Having reviewed the entire record on appeal, the parties’ briefs, and oral arguments, we affirm Defendant’s convictions and sentences.

Friday’s in-person Elder Law Forum will feature a session on law practice management, including intake process, marketing effectiveness and other concerns for small firms and solo practitioners. Philip Fairly, president of The Rainmaker Institute, will provide essential information on how to use intake as a powerful sales function and equip you with strategies to convert leads and boost revenue. Other topics at the forum include litigation in elder law, assisting clients suffering from dementia, differences in conservatorships, ethics and much more. Breakfast and lunch are provided. Here are the key details:

When: July 19, 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. CDT
Where: Belmont University College of Law, 1901 15th Ave. S., Nashville 37212

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On June 17, the Tennessee Supreme Court dismissed a petition for reinstatement from Julia Givens Williams, a lawyer in Alabama. Williams was seeking reinstatement from inactive status. Because she had been on inactive status for less than five years, the court directed her to refile the petition with the Board of Professional Responsibility.

Nashville lawyer Ed Lanquist Jr. was sworn in last week as the 144th president of the Tennessee Bar Association. The oath of office was administered by Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Holly Kirby during the TBA’s Annual Lawyers Lunch on June 14. Lanquist is a shareholder in the Nashville office of Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz and has practiced intellectual property law for more than 30 years. During remarks following the swearing in, Lanquist pledged a renewed emphasis on serving members of the association during the coming bar year and an increased focus on educating lawyers about legislative issues important to the legal profession — including elimination of the professional privilege tax and increased funding for indigent representation. He also announced two exciting CLE programs: an Urban Bourbon trip to Louisville, Kentucky, and a return to Cuba in February 2025. Registration for that program is now open. Watch his remarks, as well as the full footage of the Lawyers Lunch, on the TBA's Facebook page. See photos from the lunch.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has asked the Board of Professional Responsibility to take whatever action it deems necessary after Greene County lawyer Edward Lee Kershaw pled guilty to driving under the influence (DUI) in violation of T.C.A. 55-10-401 in the Loudon County General Sessions Court.