A snappy, aspirationally weekly newsletter from the lawyers at Horwitz Law, PLLC summarizing the week’s decisions from the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
February 22–March 7, 2025 After obtaining a Grandparent Visitation Order over Single Father’s objections, Grandparents file 23-count criminal contempt petition against Single Father, seek to have him jailed for 230 days based on asserted violations of the Grandparent Visitation Order. After a bench trial, former
"The majority of the counts of criminal contempt" on which a Williamson County trial court judge convicted must be reversed, the Tennessee Court of Appeals has ruled. The Tennessee Court of Appeals also ordered that "we vacate the sentences imposed by the trial court
January 25–February 21, 2025 Plaintiff sues his Former Attorney for legal malpractice. In response to Former Attorney’s motion for summary judgment (which had been delayed and continued already), Plaintiff’s Current Attorney commits much clearer legal malpractice, fails to timely respond to Former Attorney’s motion
Per a January 24, 2025 order entered by Tennessee Twelfth Circuit Court Judge Justin C. Angel, a “Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation” (a SLAPP-suit) filed by Thunder Air, Inc. against two citizen critics has ended with a record-setting attorney's fee award of $211,345.40. The order concludes a
January 11–24, 2025 Probate court for Shelby County (one of Tennessee’s two most reliably reversed judicial districts) enters a surprise, unexplained, sua sponte order dismissing a conservatorship action. Tennessee Court of Appeals: The trial court’s order is inexplicable, so even though a trial court speaks through its
December 28, 2024–January 10, 2025 After receiving an anonymous report of sexual assault that the anonymous reporter alleged was perpetrated by Pastor, the Southern Baptist Convention contacts Pastor’s employer both orally and in writing. Orally, an employee of the Southern Baptist Convention suggests that
December 21–December 27, 2024 Plaintiff seeks a declaration that provisions of her settlement agreement with Fellowship Bible Church of Williamson County that have the purpose or effect of concealing the details relating to a claim of child sexual abuse are unenforceable under Tenn. Code
Williamson County Chancery Court Judge Deanna Johnson's order dismissing Horwitz Law, PLLC client Melissa Salmon's complaint against Fellowship Bible Church of Williamson County must be reversed, the Tennessee Court of Appeals has ruled. The case arose out of an important new law—Tennessee Code Annotated
December 7–December 20, 2024 Tennessee inmate files declaratory judgment action based on the Tennessee Constitution’s safe prisons clause, noting that he has been attacked once already, remains in danger, that the private prison operator that runs the prison has agreed to transfer him elsewhere,
Hardeman County Chancery Court Judge William C. Cole's order dismissing Horwitz Law, PLLC client Benjamin Douglas's lawsuit against the Tennessee Department of Correction must be reversed, the Tennessee Court of Appeals has ruled. The lawsuit seeks injunctive and declaratory relief based on the safe
