Tennessee Attorney General (AG) Jonathan Skrmetti has announced the state has reached a settlement with Mariner Finance over allegations the company violated multiple consumer protection laws through deceptive lending practices. The lawsuit alleged Mariner charged consumers for hidden add-on products that borrowers were not fully informed about or did not agree to purchase, increasing loan balances by hundreds or thousands of dollars and used aggressive sales tactics to push additional credit onto borrowers. According to a press release, under the settlement, Mariner will provide $11.1 million in consumer relief, including $1 million in restitution to eligible Tennessee consumers and $10.1 million through cancellation of covered consumer debt owed by impacted borrowers. The settlement applies only to Tennessee and does not affect other claims or litigation against the company.

Nashville-based law firm Bass, Berry & Sims announced Thursday that it has opened a Chicago office which will be led by new members Robert Newman and Jason Gordon. According to the Nashville Post, the office is located at 300 N. LaSalle Dr., Ste. 2400, Chicago 60654, and also will include current firm attorneys Bryan Bylica, Delaney Durst and Shelley Thomas. The firm added Newman, who is returning to Bass, Berry & Sims, and Gordon in part to expand its intellectual property, media and technology practice. Thomas will serve as a liaison between the Chicago and Nashville offices. In addition to Nashville and Chicago, Bass, Berry & Sims has offices in Knoxville, Memphis and Washington, D.C.

Tony Carruthers, convicted in 1994 for three murders in Tennessee, is scheduled to be executed on May 21, with his attorneys now seeking clemency from Gov. Bill Lee on the grounds of serious trial injustices. WSMV reports that his conviction rested entirely on circumstantial evidence, including testimony from a secretly paid informant who publicly stated before trial that police paid him to testify — which the state later confirmed. The co-defendant, James Montgomery, has since told federal investigators that Carruthers was not involved and that a third party committed the murders, yet untested DNA and non-matching fingerprint evidence has never been fully examined. Two jurors have signed statements saying they would not have voted for the death penalty had they known the then-undisclosed information, and Carruthers reportedly had no legal representation at trial, meaning his execution would be the first of a counsel-denied defendant in over a century. Read more in a statement from the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Middle District of Tennessee.

The Trial Court Vacancy Commission sent one application to the governor to fill a vacancy in the 26th Judicial District Chancery Court, which covers Chester, Henderson and Madison counties. The commission began accepting applications for the vacancy April 21. After the May 6 deadline, only one candidate — Jennifer C. Covellis of Jackson — had applied, leaving the commission unable to provide the governor with the names of three qualified candidates as required by state law. Under state code, the governor may fill the vacancy with any person qualified to serve as a chancery court judge in the district. The vacancy was created when Judge Steven W. Maroney was elevated to the appellate bench.

Knox County Schools is appealing a ruling that found the district violated the rights of a middle school student with autism under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), according to the Knox News. The dispute centers on whether the student should remain at Farragut Middle School or be transferred to Ridgedale Alternative School for additional support. An administrative law judge ruled the district failed to provide the student with a free and appropriate public education, did not adequately address communication needs and violated disability protections by showing “deliberate indifference” to those needs. Court filings also reveal the student was physically restrained dozens of times during the school year. The case is now before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

The Shelby County Commission will fund a lawsuit over a new state law taking authority over Tennessee's largest school district. During a meeting on May 4, a resolution from Commissioners Mickell Lowery and Matthew Szalaj to give $200,000 from the county’s general fund to Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) was approved on an 8-3 vote. The county chose to fund the lawsuit due to MSCS not being able to, the Commercial Appeal reports. The district already passed a resolution that allows MSCS to hire an attorney to challenge the legislation, but a new state law bars school districts from using public dollars to fight state accountability efforts. That prohibition was signed into law on April 21, the same day MSCS voted to hire legal representation to challenge the takeover.

The Trial Court Vacancy Commission has received four applications for a vacancy in the 1st Judicial District following the appointment of Judge Stacy Street to the Court of Criminal Appeals. The applicants for the criminal court vacancy are: Elizabethton Assistant Public Defender Mark A. Fulks, Blountville Assistant Public Defender Tessa Nichole Lunceford, Unicoi County General Sessions Judge Robert Mitchell Manuel and Jonesborough Assistant District Attorney Lawrence Scott Shults. The public hearing for this position will be held June 4 at 9 a.m. EDT at the George P. Jaynes Justice Center, 108 West Jackson Blvd., Jonesborough 37659. Any member of the public may attend the public hearing and can express, orally or in writing, objections concerning applicant(s) for the judicial vacancy. Contact Assistant General Counsel John Jefferson at the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) at John.Jefferson@tncourts.gov or 615-741-2687 with questions. Read more in a press release from the AOC. The 1st Judicial District covers Carter, Johnson, Unicoi and Washington counties.

Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law (LMU Law) will welcome Chancellor Christopher D. Heagerty as its commencement speaker during the law school’s graduation ceremony, tomorrow at 4 p.m. EDT. This 14th graduating class is the largest in the law school’s history at 105 graduates. Heagerty was appointed to the Knox County Chancery Court, Division III in 2021 by Gov. Bill Lee. He graduated from the University of Tennessee (now Winston) College of Law in 1994. After a clerkship with Hodges, Doughty & Carson during law school, he was hired by the Carpenter & O’Connor firm, where he worked for six years as an associate and four years as a partner. He then practiced with Hodges, Doughty & Carson from 2004 to 2015, handling mostly civil litigation. He started his own firm in 2015, and a large percentage of his practice was in litigation cases. Heagerty has served as an adjunct professor at LMU Law and at Winston College of Law. Read more in a press release.

FisherBroyles, a law firm with an international presence, has opened an office in Nashville with the addition of corporate attorney Stacey Garrett Koju. FisherBroyles partner Ken Cutshaw will join Koju in launching the Nashville office. “Expanding our geographic footprint with attorneys as sophisticated and proven as Stacey and Ken demonstrates our firm’s commitment to providing clients with exceptional counsel and guidance where and when it’s needed, reinforcing the advantages of our distributed model and its continued growth,” said James Fisher II, cofounder and managing partner of the firm. Read more in a press release. The office is located at 222 2nd Ave. S., 17th Floor, Nashville 37201 and can be reached at 866-211-5914.

The Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) and Tennessee’s American Inns of Court are accepting nominations for the 2026 Judge Pamela L. Reeves Tennessee Professionalism Award. The deadline for submitting nominations is May 8. The annual award is presented to a lawyer or judge whose life and practice display sterling character and unquestioned integrity, coupled with ongoing dedication to the highest standards of the rule of law and the highest standards of the legal profession in Tennessee. This year's award will be presented to a lawyer or judge residing in the Eastern Grand Division. Nominees must be alive when nominations are submitted but they need not be an active member of an American Inn of Court or the TBA. The award will be presented at the TBA's Annual Convention, which will be held in Knoxville June 10-13. See past recipients of the award.