TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

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Court Seeks Comments on Rule Amendment

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Apr 18, 2017
The Tennessee Supreme Court is seeking comments on a proposed amendment to Rule 9, Section 32, regarding misconduct hearings. Written comments should be submitted to James M. Hivner, Clerk, re: Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 9, section 32, Tennessee Appellate Courts, 100 Supreme Court Building, 401 7th Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37219-1407. The deadline is June 19. Read the full text here.

Justice Clark Receives Martha Craig Daughtrey Award

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Apr 12, 2017

Justice Cornelia Clark has been selected for the 2017 Judge Martha Craig Daughtrey Award. Judge Clark was appointed to the Tennessee Supreme Court in 2005 and was elected to a full eight-year term in August 2006. She has served longer than any other member of the current court. In 2010 she was sworn in as Chief Justice, becoming the second woman in Tennessee history to serve in that role. She also was one of the first women partners in a large law firm in Nashville, Farris, Warfield & Kanaday.

Court Holds Death Not Compensable in Workers' Comp Case

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Apr 10, 2017
The Tennessee Supreme Court has held that based on the testimony regarding Charles Kilburn’s death, his death is not compensable as a direct and natural consequence of his original compensable injury from a motor vehicle accident. Kilburn died from oxycodone toxicity a little over a year after an on-the-job accident. His surviving spouse sought workers’ compensation death benefits, and the trial court concluded that the death was compensable. The Supreme Court unanimously opined, however, that a subsequent injury is not compensable if it is the result of an independent intervening cause, such as the employee’s own conduct.

Tennessee Supreme Court Upholds Warrantless Entry

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Apr 7, 2017
The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that police officers’ warrantless entry onto a defendant’s property, despite “no trespassing” signs, was constitutionally permissible. In the majority opinion, Chief Justice Jeffrey Bivins opined, the Court determined that the defendant “failed to demonstrate that he had a reasonable expectation that ordinary citizens would not occasionally enter his property by walking or driving up his driveway and approaching his front door to talk with him ‘for all the many reasons that people knock on front doors.’” Justice Sharon Lee dissented, concluding police had no right to ignore the signs without a warrant.

Supreme Court: Contractors Not Liable to Homeowners After Fire

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Apr 5, 2017
A general contractor and two subcontractors are not liable to the homeowners after a fire destroyed their partially completed home, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled. The court agreed with the trial court’s dismissal of the case based on insufficient evidence as to the cause of the fire. The cause of the 2012 blaze was unknown but was found to have started on the back deck of the house, making it accessible to the public and vulnerable to a number of potential fire starters such as arson, improperly discarded cigarette butts, electrical issues and more.

Court Overrules State v. Jacumin on Sufficiency of Affidavit to Issue Search Warrant

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Apr 5, 2017
The Tennessee Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a 2012 search warrant in the case of Jerry Lewis Tuttle, overruling State v. Jacumin and adopting the totality-of-the-circumstances approach for determining whether an affidavit sufficiently establishes probable cause for issuance of a search warrant. Tuttle had moved to suppress evidence seized from the search, but the trial court denied the motion and admitted the evidence at trial. The Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the decision, leading to the state's appeal to the Supreme Court. Nashville defense attorney David Raybin was critical of the ruling, saying "This decision is another instance where the Court is eliminating independent Tennessee Constitutional oversight over police searches."

Business Court Pilot Project Moves to Phase 2

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Apr 5, 2017
The Tennessee Supreme Court is launching Phase 2 of the Tennessee Business Court Docket Pilot Project, following the success of the initial phase of the program, which began in 2015. Since its inception, nearly 90 business cases have been transferred to the docket. “In addition to assisting businesses by providing a specialized docket to address complex business disputes, it also helps cases involving citizens of our states by speeding up other dockets,” Chief Justice Jeffrey Bivins says of the program. Tennessee is one of 29 states with a specialized court for complex business issues.

Justice Clark, Kirby Speak at Women’s Empowerment Conference

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Apr 4, 2017
The Tennessee Lawyers’ Association for Women (TLAW) hosted a Women’s Empowerment Conference in Nashville at the offices of Waller Lansden Dortch and Davis. Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Cornelia Clark opened the conference on Friday by promoting the various events surrounding HELP4TNDAY, and Justice Holly Kirby closed the conference. Gwen K. Young of the Wilson Center’s Women in Public Service Project was keynote speaker.

Supreme Court Upholds Lethal Injection Protocols

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Mar 29, 2017
The Tennessee Supreme Court today upheld state lethal injection protocols in a unanimous opinion, potentially allowing executions to resume, the Tennessean reports. Chief Justice Jeffrey Bivins wrote the opinion, in which the court states that the more than 30 condemned inmates bringing the case failed to show that current protocols violate constitutional provisions against cruel and unusual punishment. 
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