In this second interlocutory appeal in this matter, the employer argues the trial court erred in concluding that its petition for benefit determination, filed after the employee’s original petition, did not constitute a counterclaim. After initially providing certain workers’ compensation benefits, the employer denied further medical treatment, and the employee filed a petition for benefit determination in September 2020. The issues raised in that petition were resolved by agreement, and a dispute resolution statement was issued reflecting that agreement. In August 2021, the employer filed its own petition for benefit determination seeking to move the claim to resolution and noting it was “ready to mediate in hopes of resolving the claim.” The employer’s petition was assigned the same state file number and docket number as the employee’s original petition. When the parties were unable to fully resolve the claim, a dispute certification notice was issued, and the employer, by subsequent email, asked the mediator to add as a disputed issue a claimed overpayment of benefits. Shortly after the employee’s deadline to obtain expert medical proof passed, the employee filed a notice of voluntary dismissal, to which the employer objected. Because the employee’s initial petition had been inadvertently omitted from the record, the trial court denied the employee’s attempt to voluntarily dismiss the case, noting that the employer had filed the petition and the employee could not nonsuit the other party’s petition. The employee asked the court to reconsider its decision, pointing out that she had, in fact, filed the initial petition in the case. Thereafter, the court allowed the employee to voluntarily dismiss her petition without prejudice. The employer appealed, and we vacated the trial court’s order to the extent it suggested that the employer’s petition had also been dismissed. We remanded the case for the trial court to address whether, in light of its order granting the employee’s voluntary dismissal of her petition, the employer had properly raised a counterclaim, and if so, whether the counterclaim survived the voluntary dismissal of the employee’s petition pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 41.01. On remand, the court determined that the employer’s petition did not include a counterclaim and did not survive the employee’s nonsuit. Within ninety days after the trial court entered its order of dismissal, the employee timely refiled her claim. The employer has appealed. Upon careful consideration of the record and the arguments of counsel, we affirm the trial court’s order for reasons other than those stated by the trial court and remand the case.

The Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference (TNDAGC) will host the South East Prosecutor Job Fair on June 24. The event will feature representatives from a variety of prosecutor offices from Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Florida and South Carolina. Attendance is free, but participants must register in advance by June 20. For questions, contact Brittany Lavalle at bllavalle@tndagc.org. View a flyer with more information.

Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Felicia Corbin-Johnson has dismissed the lawsuit attempting to oust Wanda Halbert as Shelby County clerk, the Daily Memphian reports. Hamilton County District Attorney General Coty Wamp, who was appointed as special prosecutor in the investigation into the allegations against Halbert, filed the suit in May. Halbert's petition to dismiss said the allegations were "simple negligence," not "willful neglect." Wamp said the cause for dismissal is the first of its kind in the state of Tennessee, and reiterated her findings during the investigation, saying her office discovered both willful neglect and plain incompetence, according to the Commercial Appeal.

Nashville lawyer Lorne Hiller has been selected as the recipient of this year’s Larry Dean Wilks Leadership Award. Hiller was chosen for the award by fellow members of the Tennessee Bar Association’s 2024 Leadership Law class and was honored during the group’s graduation ceremonies in Memphis last week. He is the 12th recipient of the award. Hiller and his Leadership Law classmates have spent the last six months learning about leadership in the legal profession, issues in the courts, policymaking in state government and the importance of community service. The class of 35 attorneys completed the program this month. Read more about Hiller and the Wilks Award in this press release.

During its first meeting of the new bar year last Friday, the TBA Board of Governors selected two lawyers to fill vacancies that occurred when no election petitions were filed for the seats this past spring. Franklin trial attorney David Veile, who recently won the Republican primary for the 21st Judicial District Circuit Court, will serve as middle Tennessee governor. Germantown lawyer Cheryl White Patterson with the Carpenter Law Firm will serve as west Tennessee governor. Both will serve a term of one year. Veile is a graduate of Nashville School of Law and a former Metro Nashville Police officer. He has been active with the TBA, serving on the board previously and holding a range of positions on the Young Lawyers Division Board, including as president from 2012-2013. Patterson graduated from Harvard Law School and has focused her practice on public finance and compliance, serving as vice president and general counsel for Memphis Light, Gas & Water from 2008-2023.

A panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a bid by President Joe Biden's administration to revive its directive that schools allow transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms and join sports teams that align with their gender, Reuters reports. Friday’s 2-1 ruling found that the U.S. Department of Education did not follow proper procedure when it imposed new legal duties on public schools. It also rejected the administration’s arguments that the states lacked standing to sue, saying the guidance exposes states to lawsuits and loss of federal funding, which is sufficient to provide standing. The panel did not address the underlying question of whether a federal law banning sex discrimination in education extends to LGBTQ students.

The TBA’s Court Square Series is back with a program planned in Jackson on June 28. Come hear from General Sessions Judge Christy Little, Nashville-area lawyer John Day, and Jackson lawyers Nancy Choate and Kortney Simmons. The Court Square Series is intended to bring top speakers to local legal communities and foster relationships and collegiality among lawyers across the state.

The U.S. Supreme Court justices added four new cases to the 2024-2025 term, which will begin in October, SCOTUSblog reports. The cases will tackle issues ranging from the burden of proof for an employer hoping to rely on an exemption from the Fair Labor Standards Act, to the pleading standards for cases under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. The additional cases bring to 16 the number of cases to be considered in the next term. The court did not act on a group of petitions testing the constitutionality of bans on gender-affirming care for minors in Tennessee and Kentucky.

A trial date of Feb. 10, 2025, has been set for the man accused of killing Memphis teacher Eliza Fletcher in 2022. The Daily Memphian reports that Cleotha Abston, also known by the surname Henderson, will face two counts of first-degree murder, especially aggravated kidnapping, unlawful possession of a weapon and tampering with evidence in the Fletcher case. In May, Abston was sentenced to 80 years in prison for the 2021 rape of Alicia Franklin.

Following plans by Republican state legislators to seek the removal of Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy from office, Mulroy has abandoned his plans for a gun crime diversion program. The Commercial Appeal reports that Mulroy made the decision after studying the number of cases that would be affected by the program, which he announced last week as a way to address racial disparities in the criminal justice system. "After taking a look at the actual number of cases which would qualify, I realize it would only be a handful of cases ― not enough to really help with racial disparities," Mulroy said in a news release today. The move comes after House Speaker Cameron Sexton said last week he was in conversations with Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti to consider seeking Mulroy's removal and news today that Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis, plans to pursue legislation to remove Mulroy later in the year. Local Memphis has that news.