The plaintiff in this case sued the State of Tennessee, Tennessee Department of Correction, alleging that it refused to hire her for employment solely on the basis of her disability. The complaint asserted a single claim -- for violation of the Tennessee Disability Act, Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 8-50-103, et seq. During the three years of litigation that followed, the plaintiff’s TDA claim survived a motion for summary judgment and was eventually tried before a jury over the course of five days. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff but awarded her only $10,000 for lost wages and $5,000 for compensatory damages. The plaintiff’s counsel then sought an award of attorney fees of nearly $700,000. The Department challenged the reasonableness of the fees. After a hearing, the trial court found the requested amount was excessive and reduced it, but only by twenty-five percent, awarding counsel $511,620. Due to the lack of findings regarding the factors applicable to such decisions, we vacate the award and remand for entry of an order analyzing the relevant factors.

This appeal concerns the trial court’s denial of alimony and attorney’s fees to wife following a long-term marriage. Upon our review of the record transmitted on appeal, and for the reasons stated herein, we vacate the trial court’s denial of alimony and attorney’s fees and remand those matters for reconsideration.

Tennessee along with Texas and 14 other states filed a complaint Friday in the U.S District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against the Biden administration’s "parole in place" program, which offers temporary removal protections and work authorization to immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens. According to Bloomberg Law, the states argue that the program, which aims to help about 500,000 immigrants and their stepchildren, exceeds the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) authority and violates constitutional provisions. They seek to block the program, claiming it imposes significant financial burdens and extends DHS’s parole authority beyond legal limits. The department defends the program as lawful and consistent with American values.

The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law Alumni Chapter honored seven lawyers for their careers and contributions to the legal profession and community during its annual Pillars of Excellence Awards ceremony this past Saturday. One of the recipients, state Sen. Ken Yager, R-Kingston, who represents District 12 in East Tennessee, received an award for his outstanding public service. The other honorees included Dorothy J. Pounders, Judge John T. Fowlkes Jr., Leland McNabb, Mark R. Allen, Richard Murrell Carter, David Pickler and Barbara Kritchevsky. The event is the chapter's largest fundraiser and will provide scholarships to law students. The Daily Memphian has the story.

The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts announced this week that 4th Judicial District Circuit Court Judge O. Duane Slone died in a traffic accident over the weekend in Jefferson County. He was 61 years old. Slone was first elected to the court in 1998, and in 2009, co-founded the district’s Drug Recovery Court. According to the AOC, he was recognized nationally as an innovator in his efforts to address the opioid-driven addiction crisis. He served as chair of the eight-state Appalachian-Midwest Regional Judicial Opioid Initiative, the Substance Misuse & Addiction Resources for Tennessee “SMART” Justice Network, and the Tennessee Judicial Conference Problem Solving Court Committee, and was a steering committee member of the National Rural Justice Collaborative and “SMART” Policy Network. Prior to taking the bench, he was in private practice in Dandridge and Sevierville and served as assistant district attorney for the 4th Judicial District. WBIR has details on the accident while WVLT 8 has reflections from the community.

Several state leaders are threatening to withhold state sales tax revenue from Memphis and Shelby County if local officials proceed with a ballot referendum addressing gun-related issues, the Commercial Appeal reports. House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, issued a joint statement that the localities would pay a heavy financial penalty if the ballot measure goes through. Memphis is preparing to vote on measures that would impose stricter gun control within the city, which contradict state laws aimed at easing gun access and preventing local "red flag" laws, the article reports. In related news, Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett says his office will not approve the Nov. 5 ballot for Shelby County if it includes a city referendum on gun-control measures, setting up a potential legal showdown with the Memphis City Council. The Daily Memphian has that story.

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell on Friday introduced four pieces of legislation in response to recent racist activities in Nashville, The Tennessean reports. The bills would clarify the city’s mask ordinance, ban the hanging of banners over highways, prohibit distributing flyers after dark on private property and create a buffer zone around public buildings. “When political violence prevents government functions or creates public safety issues, we must have the tools in our toolkit to respond effectively,” O’Connell said.

Newly elected family court Judge Stephanie Williams made history Sunday, becoming the first Black woman to preside over a Davidson County circuit court. She was sworn in at a ceremony on the campus of Trevecca Nazarene University, which was one of the stops on her educational path. Shaped by personal experience as an attorney and a petitioner in family court, Williams says she aims to make family court proceedings more “relational” and less “transactional” whenever possible, while making process more accessible for all. “I hope that they walk away feeling like there is a future, and that they have a hope in that future,” she said of her courtroom, according to the Nashville Banner. 

Tennessee has joined a federal antitrust lawsuit against RealPage, a software company that helps its clients set apartment rental prices. The complaint, filed Friday on behalf of the federal government and seven states, accuses RealPage of hindering fair competition by providing a price-sharing software that suggests monthly rent prices to real estate companies based on vacancies and other participants’ rent charges. The lawsuit alleges that the company "subverts competition and the competitive process ... openly and directly."  The company came under scrutiny in 2022 after ProPublica published an investigation featuring RealPage leadership boasting about rent increases in Nashville. In addition to fair market complaints from small landlords, renters’ rights groups have criticized the company for driving rental costs up amid a nationwide affordable housing crisis. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said in a press release Friday that his office has been looking into RealPage since 2023 and was “glad to be part of this bipartisan effort to protect consumers and hold RealPage accountable.” Axios has the story.

Gov. Bill Lee issued a proclamation last month designating August as “Justice Roger A. Page” month in honor of the 26 years of service given by Justice Page, who is retiring at the end of the month. Page is a Chester County native who graduated from the University of Memphis School of Law  in 1984. He served as an assistant state attorney general in Jackson and was later sworn in as circuit court judge in the 26th Judicial District, where he presided over both civil and criminal trials in Chester, Henderson and Madison counties. Page joined the Tennessee Supreme Court in 2106 after being unanimously confirmed by the Tennessee General Assembly, the first justice to receive that level of support. “Justice Page leaves a legacy of dedicated and tireless work as a trial judge, as an intermediate appellate judge and as Justice and Chief Justice on the Tennessee Supreme Court, with his innate intelligence reflected in his decisions,” the proclamation states. Chester County Independent has the story.