Appellant sued the law firm that prepared a will on behalf of her fiancé for professional negligence after an out-of-state will contest resulted in the invalidation of the will. The trial court concluded that Appellant’s claim accrued when she was forced to respond to the will contest and not when the will was actually held to be invalid. Thus, Appellant’s action was filed after the one-year limitations period had expired, and the trial court granted summary judgment for the law firm. Finding no reversible error, we affirm.

In this case involving termination of the father’s and mother’s parental rights to their two minor children, the trial court determined that three statutory grounds for termination had been proven as to each parent by clear and convincing evidence. The trial court further determined that clear and convincing evidence demonstrated that termination of the father’s and mother’s parental rights was in the children’s best interest. The father and mother have each appealed and have proceeded pro se upon waiving their rights to appointed counsel. Having determined that clear and convincing evidence did not support the trial court’s finding of the statutory abandonment ground of failure to support as to the mother, we reverse the trial court’s judgment with respect to this ground as to the mother. We affirm the trial court’s judgment in all other respects, including termination of the father’s and mother’s parental rights.

This appeal arises from the purchase of a residential home. The plaintiff homebuyers asserted claims against the defendant sellers for intentional or negligent misrepresentation and violation of the Tennessee Residential Property Disclosure Act (“TRPDA”). The plaintiffs’ claims were based solely on the defendants’ TRPDA disclosure statement, which said there were no known defects in the home’s floor structure. The trial court summarily dismissed all claims on the basis that the plaintiffs knew or should have known about the alleged defects because the plaintiffs had every opportunity to discover the defects and were made aware of the defects by their own observations and inspection reports. On appeal, the plaintiffs contend that there is a genuine issue of material fact as to whether they reasonably relied on the defendants’ misrepresentation. But the plaintiffs failed to meet their burden of proof on summary judgment to establish that they actually or reasonably relied on the disclosure statement. For this reason, we affirm the trial court’s judgment.

This case is about mootness. Ms. Sokolosky appealed a probation revocation order and the denial of her motion to dismiss a violation arrest warrant. During the pendency of that appeal, Ms. Sokolosky’s probation was fully revoked, she served her sentence, and she was released. The Court of Criminal Appeals then dismissed her appeal as moot because no active controversy existed for resolution. We respectfully disagree. Because Ms. Sokolosky’s probation violation “may have adverse consequences after the completion of [her] term of commitment, the doctrine of mootness does not apply.” State v. Rodgers, 235 S.W.3d 92, 93 (Tenn. 2007). We reverse the decision of the Court of Criminal Appeals and remand the case for consideration of Ms. Sokolosky’s appeal.

Nearly four decades after two women’s remains were discovered beneath a Charlotte Avenue home, Metro Nashville Police (MNPD) announced that one of the victims has been identified as 23-year-old Sheila Cummings of Elgin, Illinois. The result comes after Cummings’ daughter contacted MNPD’s Cold Case Unit earlier this year, prompted by online reports of the long-unsolved case. DNA testing confirmed her identity. Cummings and another woman known only as “Little Bit” were reportedly murdered by James Shaffer, who confessed in the 1980s while serving time in Kentucky. The identity of “Little Bit” remains unknown, but investigators are continuing efforts using forensic investigative genetic genealogy, the Nashville Banner reports. MNPD Cold Case Detective Matthew Filter said the department currently has 24 open cases involving unidentified human remains.

Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy says a new court ruling on coin-operated machines that resemble slot machines confirms that they are, in fact, slot machines and therefore illegal in Tennessee, the Daily Memphian reports. Appearing with leaders of the county’s five police departments and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, Mulroy said Wednesday that “No Chance” brand machines are “games of chance” as defined by state law, making them illegal. The company that manufactures the machines sued Mulroy in 2024, claiming its devices did not qualify as games of chance or that the state law is unconstitutionally vague. The machines and the money inside them were seized during raids last summer at five locations across the county. Mulroy testified at the trial in May before the three-judge panel, which ruled unanimously this week that the machines are illegal.

The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled in State v. Shanessa L. Sokolosky that an appeal of a probation revocation is not moot even if the defendant completed the sentence. Sokolosky, who pleaded guilty in 2019 and received probation instead of jail time, was later alleged to have violated probation and ordered to serve the rest of her sentence in custody. She challenged the arrest warrant, arguing unethical practices by the probation company. By the time the appeal reached the Court of Criminal Appeals, Sokolosky's sentence had ended, and she had been released from all custody or supervision. The court dismissed the appeal as moot. According to a release, the Tennessee Supreme Court disagreed with the dismissal, saying the appeal was not moot because Sokolosky could still face consequences due to the probation violation. The court also clarified that its ruling was not an exception to the doctrine of mootness but one rendering the case not moot. It reversed the decision and sent the case back to the appeals court to be heard on the merits.

A group of 20 states filed suit Wednesday seeking to block the Trump administration from terminating a grant program that funds infrastructure upgrades to protect against natural disasters. According to Reuters, the suit claims the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) lacks authority to cancel the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program since it has been approved and funded by Congress. The program, created in 2018 as an upgrade of existing grant programs, covers up to 75% of the costs of infrastructure projects — or 90% in rural areas — meant to protect communities from natural disasters. The funding has been used for evacuation shelters, flood walls and improvements to roads and bridges, among other projects. When FEMA announced termination of the program in April, it said it had become wasteful and ineffective. A bipartisan group of lawmakers in May urged FEMA to restore the funds and work with Congress to make the program more efficient.

Tennessee’s unemployment rate held steady for the third month in a row at 3.5%, more than half a percentage point below the national rate, according to data released by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in June was the same as its April and May rates. In June 2024, the rate was 3.3%. The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.1% in June, down one-tenth of a percentage point from the previous month. Over the past year, Tennessee employers added 22,900 nonfarm jobs, with the biggest increases in the government, leisure and hospitality, and education and health services sectors. Over the month, total nonfarm employment increased by 6,100 jobs. The largest gains were in the professional and business services sector, followed by the education and health services sector and the trade, transportation and utilities sector.

President Donald Trump on Thursday named Arthur Graham of Florida to the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors as his fifth pick for the regulatory body, Local 3 News reports. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Graham would serve until May 2026, completing the term of Michelle Moore, whom Trump fired in March. Graham, the first Black nominee to the TVA board during Trump’s second term, has served on the Florida Public Service Commission since 2010. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis reappointed him to a third term on that commission in 2021.