The Tennessee Supreme Court on Monday ruled that Bobbie Jo Denson complied with Tennessee’s health care liability pre-suit notice statute. Denson sent pre-suit notice and later filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of two minor grandchildren under Tennessee’s Health Care Liability Act after she gained legal custody of the children. In the pre-suit notice, Denson identified herself rather than her grandchildren as the claimants. Defendants filed motions to dismiss, arguing Denson did not substantially comply with notice requirements because the minor children were not identified in the notice. The trial court found that Denson substantially complied with the requirements. A divided panel of the Court of Appeals reversed. The Supreme Court sided with the trial court, finding that Denson properly identified herself as the claimant because as minors, the grandchildren were unable to give notice or file a lawsuit.

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Knoxville attorney Roy Lewis Aaron died Oct. 6 at age 78. He received his degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Tennessee in 1969, and his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law (now Winston College of Law) in 1972. Licensed to practice in both Florida and Tennessee, Aaron joined the law firm of Hodges, Doughty & Carson in 1976 with a focus on estate planning and tax law, becoming a partner in 1980. He retired in 2017 but continued in an “of counsel” capacity with the firm. He was a fellow of the Tennessee Bar Foundation and the Knoxville Bar Foundation. A memorial service will be held on Nov. 8 at 2 p.m. EST at Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church, 9132 Kingston Pike, Knoxville 37923. Receiving of friends will follow in the Welcome Hall. Memorials may be made to the Clarence Brown Theatre, 1714 Andy Holt Ave., Knoxville 37916 or Friends of the Smokies.

Appellant appeals the trial court’s dismissal of his health care liability action. Because Appellant has not complied with appellate briefing requirements, we dismiss this appeal.

The plaintiff appeals the trial court’s summary judgment dismissal of her personal injury negligence action against a social services organization. The trial court found that the action was barred by the applicable one-year statute of limitations and that the discovery rule did not apply to toll the statute of limitations. Because the plaintiff’s action accrued more than one year before she filed the lawsuit, we conclude that summary judgment in favor of the defendant was properly granted. Accordingly, we affirm.

Matthew Long applied for disability pension benefits from the Chattanooga Fire and Police Pension Fund. After a hearing by the Fund’s Board of Trustees, his application was denied. Mr. Long sought judicial review. The trial court reviewed the denial of benefits under Tennessee’s Uniform Administrative Procedures Act (“UAPA”) and held that the Board’s interpretation of the Pension Benefits Policy was arbitrary and capricious and unsupported by sufficient and material evidence. The trial court reversed the Board’s decision and awarded Mr. Long benefits. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court, holding that the court had subject-matter jurisdiction over the case and that the Board’s decision was arbitrary and capricious. The Court of Appeals found the Policy ambiguous and construed it liberally in favor of Mr. Long. On appeal to this Court, the Fund challenges the reversal of the Board’s decision. We conclude that the Court of Appeals erred in finding the Policy ambiguous and in construing it liberally. We hold that under a fair reading of the Policy, the Board’s decision was not arbitrary and capricious, unsupported by sufficient and material evidence, or otherwise reversible under the UAPA. Accordingly, we reverse the judgments of the Court of Appeals and the trial court. We remand to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

This case clarifies who may be “the claimant authorizing the notice” under the health care liability pre-suit notice statute, Tennessee Code Annotated section 29-26-121(a)(2)(B). Ashley Denson died after being admitted to the hospital. Her mother Bobbie Jo Denson took in Ashley’s two minor children and obtained legal custody of them. Bobbie Jo sent pre-suit notice to defendant health care providers identifying herself as the “claimant authorizing the notice” under Tennessee Code Annotated section 29-26-121(a)(2)(B). She subsequently filed suit on her own behalf and on behalf of the minor children, ultimately pursuing the claim solely on behalf of the minor children. Defendants filed motions to dismiss, arguing Bobbie Jo did not comply with pre-suit notice requirements because she did not identify the children as the claimants. The trial court denied defendants’ motions to dismiss but granted their motion for interlocutory appeal. The Court of Appeals reversed, finding Bobbie Jo did not comply with pre-suit notice requirements because the children were the claimants but not identified as such. We now reverse. Bobbie Jo Denson is “the claimant authorizing the notice” under Tennessee Code Annotated section 29-26- 121(a)(2)(B), as minor children cannot authorize pre-suit notice and file suit on their own behalf. The judgment of the Court of Appeals is reversed, and the case is remanded to the circuit court.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Oct. 9 revoked probation and suspended Davidson County lawyer Michael Lloyd Freeman from the practice of law for three years, less 112 days previously served on suspension. On June 21, 2021, Freeman was suspended for three years, with three months to be served on active suspension and the remainder on probation so long as he incurred no new complaints of misconduct resulting in discipline. After the three months of active suspension, Freeman was reinstated on Oct. 11. In 2022, Freeman was publicly censured on Jan. 10 and July 31. The court determined that these disciplinary actions violated the terms of probation and reinstated the full three-year suspension, minus the three months he served on active suspension in 2021.

October 6, 2025 - October 10, 2025.

A trial date has been set in the civil lawsuit filed by the family of an inmate who died last year at the Shelby County Jail. The case over the death of Ramon McGhee will go to trial Sept. 21, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Mark Norris. McGhee’s death was caused by severe anemia and dehydration, with contributing factors from insect infestation and schizophrenia, according to the Daily Memphian. McGhee’s mother filed the federal lawsuit in January, about a year after Ramon's death. She is represented by civil rights attorney Ben Crump and local attorneys Brice Timmons and Craig Edgington. The lawsuit alleges severe neglect and improper care by jail staff, withholding of medication for a severe bedbug infestation, lack of a formal process for mental health screenings and non-sharing of court-ordered mental evaluations.