The TBA Litigation Section will continue its "Perspectives from the Bench" series with Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Jeffrey Bivins and Nashville School of Law Dean Bill Koch at the new TBA office on May 21. Moderated by attorneys Todd Presnell and Hunter Branstetter, the panel will discuss each justice's path to the bench, the importance of mentors, the manner in which the justices interact, the importance of the Rule of Law in our society and more. Make plans now to attend and join your colleagues for a reception following the event. Get more information and register here.

Thank you for your support of the Tort & Insurance Practice Section! It’s been a busy year, led by section chair Jamie Leaver. The section is looking for attorneys interested in taking on a leadership position and joining the section executive council. The council members have monthly meetings, discuss relevant legislation and work together to plan continuing legal education programming throughout the bar year. Plus, there is always an opportunity for the section to do more, and we would love to hear your ideas! If you are interested in being considered or would like to recommend someone, please contact TBA Section Coordinator Brooke Leeton at bleeton@tnbar.org by June 15.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division, in collaboration with the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys Law School, recently held Pre-Law Day for high school students. The event included a law school tour, mock law school class, a panel with law students and a career exploration panel featuring TBA YLD Past President Quinton Thompson and former YLD board members Jeffrey Moore Jr. and Laquita Stokes. Assistant Dean for Recruitment & Student Success Jacqueline O'Bryant also provided the students with a roadmap to college admissions. See a photo from the event.

Agathos Classical School of Columbia was named the 2026 Tennessee State High School Mock Trial champion after two days of preliminary rounds. The school prevailed over the University School of Nashville. Tennessee State Supreme Court Justice Sarah Campbell presided over the round, while members of the TBA Young Lawyers Division's (YLD) Executive Committee, TBA President Heidi Barcus and TBA President-elect Charlotte Knight Griffin served as jurors. Earlier in the day, the top eight teams were announced, an MVP for each of the 16 teams was recognized, individual awards were presented to the best advocates and witnesses, and Unicoi County High School of Erwin was awarded the 2026 Sportsmanship Award. The top three artists in the inaugural Artist in the Courtroom Contest also were recognized. James Overstreet of Houston High School in Germantown was selected as the top artist.

Special thanks to YLD Mock Trial Committee Chair John Jolley, Vice Chair Bridget Pyman, Long Range Planning Coordinator Ashley Tipton and members of the committee for organizing this year's event, which involved 16 teams, more than 200 participants and more than 100 volunteers, including sitting Tennessee judges, lawyers and the YLD's Diversity Leadership Institute's law students. Agathos Classical School will represent Tennessee at the National High School Mock Trial Competition in Des Moines, Iowa in May. The team is coached by Columbia attorneys Jason Whatley and Cory Ricci of Whatley & Associates and Luke Worsham. See photos from this event.

Individuals interested in learning more about mock trial are encouraged to view the new TBA YLD Mock Trial 101 video available on the TBA website.

BLOOMEKATZ, Circuit Judge. A grand jury indicted Bo Hostettler for possessing a gun as a felon, in violation of a federal statute. See 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Hostettler moved to dismiss the indictment, arguing that the statute was unconstitutional both facially and as applied. The district court granted Hostettler’s motion on the grounds that the federal statute was unconstitutional as applied to him. Since then, intervening circuit precedent has clarified the legal standard that governs constitutional challenges to firearm regulations. Accordingly, we vacate and remand with instructions to apply the legal standard consistent with current circuit precedent when considering Hostettler’s motion to dismiss.

JULIA SMITH GIBBONS, Circuit Judge. Plaintiff-Appellant Fetch! Pet Care, Inc. (“Fetch!”), a nationwide franchisor of pet-care services, alleges that several of its franchisees orchestrated a coordinated effort to exit their franchise agreements due to their discontent with paying royalties. In Fetch!’s view, these franchisees breached their agreements when they attempted to abscond and steal Fetch!’s branding, clients, intellectual property, and trade secrets with the intent to operate their own competing businesses. On the other hand, the franchisees claim that nearly all of those operating under Fetch!’s “2.0” model have failed, as evidenced by their high attrition rate due to the model’s exorbitant royalty fees, Fetch!’s failure to deliver the results it advertised, and Fetch!’s deficient but expensive corporate support. And the few “1.0” model franchisees in this action claim they did not intend to leave but were forced to after being unexpectedly shut out of Fetch!’s system, leaving them unable to service their clients. Their only option for survival, they say, was to open their own businesses.

In response, Fetch! promptly filed a complaint along with a motion for a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) and preliminary injunction against thirty-one former franchisees. Fetch! urged the district court to enjoin them from launching or continuing to operate their competing businesses, misappropriating its trade secrets, infringing its trademarks, and conspiring to interfere with its business relationships. After additional briefing and a two-day evidentiary hearing, the district court denied in part and granted in part Fetch!’s motion for injunctive relief. Specifically, the court reiterated what its TRO had ordered: that defendants-appellees stop using Fetch!’s trademarks and cease further communication with any existing Fetch! franchisee.

Ultimately, the district court determined that although the case presented a close call in several respects, Fetch! failed to carry its burden of showing that these circumstances clearly demanded a preliminary injunction. In fact, the court noted that granting an injunction in full could fatally compromise the parties’ ongoing arbitration. The court further concluded that there was sufficient evidence that Fetch exhibited “unclean hands” in the way it sold its franchises. Because we review the district court’s application of the unclean hands doctrine for abuse of discretion and sufficient evidence in the record supports the court’s conclusion, we affirm.

This appeal involves an employee who reached maximum medical improvement with no permanent impairment after suffering a compensable injury to his thumb. The employee requested that the court enter an order reflecting that, although he was not entitled to any disability benefits, he remained entitled to reasonable and necessary future medical treatment causally related to the work injury. The employer argued that the employee’s petition was improperly filed because there was no current dispute for the court to address. The employee responded that a court order was necessary to ensure his right to future medical treatment was not lost due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. Following a compensation hearing, the trial court agreed with the employee and entered an order reflecting the employee was entitled to future medical benefits that are reasonable, necessary, and causally related to the work injury. The employer has appealed. Having carefully reviewed the record, we affirm the trial court’s order, conclude the employer’s appeal is frivolous, award attorneys’ fees for the frivolous appeal, and certify the order as final.

Defendant, Louis Thomas Smith, appeals the Lauderdale County Circuit Court’s revocation of his supervised probation and the imposition of his original, ten-year sentence. Defendant contends that the trial court abused its discretion by finding that he violated the terms of his probation by absconding and asks this court to reverse that finding and “remand the case back to the trial court as a technical violation.” Following a thorough review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Defendant, Montrell Reid, appeals from his guilty-pleaded convictions for harassment and stalking, both Class A misdemeanors. Under the plea agreement, Defendant agreed to serve eleven months and twenty-nine days for each count, with the sentences to be served consecutively and the manner of service to be determined by the trial court. At sentencing, the trial court denied Defendant’s request for probation and ordered that he serve his sentence in confinement. On appeal, Defendant contends that the trial court erred in denying his request for probation. Following our review, we affirm the trial court’s judgments as to the denial of probation, but we remand for a determination of the percentage of service pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-35-302(d).

Due to TBA’s Day on the Hill and Big Shrimp Reception this week, our legislative team is taking a break from the Legislative Updates Podcast. Watch for a new episode to release next Friday on Facebook and on the TBA website. As always, you also can follow TBA’s coverage of legislative news in the General Assembly section of the Law Blog or sort all news by category by using the filter tool at the top of the Law Blog page.