In granting appellee’s motion to amend her petition over appellant’s objection, the trial court did not consider any of the factors relevant to a trial court’s determination of whether to grant a motion to amend. In the absence of any explanation in the trial court’s order concerning the basis for its decision, we are unable to conduct a meaningful review of whether the trial court erred in granting appellee’s motion to amend. Accordingly, we vacate the trial court’s order granting appellee leave to amend her petition and pretermit the remaining issues on appeal.

The Estes Kefauver Federal Building and Annex in downtown Nashville has been approved for sale by the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) after a report recommended closure of the aging office building. The Tennessean reports that the building is one of 11 federal properties across the U.S. recommended for closure by the Public Buildings Reform Board. The building currently houses the Nashville offices of the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Veterans Affairs, though the building is only about 66% leased. The Annex is about 77% leased. The building served as Nashville's federal courthouse until the Fred D. Thompson U.S. Courthouse opened in 2022 on Church Street.

COLE, Circuit Judge. An administrative law judge denied Jaime Norris’s application for social security disability benefits and supplemental security income after finding that Norris could perform a significant number of jobs in the national economy. The district court agreed, concluding that substantial evidence supported the decision. We affirm.

Chattanooga attorney Patrick Bryant Hawley reached a plea deal in connection with a sex crimes case involving a 14-year-old Pennsylvania girl and is expected to register as a sex offender, reports the Chattanooga Times Free Press. The charge carries a minimum sentence of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison. Prosecutors dismissed six other criminal counts involving animal crushing, coercion, enticement and the receipt, possession and distribution of child pornography. Hawley was temporarily suspended from the practice of law in November 2024.

The petitioner, Leavy L. Johnson, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, arguing the post-conviction court erred in finding he received the effective assistance of counsel. Following our review, we affirm the denial of the petition.

A three-judge panel was convened in this case to determine the constitutionality of 2023 Tennessee Public Chapter 21. While the case was pending, the trial court temporarily stayed implementation of subsection 1(b) of the legislation, the result of which was that the deadlines contained therein were rendered moot. In considering competing summary judgment motions, the trial court unanimously ruled that subsection 1(a) of the act was not also moot. In a divided decision, however, the trial court concluded that the legislation violated two provisions of the Tennessee Constitution: the home rule amendment and a clause exempting metropolitan governments from a twenty-five-member cap on county legislative bodies. Both parties appeal. We affirm the trial court’s ruling that subsection 1(a) is not moot. We reverse, however, its conclusion that the statute is barred by either constitutional provision at issue.

A self-represented defendant moved to recuse the trial judge. This is an accelerated interlocutory appeal filed after the trial court’s denial of the motion. We dismiss the appeal because the defendant failed to comply with Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 10B.

The Trial Court Vacancy Commission is currently accepting applications to fill a vacancy in the 20th Judicial District for a criminal court judge following the retirement of Judge Cheryl A. Blackburn on May 31. Applicants must be licensed to practice law in Tennessee, be at least 30 years old, have been a state resident for at least five years and reside in the judicial district. Public hearings for the position will be held July 31 at 9 a.m. CDT at the Cordell Hull Building, Senate Hearing Room 1, 425 Rep. John Lewis Way N., Nashville 37243. Applications must be received by the commission by June 27 at noon CDT. For more information, contact Assistant General Counsel John Jefferson.

This appeal arises from a verified claim against an estate seeking the repayment of a purported loan made to the decedent by his mother. The decedent’s surviving girlfriend, as executrix of the estate, claimed the funds provided to the decedent by his mother were a gift as opposed to a loan. Following a bench trial, the trial court concluded that the funds were a loan and entered an order in favor of the mother. The estate timely appeals to this Court. Discerning no error, we affirm.

The Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance (TDCI) and the Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office (SFMO) on Monday announced that Tennessee fire departments are beginning to transition to the National Emergency Response Information System (NERIS) — a secure, cloud-based platform built to modernize how emergency incidents are reported and analyzed. NERIS is replacing the 40-year-old National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) in order to provide local agencies with timely data tools, location-based analytics and flexible options for incident reporting. NFIRS will be formally decommissioned on Jan. 1, 2026. Tennessee is part of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region 4, which also includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina. Departments across the region are onboarding NERIS as part of a phased national rollout. Read more in a press release from the state fire marshal.