Husband and Wife both sought a divorce, with each attributing fault to the other. During the divorce process, Wife alleged to the police, the Department of Children’s Services, and Husband’s military employer that Husband had abused her and their child. Husband denied the allegations and responded with a petition to hold Wife in criminal contempt for making false allegations of abuse. The contempt petition and the military investigation into Wife’s claims remained open at the time of Wife’s deposition. Wife refused, allegedly based on these open matters, to answer questions at her deposition, pleading the Fifth Amendment. The deposition was relocated to the courthouse, where the trial court held an impromptu hearing on the matter. During the hearing, the judge informed Wife that her refusal to answer questions could result in her being held in civil contempt. However, instead of holding Wife in civil contempt, with no warning, the trial court struck Wife’s pleadings and entered a default judgment. Addressing Husband’s pleadings and testimony thereupon, the trial court thereafter entered a final order dividing the parties’ property and fashioning a parenting plan. Wife appealed, arguing, among other things, that the sanctions of striking her pleadings and issuing a default judgment were improper. Because we conclude that Wife had insufficient notice, we vacate the trial court’s sanctions order and remand the case.

New York City-based criminal defense firm Meister, Seelig & Schuster has joined with Nashville firm Hodde & Associates to open a Nashville office. Kimberly S. Hodde will join the national firm as a partner, co-chair of the White Collar & Criminal Defense Group, chair of the National Criminal Defense Practice and managing partner of the Nashville office. Hodde, a graduate of the Nashville School of Law, has more than three decades of experience representing individuals and business clients in complex federal and state criminal matters. The firm, previously known as Meister Seelig & Fein, says it plans to expand the Nashville office by upwards of a dozen attorneys over the next few years. Other offices are located in Connecticut, California and New Jersey. Read more in a press release from the firm. The Nashville office will remain at 40 Music Square E., Nashville, TN 37203. It can be contacted at 615-242-4200.

Memphis lawyer John T. “Tim” Edwards died Feb. 24 at the age of 77. A 1976 graduate of the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, Edwards built a legal practice handling complex litigation involving professional negligence, product liability, serious personal injury, civil rights and class action cases. He was a partner at Ballin, Ballin & Fishman and a member of the Board of Trial Advocates, the American Association for Justice, and multiple state bar associations. He was board-certified in civil trial advocacy and civil pre-trial practice advocacy. A family celebration will be held in the mountains of Montana. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.

The Tennessee Alliance for Black Lawyers (TABL) and the TBA Young Lawyers Division's (YLD) Diversity Committee will hold a networking mixer next week on April 30. The free event will run from 5:30-7:30 p.m. CDT at Burch Porter & Johnson, 130 N. Court Ave., Memphis 38103. Special thanks to the law firm for sponsoring this event. All are welcome but an RSVP is required by April 23. See a flyer for more information.

The city of Red Bank has called a special election on Aug. 6 to replace longtime Judge Johnny Houston, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. After 25 years on the bench, Houston stepped down from judicial duties due to a medical issue, according to a city spokesperson. The city has appointed attorney Bryan Hoss to serve as the active judge on a monthly basis. The special election will coincide with the federal, state and county elections on Aug. 6. Petitions to run for the seat must be filed by June 12 at noon EDT. Candidates must be at least 30 years old, a Tennessee licensed attorney in good standing and a resident of the city for at least a year.

The Tennessee Bar Association is accepting nominations through next week for its Fourth Estate Award, which honors courageous reporting on justice and the law. Nominees must be Tennessee-based journalists who have shown exemplary courage in exercising First Amendment rights in the promotion of public understanding of how the law and our legal system works, or how it should work, as demonstrated by a story or series of related stories published in 2025. Read more about the award in TBA's press release. Submit nominations for the Fourth Estate Award online by April 30. Access the submission form at the link above.

The law license of Shelby County attorney Michael Fearnley was transferred to disability inactive status on April 20. Fearnley may not practice law while on disability inactive status. He may return to the practice of law after reinstatement by the Tennessee Supreme Court by showing that his disability has been removed.

The federal government has purchased a 22,000-square-foot property on Georgia Avenue in downtown Chattanooga for $4.1 million. It was the last parcel needed to build a new federal courthouse on Vine Street, Local 3 News reports. Planners say that location offers the best schedule, cost, security, constructability and compliance. In February, the General Services Administration (GSA) announced it had settled on the Vine Street location.

The Tennessee General Assembly passed a bill last week to make confidential the addresses of candidates on nominating petitions for the offices of judge, chancellor, district attorney and public defender. The legislation, HB1659/SB1720, was sponsored by Sen. Ferrell Haile, R-Gallatin, and Rep. Jerome Moon, R-Maryville, who said its intent is to protect the candidates from potential harm or threats. The bill passed unanimously in the House on April 14 and received a near-unanimous vote in the Senate on April 6. The bill was transmitted to Gov. Bill Lee for his signature on April 17.

The U.S. Judicial Conference's Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules voted last Thursday to abandon a key part of a proposed rule governing the disclosure of who finances friend-of-the-court briefs. Reuters reports that committee members took the action after key judges expressed concern the measure could interfere with the privacy of advocacy groups. The panel previously had endorsed a rule requiring organizations that file amicus briefs to name donors who provide more than $100 for preparation of a brief if those individuals had joined the organization less than 12 months ⁠earlier. Opponents argued that requiring advocacy groups to disclose members’ names would violate their First Amendment rights. Current rules already require organizations to disclose ⁠support from nonmembers. The judiciary had been considering the rule change since 2019.