The Tennessee Supreme Court this week affirmed a lower court's decision to dismiss a suit against the City of Memphis regarding the removal of Confederate statues, the Commercial Appeal reports. The Sons of Confederate Veterans, Nathan Bedford Forrest Camp #215 had appealed a June decision from the Court of Appeals that had found the city acted legally in removing the statues. The statues, which are now in the possession of Memphis Greenspace, a nonprofit, will be relocated outside of Shelby County.

The Tennessee Supreme Court announced today that it will hear oral arguments Thursday in Nashville. The justices will hear arguments in three cases: James A. Dunlap Jr. v. Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility; Jeffery Todd Burke v. Sparta Newspapers Inc.; and State of Tennessee v. Alexander R. Vance and Damonta Meneese. Read more about the cases on the court’s website.

Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Connie Clark spoke to the Wilson County Women of Impact group last week, encouraging the women to be pioneers. “Whatever that means in your field, be willing to be the first,” Clark said. She also talked about how maternity leave, childcare, divorce and the rise in mobility tend to affect women disproportionately. Finally, she encouraged the women to help each other. “Once you've opened the door for yourself, hold the door open and make sure the person behind you gets through the door, too.” The Lebanon Democrat has the story.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today issued an order adopting an amendment to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 25, Section 5.03 dealing with board meetings of the Tennessee Lawyers’ Fund For Client Protection. The amendment requires an affirmative vote of five members of the board to authorize any action but allows votes to be conducted by telephone, facsimile, regular mail or electronic means. The court reports that it solicited comments on the proposed change on Aug. 16 but did not receive any comments.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today reversed a trial court’s dismissal of a legal malpractice claim against a Davidson County attorney, holding that sworn statements the plaintiff made in her divorce settlement agreement did not directly contradict sworn statements she made in a malpractice lawsuit. The court found that judicial estoppel (prohibiting a party from swearing to a fact in one lawsuit and then swearing to a contradictory fact in a second lawsuit) applies only to directly conflicting sworn statements about facts, such as “the stoplight was red” or “the stoplight was green.” It held that judicial estoppel did not apply in this case. Download the opinion.

The state Supreme Court last week issued an order soliciting comments to proposed amendments to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, Sections 8, 12 and 30. The changes include prohibiting individuals disbarred on or after July 1, 2020, from being reinstated. The deadline for submitting written comments is Dec. 17.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today issued an amendment to Rule 6, Section 4 of the Rules of the Tennessee Supreme Court to revise the oath that new attorneys take when admitted to practice in Tennessee courts. The amendment deletes the following phrase: “and that I will truly and honestly demean myself in the practice of my profession” and adds the following new phrase: “In the practice of my profession, I will conduct myself with honesty, fairness, integrity, and civility …” The new language takes effect immediately.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has released the latest installment of its Court Talk podcast. Episode 3, “Drug Trends Across Tennessee,” features two of the state’s leading experts in drug trends who explore recent statistics and developments in the state. Listen here to learn more from Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Tommy Farmer and Dr. Robert Pack, professor of community and behavioral health at East Tennessee State University.