Nearest Green Distillery in Shelbyville, maker of the popular Uncle Nearest whiskey, is facing a $108 million lawsuit from lender Farm Credit Mid-America over alleged loan defaults. The lender claims the company failed to repay over $102 million in principal, misused funds to purchase a $2 million Martha’s Vineyard home and overstated whiskey inventory by $21 million. According to the Tennessean, Uncle Nearest attributes the financial issues to fraud by a now-terminated former chief financial officer and argues that appointing a receiver is an excessive response. Despite the lawsuit, the company, which has grown rapidly since launching in 2019 and is now valued at $1.1 billion, says it has continued making significant loan payments and is working to resolve the default. The Nashville Post also reports on the lawsuit.

Defense attorney Juni Ganguli on Tuesday argued before the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals that the judge in Cleotha Abston's 2024 rape trial erred by allowing jurors to see a photo of a gun allegedly used in the crime, despite the victim’s vague description of it. According to the Daily Memphian, Ganguli claimed the gun’s admission and a witness’s reference to Abston’s later murder of Eliza Fletcher unfairly prejudiced the jury. Ganguli also criticized police for not preserving text messages between Abston and the rape victim, though judges pushed back noting Abston also had access to them. The state argued the evidence against Abston was overwhelming. Abston was sentenced to 80 years in prison for three charges related to the 2021 rape of Alicia Franklin.

Autopsy reports have confirmed that two Shelby County Jail inmates, who died earlier this year, suffered from medical complications. Darin Crawford, 57, died of pneumonia after being found unresponsive in his cell on Feb. 9, while Courtney Berry, 36, died of heart complications, including aortic dissection, on March 30 after complaining of chest pain. Both men had been in custody for less than a month. Their deaths are among at least seven at the jail in 2024 and 64 since 2019. The ongoing deaths and overcrowding have renewed calls for a new $1.3 billion criminal justice complex at the former Firestone plant in North Memphis. The Daily Memphian has the story.

Brown University's School of Public Health identified 579 nursing homes nationwide that are at risk of closure due to Medicaid cuts in the recently passed federal budget legislation. The bill reduces federal Medicaid spending by $1 trillion over the next decade. The Commercial Appeal reports that 12 of the nursing homes are in Tennessee. These facilities meet key risk criteria, including having over 85% of residents on Medicaid, occupancy rates below 80%, and low federal quality ratings. Tennessee’s TennCare program serves about 1.5 million residents, covering roughly 20% of the population and half of all children and births. The findings echo a separate University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study, which listed nine Tennessee rural hospitals among more than 300 nationwide endangered by the budget reduction.

Judge Robert Wedemeyer recently was elected presiding judge of the Criminal Court of Appeals, officially assuming the role on Aug. 1 from Judge Camille McMullen. Wedemeyer will be responsible for presiding at all meetings of the court and at trials, ruling on the admission or exclusion of evidence, serving as the spokesperson for all matters pending before the court, and writing or designating another judge to write majority opinions. “We just have an outstanding group of judges on our court,” he said. “It is a huge honor to be elected. To serve on this court 25 years and that’s part of it because usually we lean toward the senior most judge, if that judge is willing to serve and can do a good job. So, apparently these other 11 think I can do it okay so I will do my best.” Read more in a profile from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Judge Robert Lynn Echols Sr. died Aug. 2 at age 84. A 1964 graduate of the University of Tennessee School of Law (now Winston Law), Echols joined the Tennessee Army National Guard in 1966, embarking on a military career that spanned nearly four decades and eventually rising to the rank of brigadier general. After a brief time in Washington, D.C., he settled in Nashville and was a founding member of the Dearborn & Ewing law firm. He was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee in 1991, and served as chief judge from 1998 to 2005. Echols continued to serve the court as a senior judge until 2010. He later practiced law with Bass, Berry & Sims and Neal & Harwell until his retirement in 2019. Services were held Wednesday. Memorial contributions may be made to Abe's Garden Community, 115 Woodmont Blvd., Nashville, TN 37205.

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. 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.

A Bristol man was sentenced today to more than 24 years in federal prison for distributing fentanyl that led to a fatal overdose, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee announced in a press release. U.S. District Judge Clifton L. Corker handed down the 292-month sentence, followed by three years of supervised release. Whitaker pleaded guilty to distributing fentanyl-laced counterfeit Roxicodone pills that caused a person’s death in Sullivan County in 2023. He was arrested in April 2024 after fleeing a traffic stop and was found in possession of a large quantity of fentanyl pills, $13,754 in cash, and more than 130 firearms, including stolen weapons. The case was part of Operation Take Back America and involved several local, state and federal agencies.

The U.S. Supreme Court said Friday it will review the constitutionality of a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act in a case involving Louisiana’s congressional map, which was amended to add a second Black-majority district. The justices will consider whether using race to create such districts as a remedy for violations of the act conflicts with the Constitution’s equal protection clause, Reuters reports. The court previously heard arguments in the case in March. But in June, the justices declined to issue a ruling and indicated they would invite the parties to address additional questions. The decision is expected by June 2026. 

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Brentwood has announced her candidacy for Tennessee governor. Blackburn is the state's longest-serving Republican woman at the federal level. "I'm running for governor to ensure Tennessee is America's conservative leader for this generation and the next," she said, Knox News reports. The primary election to replace term-limited Gov. Bill Lee is Aug. 6, 2026. Blackburn will face U.S. Rep. John Rose, Republican of Cookeville, who announced his candidacy March 20. Memphis City Council member and attorney Jerri Green announced her candidacy in July for the Democratic primary.