The Tennessee Dental Association (TDA) House of Delegates last month named Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle an honorary association member. The TDA noted Lyle’s work with the Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability, along with various nonprofits, to design and implement a grant process directing settlement funds from nursing home litigation to agencies assisting Tennessee seniors. It is estimated that more than 20,000 Tennessee seniors benefitted from Lyle’s funding program. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more on the story.

TBA Executive Director Joycelyn Stevenson has been elected vice chair of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority (MNAA), which owns and operates the Nashville International Airport and John C. Tune Airport. The seven-member board of commissioners, appointed by the Nashville mayor and confirmed by Metro Council, governs and sets policies for the MNAA. The board is comprised of three business and finance representatives, two pilot representatives, one engineering representative and one legal representative. Stevenson was appointed in 2020 by Mayor John Cooper and previously served as board secretary. She also worked in the role of vice chair of the board’s Diversity Committee, secretary for the Management Committee and a member of the BNA Vision and Finance Committee. Bill Freeman was reelected as board chair and James Granbery was elected secretary. Read the full release.

The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday heard oral arguments in Jacob Engineering’s challenge to lawsuits that allege workers were sickened or died after cleaning up the coal ash spill at Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Fossil Plant in 2008. Jacobs contends that the workers’ claims should fall under a Tennessee law that limits legal challenges involving exposure to silica, a component of coal ash. The workers' attorneys argue the silica law was never meant to apply to cases like theirs. Jacobs has twice asked the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to find that it is immune from being sued because it was acting on behalf of the TVA, a federal agency. The court ruled against the company both times. The state Supreme Court became involved after a federal judge asked it to interpret the state law. The Associated Press has the full story.  

Nashville School of Law (NSL) celebrated the graduating class of 2022 on Saturday during its 114th Commencement Ceremony in Nashville. Eighty-two graduates were cheered on by more than 1,000 family members, friends and NSL faculty and staff during the event, which included addresses from Dean William C. Koch Jr. and Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Holly Kirby. Koch congratulated the class on their “tenacity, resilience, and agility” in overcoming challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Kirby spoke on the importance of democracy and how lawyers can bring people together. “People can talk to each other more civilly and more constructively about how to solve problems when they first come to a general agreement about the basic facts,” Kirby said. “That is what lawyers do, every day.” Read the full event recap here.

The Law Firm of David Bates is seeking an associate attorney to join its office in Franklin. The firm is general practice, with a focus on litigation defense of businesses throughout Middle Tennessee. One year or more of experience is preferred. To apply, send resume, writing sample and law school transcript to David Bates. Find this posting and others on the TBA's JobLink site. 

Attorney Amanda Moore has announced she will be running to keep her seat on the school board for Murfreesboro City Schools. Moore, co-founder of the Tennessee Center for Estate and Elder Law PLLC, has served on the board for four years. A member of the Rutherford-Cannon County Bar Association and the Middle Tennessee Lawyers’ Association for Women, Moore has taught as an adjunct at Vanderbilt Law School and Middle Tennessee State University. She is a graduate of Yale Law School. In the release announcing her campaign, Moore says she has “worked hard to be transparent, accessible, and fair” through difficult times, including the loss of the director of schools, rezoning and a global pandemic.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today permanently disbarred John Terence Tennyson from the practice of law. A panel of the Board of Professional Responsibility (BPR) determined that Tennyson knowingly retained $10,000 in funds belonging to his client for his own financial benefit and refused to refund the money despite a written fee agreement requiring a refund. He also knowingly deceived his client about the process for receiving payment of the misappropriated funds. In addition to disbarment, Tennyson must pay restitution in the amount of $10,000 to the client and pay all costs incurred to the BPR.

Hamilton County General Sessions Court has received a grant from the National Center for State Courts’ Eviction Diversion Initiative to strengthen eviction diversion efforts and improve housing stability across Hamilton County. The court is one of 13 state and local courts selected through a competitive application process for the funding, Chattanoogan.com reports. General Sessions Court Judge Alexander McVeagh says the money will be used to hire a new housing stability facilitator, who will be housed in city offices but work directly with county judges to assist landlords and tenants before eviction cases are adjudicated in court. McVeagh said the grant will provide a “legal mechanism for property owners, tenants and community partners to work together in constructive ways." Learn more about the initiative.

The Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims announced today that it will implement a new process for settlement approvals in Memphis and open a new satellite office in Lauderdale County to help alleviate the volume of cases at the Memphis office. The Memphis office will transition from an appointment to a first-come, first-served process. On Tuesdays, 20 settlements will be accepted from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and nine will be accepted from 1-2 p.m. CDT. On Thursdays, the office will accept 20 settlements in the morning. Then in July, the court will operate a satellite location in Ripley on the third Friday of each month from 9 to 11:30 a.m. CDT in the chancery courtroom. The satellite location also will operate on a first-come, first-served process.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today upheld mandatory minimum sentences imposed by the Hardin County Circuit Court for drug offenses that occurred in a drug-free zone near a public park, but it reversed the appeals court, which had added an additional enhancement of one classification level. Under state law, drug-free zones related to schools and public parks carry mandatory minimum periods of confinement. But with regard to the enhancement of one classification level, the court found that the legislature required that for drug-free zones at schools but not at parks. Read more about the decision from the Administrative Office of the Courts or access the opinion.