Petitioner, Ashley Nicole Thomas, appeals the denial of her post-conviction petition, in which she challenged her multiple convictions related to the sexual abuse of a child and her effective forty-year sentence. On appeal, Petitioner maintains that her trial counsel was ineffective. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

The Petitioner, Michael Terrell McKissack, appeals the Davidson County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for a writ of error coram nobis, claiming that a codefendant’s recanted testimony constitutes newly discovered evidence. Based on our review, we affirm the coram nobis court’s denial of the petition.

A Madison County jury convicted Defendant, Tyrone McCurdy, of multiple counts of vandalism and theft, and the trial court imposed an effective sentence of twenty-two years to be served in confinement as a persistent offender. On appeal, Defendant contends that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his convictions. After review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

In the Circuit Court for Sevier County (“the Trial Court”), William R. Smith and Judy M. Smith (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) filed a complaint to enforce a contract for the sale of land owned by Keith Prater and Janet Prater (collectively, “Defendants”). Defendants filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that Plaintiff lacked standing because Defendants had entered into the contract with Plaintiffs’ limited liability company, “R & J 44, LLC” (“the LLC”), rather than Plaintiffs themselves. Plaintiffs filed a motion seeking permission to file a second amended complaint to clarify that they were suing both individually and in their capacities as members of the LLC. The Trial Court denied Plaintiffs’ motion, finding undue delay in amending the complaint, and granted Defendants’ motion to dismiss. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm.

This case involves a dispute between a property owner and her homeowners’ association. Appellant’s property is governed by the homeowner’s association’s covenants, conditions, and restrictions. There are two improvements to appellant’s property, a main house and a carriage house, both of which were originally roofed with vintage concrete tiles. Appellant replaced the roof on the carriage house with asphalt shingles, but did not replace the roof on the main house. Rather, appellant had the main house roof cleaned, which resulted in a lighter appearance. The homeowners’ association demanded that appellant replace the main house roof with shingles to match the carriage house. Appellant refused and filed an action for declaratory judgment and injunction. The association filed a counter-complaint alleging that appellant was in breach of certain provisions of the covenants, conditions, and restrictions. The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment. The trial court dismissed appellant’s declaratory judgment action on its finding that it lacked subject- matter jurisdiction because appellant failed to join all necessary parties. The trial court granted the homeowners’ association’s motion for summary judgment on its counter- complaint and awarded attorney’s fees. Because the trial court’s order does not adequately explain its reasons for dismissing appellant’s declaratory judgment action, we cannot conduct a meaningful review of that holding, and we vacate the trial court’s dismissal of appellant’s complaint. There are disputes of material fact that preclude the grant of summary judgment. Accordingly, we reverse the trial court’s grant of summary judgment and its award of attorney’s fees to the homeowner’s association.

Register by April 30 for TBA's Annual Convention in Franklin, June 11-14, to take advantage of Early Bird pricing! Rates will go up on May 1. The Franklin Marriott Cool Springs has special room rates for convention attendees, so be sure to make those reservations by May 19. Act today so you don't miss out on these discounts!

The Tennessee Department of Revenue will host a free webinar on April 29 to discuss taxes on certain alcohol distributors. Tennessee has a three-tiered system for distributing alcoholic beverages. However, there are some exceptions to this structure affecting wineries, distilleries and breweries. The webinar will explore this topic. Register for the webinar or see all upcoming educational events.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee formally requested a major disaster declaration from the federal government to make federal assistance available to the West and Middle Tennessee counties impacted by severe weather and flooding on April 2-6. The request follows an emergency declaration approved on April 3 and the completion of damage assessments across impacted counties. The new request asks for approval of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) individual assistance and public assistance programs. If approved, the declaration would make individual assistance available to Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Dyer, Grundy, Hardeman, Hickman, Humphreys, Lewis, McNairy, Montgomery, Obion, Perry, Sumner and Wilson counties and public assistance to Carroll, Cheatham, Crockett, Davidson, Decatur, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Grundy, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Lake, Lauderdale, Madison, McNairy, Obion, Perry, Shelby, Tipton and Wilson counties. Read more in a statement from the governor.

A new complaint has been filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, News Channel 5 reports. The complaint from the Campaign Legal Center in Washington, D.C., accuses Ogles of engaging in an "overarching effort" to hide how he raised and spent money for his two campaigns for Congress. Specifically, the group alleges that Ogles “deliberately filed false reports disclosing a fabricated $320,000 loan” in order to make his campaign’s fundraising look better in a competitive primary. The 26-page filing also alleges that Ogles deliberately misreported a series of disbursements, according to the Nashville Banner.

Former Shelby County District Attorney Bill Gibbons, who now serves as executive director of Memphis Shelby Crime Commission, is calling for a clearinghouse of data that gives a clearer picture of how the local court system operates. The commission, an independent nonprofit that is funded through private donors, is looking at ways to improve the system. Gibbons says that data is the key to determine where bottlenecks are in the system, including why it takes so long to dispose of cases. Gibbons is being assisted by Jonathan Bennett, associate director of the University of Memphis Center for Community Research and Evaluation. Bennett says it is difficult to get reliable data because of the number of agencies involved in the system. The Daily Memphian has more on the effort.