The TBA’s 2025 Creditors Practice Annual Forum will take place Oct. 1 at the Tennessee Bankers Association’s Bradley L. Barrett Training Center in Nashville. The program offers three general and one dual CLE credit with sessions covering case law and rule updates, e-filing, artificial intelligence and the sovereign citizen movement. Registration begins at 9 a.m. with programming scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. CDT, followed by a networking reception. For more information and to register, visit the TBA website.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced his office has filed a lawsuit against the former owners of Dynamic Therapy Center, a now-defunct Mt. Juliet clinic, accusing them of defrauding TennCare, the state’s Medicaid program. The lawsuit, filed in Wilson County Circuit Court, alleges the defendants knowingly submitted false claims between 2020 and 2023 by billing TennCare for individual physical, occupational and speech therapy sessions while providing group therapy to children in “camps.” Because TennCare reimburses individual therapy sessions at higher rates than group sessions, the scheme allegedly resulted in more than $300,000 in overpayments, according to a press release. The state is seeking recovery of the funds, treble damages, civil penalties of $14,308 to $28,619 per violation, and other remedies allowed under the Tennessee Medicaid False Claims Act.

Crime in Memphis continued to fall through the first eight months of 2025, according to new data from the Memphis Police Department. The Daily Memphian reported this week that there were 28,660 overall incidents from January through August, a 23% decrease from 2024 and a 37% decrease from 2023. MPD’s data represent the number of reported incidents, which may involve more than one victim. The department reported declines across all major categories, with the largest drops in property crimes. Larceny, burglary and robbery are all at 25-year lows. In July, MPD reported overall crime was down 20% compared to the same point in 2024. The news comes amid reports from The Daily Memphian that the White House, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s office and Memphis Mayor Paul Young’s administration have discussed a possible deployment of National Guard troops to Memphis.

Hamilton County General Sessions Court Judge Tori Smith has announced her candidacy for the August 2026 special election to permanently fill the seat, Chattanoogan.com reports. Smith was appointed to the bench in 2024 to fill a vacancy created by Judge Alex McVeagh’s election to the 11th Judicial District Circuit Court. Her campaign said she has presided “with a commitment to ensuring that all who enter her courtroom are treated with dignity.” Before her appointment, Smith worked as an attorney in the 11th Judicial District Public Defender’s Office. The special election is set for Aug. 6, 2026.

The TBA is now accepting applications for its award-winning Public Service Academy, a nonpartisan, statewide effort to encourage attorneys to run for office and take on public service leadership roles in their communities. Those selected for the academy will take part in the program on Nov. 14-15 in Nashville. The program will feature top political and campaign experts who will provide attorneys with the tools they need to run for local public offices such as school board, city council and county commission. Applications are due by Oct. 6. Access the application form here.

Disk encryption keeps client data safe even on lost or stolen devices. Find a comparison chart that shows features and benefits of top providers, in addition to other resources, in the Building a Firm section of TBA’s Law Firm in a Box.

This appeal questions whether the trial court properly granted the employer’s motion to dismiss the employee’s second petition for benefit determination on the basis that the petition was not timely re-filed. Following the filing of her initial petition, the employee asked for a voluntary dismissal of her case, and the trial court entered an order dismissing it without prejudice. Thereafter, the employee did not re-file a new petition for over three years. She asserts she was ill or incapacitated during the time she was required to re-file her case and that equitable tolling of the statute of limitations is appropriate. The employer argues that she waived this argument by failing to raise it in the trial court and that she presented no evidence of incapacity. Having carefully reviewed the record, we affirm the trial court’s dismissal of the case with prejudice and certify it as final.

JANE B. STRANCH, Circuit Judge. This suit, brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, relies on the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause to challenge rules governing public comments at a school board’s public meetings. During regularly scheduled meetings, the Wilson County Board of Education permits public comments that comply with the Board’s rules, which are set forth in Policy 1.404 and the script the Board’s Chair reads at the beginning of each public comment period. Robin Lemons, Amanda Dunagan-Price, and Moms for Liberty — Wilson County, TN (the “Wilson County Chapter”) challenged three of those rules on First Amendment grounds and moved the district court to enjoin them while the case proceeded. The district court denied Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction. For the following reasons, we AFFIRM the district court’s order and REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

PER CURIAM. Bernard Antoine Hardrick, a pro se Michigan prisoner, sued several officials at the Marquette Branch Prison for civil rights violations stemming from his hazardous living conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hardrick alleged that an industrial-sized fan blew dangerously cold air and dust into his cell, causing him to cough up blood. Despite knowing of this dangerous condition, Warden Erica Huss allegedly refused to avert the fan because Hardrick had filed grievances against her, thereby violating his First and Eighth Amendment rights. Hardrick also alleged that Warden Huss and members of the prison’s medical staff endangered his health by erroneously designating him as having COVID-19 and placing him in housing with prisoners who had tested positive for the virus, thereby violating his Eighth Amendment rights. The district court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss all of Hardrick’s claims. We reverse as to Hardrick’s First Amendment retaliation claim against Warden Huss and affirm as to all other claims.

Defendant, Matthew James Wood, appeals from his Polk County Criminal Court convictions for attempted possession with intent to sell or deliver more than 0.5 grams of methamphetamine; possession of a firearm with the intent to go armed during the attempted commission of a dangerous felony; and possession of drug paraphernalia, for which he received a total effective sentence of seven years’ incarceration. Defendant contends that: (1) the trial court erred by denying Defendant’s motion to suppress evidence obtained from the traffic stop; (2) the trial court erroneously admitted text messages in violation of Tennessee Rule of Evidence 404(b); (3) the trial court erroneously restricted Defendant’s cross-examination of a police officer; and (4) the evidence of his intent to sell or deliver is insufficient to support his convictions for attempted possession of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm with the intent to go armed during the attempt to commit a dangerous felony. Following a thorough review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.