Lawyers representing Tennessee foster children have filed a motion in the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee, for an emergency preliminary injunction in a lawsuit against the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS), the Nashville Post reports. The legal team is urging the court to end alleged “inhumane conditions” in transitional housing. A Better Childhood, a New York-based nonprofit watchdog organization, filed the lawsuit last year. The nonprofit is being assisted by lawyers at Bass Berry & Sims, Willkie Farr & Gallagher and the Barbara McDowell Social Justice Center. The new motion outlines “inhumane and unconstitutional conditions,” including physical abuse, overcrowding, lack of showers and medical care based on a December 2025 state audit of DCS. The motion seeks to correct these conditions for youths living in transitional housing and seeks ongoing monitoring of the facilities.

The TBA Animal Law Section directory is a great place to find colleagues with a similar focus. The directory provides a list of section members with contact information and a list of any other sections or TBA groups to which they belong. This resource provides a great way to connect with like-minded lawyers and cross-reference attorneys well versed in other practice areas as well. View the section directory here.

The TBA Animal Law Forum 2026 will take place Oct. 9 at the Nashville Zoo. This annual favorite provides updates on trends and advancements in animal law and related practice areas. Participants can meet with other animal lovers and enjoy the fun the zoo offers. Zoo admission, breakfast, lunch and an animal meet and greet are included with the program. Topics and more information coming soon. Do not miss this event, you never know who is going to show up! Register now.

Recordings from the TBA’s 2025 Administrative Law Forum are now available on-demand as a 1-click CLE package. Programming features an ethics update from the Board of Professional Responsibility, a session delving into warrantless searches by administrative agents, and a discussion of practice tips in administrative hearings from Chief Administrative Judge Phillip Hilliard and Administrative Judge Mary Collier. Earn one dual and two general CLE credits with just one click.
 

Entries for the TBA Administrative Law Section's Annual Writing Competition for law students currently enrolled in a Tennessee law school are due April 30. The section hosts the competition to promote an interest in and understanding of administrative law in the state, and to strengthen the relationship among administrative law professors, students and practitioners in Tennessee. The winning submission will be published in the Administrative Law Section newsletter and the winner will be awarded $1,000. View the competition rules for more information.

It's been an amazing bar year, and it’s all because of our awesome members and your support, participation and belief in this work! Thank you for being here and for continuing to support the Administrative Law Section.

Our Administrative Law Forum took place in December and was well-attended. With distinguished guest speakers Laura Chastain, Jerry Taylor, Bill Penny, Administrative Judge Mary Collier and Chief Administrative Judge Phillip Hilliard, we were both engaged and entertained as we brought the year to a close. And now it’s already time for our annual writing competition! Do you know a law student who could really use $1,000? Please share our competition rules with them or remind any of the Tennessee law schools of this great opportunity for their students. The deadline for submissions is April 30.

If there’s an administrative law topic you’d like to see covered soon, or you want to submit an article to our TBA Administrative Law Connect newsletter, please reach out to me (sarah.booher@tn.gov) or Section Coordinator Brooke Leeton (bleeton@tnbar.org) with your ideas. We look forward to talking with you!

Sarah M. Booher

JANE B. STRANCH, Circuit Judge. Retired employees of the Kellogg Company and FedEx Corporation sued their respective employers and pension plans for violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Plaintiffs, each of whom are married participants in employee pension plans, alleged that their plans used outdated mortality data to calculate their benefits, which improperly decreased those benefits in violation of ERISA’s actuarial equivalence requirement. The district courts dismissed the actions on the ground that ERISA does not require pension plans to use particular mortality tables or actuarial assumptions when calculating benefits for married participants. We REVERSE and REMAND for further proceedings.

JANE B. STRANCH, Circuit Judge. Retired employees of the Kellogg Company and FedEx Corporation sued their respective employers and pension plans for violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Plaintiffs, each of whom are married participants in employee pension plans, alleged that their plans used outdated mortality data to calculate their benefits, which improperly decreased those benefits in violation of ERISA’s actuarial equivalence requirement. The district courts dismissed the actions on the ground that ERISA does not require pension plans to use particular mortality tables or actuarial assumptions when calculating benefits for married participants. We REVERSE and REMAND for further proceedings.

Defendant, Steve F. Mabe, Jr., appeals from his Smith County Criminal Court convictions for evading arrest, simple possession of a Schedule II controlled substance, possession of a Schedule II controlled substance with the intent to sell or deliver, and manufacture of a Schedule VI controlled substance, for which he received a total effective sentence of twenty-three years’ incarceration. Defendant contends that the trial court erred in denying his Motion to Suppress all evidence against him and that the indictment should have been dismissed based upon a violation of his right to a speedy trial. Following a thorough review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The Petitioner, Santory Alexander Johnson, appeals from the Hamilton County Criminal Court’s dismissal of his untimely petition for post-conviction relief. On appeal, the Petitioner argues that the post-conviction court erred by (1) finding he forfeited his right to counsel and requiring him to proceed pro se and (2) finding due process did not require the tolling of the statute of limitations. Discerning no error, we affirm.