The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that a person who bought property near downtown Nashville, but failed to record the deed, could not gain full ownership under a legal doctrine known as “adverse possession.” Under that process, someone who may not own property but possesses it for a certain number of years may gain full ownership of it. After reviewing its precedents regarding the adversity requirement, the court held that adversity requires either a conflict of title or controversy regarding the right of possession. The decision reversed the Court of Appeals and reinstated the chancery court’s judgment. Chief Justice Holly Kirby dissented from the majority opinion, arguing that under longstanding property law, the court should have given the purchaser full ownership of the property. Read more in a release from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

A decision issued last week from the Tennessee Supreme Court Special Workers’ Compensation Panel found two significant provisions of The Reform Act to be constitutional. Though the case — Worrell v. Obion County School District — was not the first to challenge the law, the decision was the most substantive appellate opinion on the subject to date, the Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims writes in a blog post. The court details the specific provisions of the act that were challenged and upheld. It also notes that full Supreme Court declined to hear the case, so the panel decision is final. 

Memphis lawyer Larry E. Parrish has filed a petition with the Tennessee Supreme Court, asking the court to declare its own Rule 10B, which deals with judicial recusals, to be unconstitutional. Specifically, Parrish alleges that the rule’s provision by which a party waives their right to recusal, even on constitutional grounds, by failing to file a motion under Rule 10B, violates the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment and state law. He notes that two cases presently pending in Tennessee trial courts, in which he is involved, illustrate the importance of the court resolving the questions he raises. He argues that recusal motions are stalled because the lower courts do not have subject matter jurisdiction to decide whether Rule 10B is unconstitutional.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that attorneys must promptly pay their annual professional privilege tax or face immediate suspension of their law license. Montgomery County attorney Colleen Ann Hyder was suspended in 2020 for non-payment but continued to represent clients in violation of state regulations. The court upheld a public censure against Hyder for this unauthorized practice, rejecting her claim that she had a grace period to wind down her practice following the suspension. Read more from the court about its findings and a press release from the Board of Professional Responsibility about the suspension.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today held that when a trial judge misunderstands the role as “13th juror” in a civil case, appellate courts should send the case back to the trial judge to review the case instead of automatically requiring the parties to go through a new trial. If the trial court is unable to fulfill the role of 13th juror on remand, only then should it order a new trial. Under the “13th juror” rule, the trial judge independently reviews the evidence and decides whether he agrees with the verdict of the 12 jurors. If he disagrees, the parties must re-try the case. The court also used the case to find that a claim of unjust enrichment does not require a voluntary conferral of a benefit, reversing the Court of Appeals and upholding the trial court’s dismissal of unjust enrichment claims. In addition, the court declined Plaintiffs’ invitation to create a new tort for the misappropriation of a statutory right of redemption. 

The Tennessee Supreme Court has held that a defamation and false light suit filed by Bill Charles against Donna McQueen must be dismissed under the Tennessee Public Participation Act (TPPA), the state's version of an anti-SLAPP statute. Charles was the president of the Durham Farms homeowners’ association in Hendersonville and a consultant for Freehold Communities, the company that developed the community. In 2020, residents petitioned local officials and some, including McQueen, wrote negative Google reviews on Freehold's Nashville regional office webpage, hoping to stop a proposed "rental-only" unit section of the community. Charles sued McQueen over the review, asserting claims for defamation and false light.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has amended Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 13, sections 2 and 3, to reflect a $10 increase in the hourly reimbursement rate for indigent representation, along with a proportionate increase in the caps on the total amount a court-appointed attorney may earn per case. The changes are effective as of July 1 and are based on the Tennessee General Assembly’s recent approval of an additional $8.6 million in recurring funding for the indigent representation program, increasing the hourly rate to $60. Read the new language. 

The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) had requested $26.145 million from the state legislature, which would have raised the hourly rate to $80. The TBA supported that request and remains committed to working with stakeholders to secure additional resources to fairly compensate lawyers who do this important work. To learn more about this issue and advocacy efforts on behalf of Tennessee lawyers, read the TBA's statement about the funding or visit the TBA’s Indigent Representation Resources webpage.

A news item in yesterday's issue of TBA Today inadvertently omitted the docket number to be cited when filing a comment about a proposed amendment to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, section 10.1. Comments should be submitted by July 26 and should reference docket number ADM2024-00922. Comments may be emailed to Appellate Court Clerk James Hivner or mailed to 100 Supreme Court Building, 401 7th Ave. N., Nashville, TN 37219.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today issued an order soliciting comments on a proposal from the Board of Professional Responsibility to amend Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, section 10.1 regarding the confidentiality of attorneys’ contact information. On June 18, the board petitioned the court to amend its rules to “classify as confidential and not public record the personal addresses and contact information Tennessee attorneys provide to the board.” Comments should be submitted by July 26 and should reference docket number ADM2024-00922. Comments may be emailed to Appellate Court Clerk James Hivner or mailed to 100 Supreme Court Building, 401 7th Ave. N., Nashville, TN 37219.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has clarified standards for determining when a trial court may consider a prisoner's petition to consider newly discovered evidence. Under Tennessee law, the petition, an error coram nobis petition, must be filed within one year after conviction. If not filed in that timeframe, the petition may only be considered if it presents newly discovered evidence that clearly and convincingly shows the defendant did not commit the crime of which they were convicted. The case stems from Thomas Clardy's 2007 conviction and life sentence for his role in a Davidson County shooting that left one person dead and two others wounded. Today's decision reversed the Court of Criminal Appeals and affirmed the post-conviction court’s dismissal of Clardy’s petition, finding that the presented evidence was not a valid basis to extend the one-year time limit. The decision was authored by Chief Justice Holly Kirby. Justice Jeff Bivins concurred in the court’s judgment but wrote a separate opinion, joined by Justice Sharon G. Lee.