News
October 8, 2015
The Tennessee Supreme Court has determined that the Tennessee Health Care Liability Act (the Act) applies to all claims relating to the delivery of health care services by covered health care providers. As a result, the Supreme Court dismissed the claims of Nashville-area parents against a licensed…
October 2, 2015
In a unanimous opinion, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled today that the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance must refund more than $16 million in taxes paid by five groups of out-of-state insurance companies.Tennessee, like every other state except Hawaii, has adopted a retaliatory tax…
October 2, 2015
The Tennessee Supreme Court has selected former Circuit Court Judge William Acree to serve as senior judge and preside over cases across the state.Judge Acree, who is from the 27th Judicial District in far northwest Tennessee, replaces Senior Judge Jon Kerry Blackwood, who retired.“We are…
October 1, 2015
The Tennessee Supreme Court heard oral arguments in front of more than a thousand Middle Tennessee high school and college students at Cumberland University in Lebanon as part of SCALES – Supreme Court Advancing Legal Education for Students.Students prepared for the event by studying the cases in…
September 24, 2015
The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear two civil cases, two Board of Professional Responsibility cases and one death penalty case when it sits for oral arguments in Nashville October 1.State v. Howard Hawk Willis –This death penalty case comes to the Supreme Court on a direct appeal. The Supreme…
September 23, 2015
Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Holly Kirby spoke to students at St. Mary's Episcopal School in Memphis last week as part of their Constitution Day celebration. The students sang the Preamble of the Constitution Song from Schoolhouse Rock. Constitution Day is celebrated September 17th and…
September 22, 2015
The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in three criminal cases in front of more than a thousand Middle Tennessee high school and college students when it brings court to Cumberland University in Lebanon September 30.The program is called SCALES – Supreme Court Advancing Legal…
September 18, 2015
The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that claims against the City of Clarksville did not fall under any exceptions to the legal deadlines for filing a lawsuit and have dismissed the complaint against the City.On Christmas Eve in 2009, a tree on State of Tennessee property fell on Richard Moreno’s…
September 18, 2015
More than 200 court clerks offices across the state participated in the first Purple Out Day Friday, September 18th by wearing purple to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s and related dementias as well as raise funds to support the work of Alzheimer’s Tennessee.
Pictured here are the appellate…
September 16, 2015
The Tennessee Supreme Court has an aggressive agenda for the next year with the goals of improving the service the judiciary provides to attorneys and adapting to better meet the needs of litigants.Chief Justice Sharon Lee outlined plans for the next year while speaking at the Knoxville Bar…
September 10, 2015
The Tennessee Supreme Court has upheld the death penalty for the man who kidnapped, sexually abused, and murdered a woman in west Tennessee in 2010.Rickey Alvis Bell, Jr. appealed his conviction and sentence after a trial court found him guilty of especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated sexual…
September 9, 2015
The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments is now accepting applications for the Supreme Court vacancy created by Justice Gary R. Wade’s retirement September 8.Any interested applicant must be a licensed attorney who is at least 35 years of age, a resident of the state for five years, and a…
September 2, 2015
The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in six cases over two days in Knoxville next week.State v. William Whitlow Davis, Jr. –Knoxville attorney William Whitlow Davis, Jr. pled guilty to driving under the influence in Knox County, but reserved for appellate court review the question…
August 26, 2015
A plaintiff does not have the right to a jury trial for a claim filed in circuit court under the Tennessee Public Protection Act (TPPA), according to a Tennessee Supreme Court opinion filed today. The Court also determined that the Governmental Tort Liability Act does not apply to retaliatory…
August 21, 2015
The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that a job applicant does not have a claim against a prospective employer when the employer fails to hire the person because she previously filed a workers’ compensation claim.Beginning in 1998, Kighwaunda Yardley worked as a housekeeping aide at the University…
August 21, 2015
Justice Sharon Lee will continue to serve as Chief Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court. The members of the Court unanimously re-elected her to a one-year term. Chief Justice Lee has been a member of the Tennessee Supreme Court since 2008 and Chief Justice since September of last year.During the…
July 31, 2015
The Tennessee Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of a Memphis man for rape of a child, ruling that a prosecution error in the trial did not deprive the defendant of his constitutional right to a unanimous jury verdict.Courtney Knowles was found guilty of raping the daughter of his half-sister/…
July 31, 2015
The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that a family in Loudon County will maintain ownership of 58 acres of farmland by virtue of a legal principle called “title by prescription,” which permits a person to establish title to land through possession and the passage of time.In 1918, N.B. Bailey and…
July 30, 2015
Chief Justice Sharon G. Lee said the Tennessee Supreme Court will continue to serve at the same level of operation while the executive and legislative branches work out the details of appointing and confirming a replacement for retiring Justice Gary R. Wade.“There have been many occasions with…
July 27, 2015
Justice Gary R. Wade will be the next dean of the Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law after he retires from the Tennessee Supreme Court in September.Justice Wade was introduced to the faculty and staff of the law school earlier today while they were attending a conference at a…