Former Knox County Juvenile Court Magistrate Robin Gunn has filed a federal lawsuit alleging she was illegally discriminated against and fired for opposing unconstitutional practices in the juvenile court system. Gunn, the only Black member of the county judiciary, alleges Judge Timothy Irwin and Family Services Supervisor Stacey Turpin engineered her termination after she objected to policies she claims violated due process and parental rights, and after a dispute over handling a custody case that led to an endangered child alert. Knox News reports that the suit contends her race played a role in how her actions were judged, and that she faced retaliation including reprimands, surveillance and exclusion before being fired on Sept. 16, 2024.

Phillip Young, a partner in the Nashville-based Thompson Burton law firm, has been appointed receiver for Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey amid a lawsuit alleging more than $100 million in loan defaults to Farm Credit Mid-America. According to the Nashville Post, U.S. District Judge Charles Atchley ordered the receivership, citing concerns about the company’s solvency and loan security, though Uncle Nearest’s operations will continue as usual. Company owners supported the appointment saying the move is intended to stabilize and strengthen the business. But they also blamed a former financial officer for fraudulent activity that contributed to the dispute.

The American Bar Association (ABA) has issued a public alert regarding a sharp increase in the number of individuals fraudulently posing as immigration attorneys, often falsely stating they work for reputable legal services organizations, including the ABA, or that they have special relationships with government officials. The alert comes as the ABA says it has been contacted about immigration practitioners claiming to be legally qualified to provide immigration representation despite lacking any credentials or authority. With improvements in technology, the scams may be more difficult to discern as false, the group says. Fraudsters are using ABA branding and office addresses to trade on the ABA’s reputation, often charging thousands of dollars for services that are never provided, said Adonia R. Simpson, deputy director for policy and pro bono at the ABA Commission on Immigration. Read more in a press release.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Cullen on Tuesday dismissed the Trump administration’s lawsuit against all 15 federal judges in Maryland over a standing order that briefly delays deportations for migrants who file legal challenges. Cullen called the lawsuit an improper and confrontational attack on the judiciary and criticized the impugning of judges as “unprecedented and unfortunate.” He ruled that the dispute was a political clash between branches of government and said the administration’s proper recourse is to appeal the order, not sue the entire bench. The Hill has the story.

A three-judge panel in Gibson County — comprised of Chancellor Michael Mansfield of Trenton, Judge Wyatt Burk of Shelbyville and Judge Lisa Rice of Elizabethton — ruled that Tennessee’s laws against carrying weapons “with the intent to go armed” and in state parks are unconstitutional, finding they violate both the U.S. and state constitutions. The Tennessee Lookout reports that the lawsuit, filed by Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners Foundation and several individuals, argued the statutes criminalize lawful gun carrying, effectively creating a “gun-free” zone statewide. While the panel declared the laws void, it said it did not have authority to impose an injunction, leaving enforcement in limbo. Rep. Chris Todd, R-Jackson, praised the decision but said he asked Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti to appeal the ruling for clarity on the enforcement issue. Democrats, including Sen. London Lamar of Memphis, warned the decision will worsen gun violence and hinder law enforcement’s ability to intervene before crimes occur.

TBA's "Raising the Bar" program will be held Nov. 19 at Baker Donelson in Nashville. Breakfast will begin at 9:15 a.m. with programming from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This CLE will address the age-old concept of "the grass is greener on the other side," challenging attendees to think instead that "the grass is greener where you water it." The program will encourage participants to live their best life as a lawyer by re-focusing their energy. Speakers will include Meera Ballal, Heidi Barcus, Rebecca Blair, Sherie Edwards, Psonya Hackett and Rachel Lawson. A networking reception will follow from 4:30 to 6 p.m. All times CST. Stay tuned for updates on this annual favorite produced by the Women in the Profession Committee.

Here’s the late summer 2025 newsletter from TBA’s Labor & Employment Section. We want to thank our writers — Doug Hamill, Rick Bennett, Jay A. Ebelhar, Jason Ensley, Bethany Westcott Wilson and Bruce E. Buchanan — for their excellent articles. In this issue you will find the following submissions:

1. The Tennessee Human Rights Commission Has Been Dissolved; Attorney General’s Office Now Assumes Oversight of THRA and TDA Claims
2. Supreme Court Rejects 6th Circuit’s Higher Standard for “Majority-Group” Title VII Discrimination Claims: Concurrence Casts a Shadow over DEI Programs and Encourages Courts to Discard McDonnell-Douglas Burden-Shifting Analysis
3. School Leader’s Claims Perish Due to 'Ministerial Exception'
4. No Independent Recollection: Kean Reminds Everyone Contemporaneous Documentation is Still King
5. Are Your Employer Clients Ready for an ICE Encounter?

We are always looking for volunteer attorneys to write articles. If you have an article or an idea for an article, please email section coordinator Chelsea Bennett at cbennett@tnbar.org. 

-Maha Ayesh, Doug Hamill & Jeb Gerth

CLAY, Circuit Judge. Petitioner Naysha Y. Oquendo appeals from an order of the United States Tax Court dismissing for lack of jurisdiction her petition for redetermination of a tax deficiency pursuant to Internal Revenue Code (“I.R.C.”) § 6213(a). Oquendo petitioned the tax court for a redetermination approximately five months after the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) mailed her a notice of deficiency. Oquendo argues that the tax court erred by treating § 6213(a)’s ninety-day petition-filing deadline as a jurisdictional requirement and not exercising its equitable authority to excuse her noncompliance with the deadline. For the reasons set forth below, we REVERSE the judgment of the tax court and REMAND for consideration of Oquendo’s entitlement to equitable tolling.

READLER, Circuit Judge. Regrettably, student C.M. suffered racial harassment by her peers while she attended public school in Michigan. She claims that her school failed to adequately respond to her complaints, in violation of federal and state law. The district court disagreed, and so do we. We affirm.

MURPHY, Circuit Judge. The Bankruptcy Code gives a bankrupt company’s creditors a greater chance than its equity holders of recovering from the estate. So when a company goes bankrupt, equity holders sometimes claim that they advanced money to the company as a loan. But bankruptcy courts have the power to “recharacterize” this alleged loan as a lower-priority infusion of equity. In this case, a bankruptcy court refused to recharacterize a loan as an equity contribution when a businessman arranged for one of his family-owned companies to transfer money to another. Tragically, this man died before the trial over whether to recharacterize the loan. And the court excluded his deposition testimony from that trial because the opposing side lacked the opportunity to cross-examine him. Yet the court committed a critical legal error when making this evidentiary ruling. We thus must reverse and remand for further proceedings.