A mother appeals a juvenile court’s decision to terminate her parental rights to her child based on three statutory grounds. She also challenges the juvenile court’s finding by clear and convincing evidence that termination of her parental rights was in the best interests of the child. Discerning no error, we affirm.

In this case, the trial court issued both a compensation order and a subsequent order amending its compensation order in part. After the latter of those orders was issued, the employer filed a notice of appeal, asserting the trial court erred in accepting the opinion of one physician over that of another and in granting certain disability and medical benefits. The employee then filed a motion to dismiss the appeal, arguing the employer’s notice of appeal was untimely as to the issues addressed in the court’s original compensation order. Upon consideration of the record as a whole and arguments of counsel, we deny the employee’s motion to dismiss the appeal, affirm the trial court’s orders, and certify the amended compensation order as final.

The former chief administrative officer (CAO) of the Shelby County General Sessions Court Clerk's office has sued General Sessions Court Clerk Tami Sawyer, alleging Sawyer fired him as retribution for reporting an alleged misappropriation of nearly $6,000. According to the lawsuit, former CAO Jeffrey Walker was told to sign off on $5,801 in seemingly personal expenses made on a county government procurement card. According to the Commercial Appeal, he later reported the spending to the county ethics commission and Sawyer allegedly became hostile, pressured him to resign and later terminated him. Walker alleges he was locked out of his computer, excluded from meetings and ostracized before being fired following medical leave. He also is suing the county for failing to address his complaints about Sawyer. The suit seeks reinstatement, $1 million in damages and attorney’s fees. Sawyer’s office did not comment according to the paper.

After nearly a month in the hospital, an inmate at the Shelby County women’s jail, known as Jail East, has died, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed. Tiffany Dukes was taken to Regional One Hospital on Oct. 21 and died there Monday morning, the Commercial Appeal reports. The sheriff’s office said Dukes had spent five days in the hospital in early October but did not give a reason for her hospitalization. Dukes was booked Sept. 17 and charged with five counts of identity theft, theft of property and financial exploitation of an elderly or vulnerable person. The sheriff’s office is investigating her death, which is the latest in a series of in-custody deaths at county jails.

Members of the Sackler family who own OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma must pay billions of dollars to settle a flood of lawsuits over the harms of opioids according to a new deal approved by a bankruptcy judge on Tuesday, Action News 5 reports. The Sacklers must contribute up to $7 billion over 15 years with most of the money going to government entities to fight the opioid crisis. Thousands of victims could be paid thousands of dollars each, with some distributions beginning next year for people who had OxyContin prescriptions or their survivors. The agreement replaces one the U.S. Supreme Court rejected last year because it would have shielded Sackler family members from future lawsuits. The new agreement allows entities that do not opt into the settlement to still sue. The deal is among the largest in a series of opioid settlements brought by state and local governments against drugmakers, wholesalers and pharmacies, the station reports.

President Donald Trump’s administration said Friday it is formally withdrawing a plan proposed by his predecessor that would have required airlines to pay passengers cash compensation when U.S. flight disruptions are caused by carriers. In 2024, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) under then-President Joe Biden sought public comment on rules requiring airlines to compensate travelers for domestic delays of at least three hours. DOT signaled in September that it planned to abandon the proposal and said Friday the rules would create “unnecessary regulatory burdens,” Reuters reports. Last month, 18 senators urged the Trump administration to keep the plan, calling it a “common-sense proposal.” DOT said dropping the effort would “allow airlines to compete on the services and compensation they provide to passengers rather than imposing new minimum requirements.”

The 2025 class of the TBA Public Service Academy met last week at the Nashville office of Adams & Reese. Participants heard from a range of speakers on topics such as building a campaign team, fundraising, identifying a message, and what it‘s like to run, win and serve. The program was moderated by Berkley Schwarz, principal with Pier Strategies and a TBA lobbyist. Speakers included Franklin lawyer Sean Aiello, who serves on the Williamson County Commission; Brenda Gadd, who serves on the Metro Nashville Council; John Rowley, founder of Counterpoint Messaging; Ward Baker, founder and president of Baker Group Strategies; Kim Kaegi, founder and principal with Kaegi Resources; and Nadira Freeman with Axis Strategies. The academy is a nonpartisan training program that provides attorneys with the tools to run for local public offices, such as school board, city council and county commission. See photos from the program.

The TBA will hold its second annual Conference on Artificial Intelligence and the Law (TCAIL2) on Dec. 12 in Nashville, offering a full day of programming focused on the rapidly evolving intersection of AI and legal practice. The conference will run from 8:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. CST and provide up to six dual hours of CLE credit. Sessions will feature live demonstrations of leading AI tools, guidance on navigating ethical and regulatory risks, and strategies for handling AI-generated evidence in court. Speakers include A.J. Bahou, Maura Grossman, Lucian Pera, Neal Pinkston, William Ramsey and Oliver Roberts. For more information and to register visit the TBA website.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has announced that the state joined a multistate settlement with Greystar Management Services, the nation’s largest property management company, over allegations that it participated in an algorithmic pricing scheme that artificially increased rents. According to a release, a bipartisan coalition of states investigated Greystar for sharing sensitive rental supply and pricing data with competitors through RealPage revenue management software, which officials say inflated prices and reduced competition in the multi-family housing market. Greystar, which manages nearly 950,000 units nationwide and more than 6,000 in Tennessee, reached a non-monetary settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in August. Under a proposed consent decree, the company would stop using anticompetitive pricing algorithms, stop sharing competitively sensitive information, avoid RealPage-hosted meetings of competing landlords, accept a court-appointed monitor under certain conditions, and cooperate with states’ ongoing claims against RealPage.

TBA's Administrative Law Section is hosting its annual forum virtually on Dec. 11 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CST. This year's program includes a discussion about warrantless searches by administrative agents, an ethics update and more. Speakers include Laura Chastain, Chief Administrative Judge Phillip Hilliard, Administrative Judge Mary Collier, Bill Penny and Jerry Taylor. Register now!