JULIA SMITH GIBBONS, Circuit Judge. This case centers on whether Plaintiff- Appellee Jessica Hines is bound by an arbitration provision included in contracts she signed on three different occasions between October 2020 and June 2023. In September 2023, Hines sued Defendant-Appellant National Entertainment Group, LLC (“NEG”), an adult entertainment club in Columbus, Ohio, for failing to properly compensate its employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.; the Ohio Minimum Fair Wage Standards Act, Ohio Rev. Code § 4111.01 et seq.; the Ohio Semi-Monthly Payment Act, Ohio Rev. Code § 4113.15; Ohio Rev. Code § 2307.60; and common law unjust enrichment. NEG moved to dismiss Hines’s suit or, in the alternative, to stay the proceedings pending completion of arbitration that the parties contractually agreed to in their Lease Agreement Waiver (the “Lease Waiver”). Although Hines does not dispute that she signed three separate agreements to arbitrate, she argues that the agreements are unenforceable because they are both procedurally and substantively unconscionable. Agreeing with Hines, the district court denied NEG’s motion to dismiss and declined to enforce the parties’ agreement to arbitrate. We vacate the district court’s denial of NEG’s motion to stay pending the completion of arbitration and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

A Davidson County jury convicted the Defendant, Trameisha L. Farris, of first degree felony murder, and the trial court imposed a sentence of life imprisonment. On appeal, the Defendant challenges the legal sufficiency of the evidence supporting her conviction. More specifically, she argues that (1) the evidence is legally insufficient to prove that a robbery occurred; and (2) even assuming that a robbery occurred, the State failed to prove that she participated in that crime. Upon our review, we respectfully disagree with the Defendant and affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on June 3 directed Davidson County attorney Carrie Archie Russell to complete outstanding requirements with the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education (CLE) after she filed a petition for reinstatement. The court ruled that if the outstanding obligations are not satisfied by July 17, it will dismiss the petition for reinstatement.

The plaintiff homeowners’ association filed this lawsuit against certain defendant homeowners who owned homes within its subdivision, seeking to enjoin the homeowners from using their residences as short-term rentals. After discovery, both parties filed motions for summary judgment that focused on interpretation of the association’s restrictive covenants with respect to short-term rental properties. Following a hearing on the competing motions for summary judgment, the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendant homeowners and concomitantly denied the association’s motion. The trial court concluded that the language of the restrictive covenants was ambiguous as to short-term rentals and therefore unenforceable to enjoin the homeowners from using their residences as short-term rental properties. The association has appealed. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm.

The Rutherford County Library Board has reversed its decision to ban books on transgender topics, according to the Daily News Journal. The change comes after board members were counseled they likely would lose any First Amendment-based legal challenges. Board member Cody York, who had presented the ban as a way of protecting children, said he will make it a priority to craft new policies on the issue when he assumes the board chair position next month. In 2023, the board voted to remove four young adult books. The Rutherford County Board of Education also has taken action against certain books in 2024 and 2025.

June 2, 2025 - June 6, 2025.

Knoxville lawyer Donald Eugene Ray, 89, died June 2 after a lengthy battle with cancer. A graduate of the law school at the University of Wisconsin, Ray served four years with the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corps and later worked as an attorney for the U.S. Department of Energy at Oak Ridge and in Ohio and with Lockheed Martin in Ohio and Oak Ridge. He volunteered for several charities in the Knoxville area including Lions Club, Foster Care Review Board, Domestic Violence Shelter Board and America's Promise mentoring program.

The University of Tennessee Winston College of Law has announced the appointment of Joan Heminway as director of the Clayton Center for Entrepreneurial Law, effective Aug. 1. Founded in 1995, the center was created to strengthen business law education the law school. Currently the Rick Rose Distinguished Professor of Law, Heminway joined the law school faculty in 2000 and has been closely involved with the center’s growth and success, according to a release from the school. She replaces George Kuney, who served in the role for 24 years and retired in 2024, and associate professor of law Brian Krumm, who served as interim director. KnoxTNToday has the story.

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton last week called for Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell to rescind an executive order requiring the city to report interactions with federal immigration authorities. In a statement issued on Thursday, Sexton said the order forces city employees "to act as big brother." O'Connell is defending the executive order saying it is an "appropriate, transparent measure." Axios Nashville has more on the issue.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man whose deportation to El Salvador made him a flashpoint in the administration’s immigration policy, has been indicted in federal court in the Middle District of Tennessee on conspiracy to transport undocumented immigrants and MS-13 gang members into the United States. The Tennessean reports that Abrego Garcia was returned to the states on Friday and appeared in an after-hours court hearing in Nashville. He will be arraigned on Friday. The U.S. Department of Justice says Abrego Garcia played a significant role in a nine-year smuggling ring. "He made over 100 trips, the grand jury found, smuggling people throughout our country … This is especially disturbing because Abrego Garcia is also alleged with transporting minor children," Attorney General Pam Bondi said at a news conference. In 2022, the Tennessee Highway Patrol pulled over a Chevrolet Suburban driven by Abrego Garcia on Interstate 40 in Putnam County. “There were nine additional passengers in the Suburban, all of whom were Hispanic males, and none of whom had any identification,” the indictment alleges. Abrego Garcia’s attorney called the charges an “abuse of power.”