Lawsuit challenges TN law requiring barbers to have high school diploma
Press release from Beacon Center of Tennessee
NASHVILLE – The Beacon Center recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of aspiring Memphis barber Elias Zarate based on the unconstitutional law that requires barbers to have a high school degree as a prerequisite to getting a barber’s license. The Beacon Center has filed suit against the Tennessee Board of Cosmetology and Barbers Examiners and its members in order to eliminate this unfair regulation.
TN whistleblowers credited in $30M settlement of federal fraud complaint against nursing home chain
A nursing home chain with more than two dozen facilities in Tennessee has settled a $230 million Medicare fraud complaint with an agreement to pay a $30 million settlement, reports WPLN. Two women who worked at one of the facilities in Columbia are credited as key whistleblowers and will get $6 million.
Judge rules Cohen opponent can run in Democratic primary, contrary to state party action
Shelby County Chancellor Walter Evans has ruled that M. LaTroy Alexandria-Williams can run as a Democrat against U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen in the August primary, reports the Commercial Appeal.
TN Court of Appeals rejects lawsuit brought by same-sex marriage opponents
The state Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit brought by opponents of same-sex marriage with David Fowler, a former state senator and current chairman of the Family Action Council of Tennessee, acting as attorney for the plaintiffs.
Open government group, newspaper ask judge to unseal state’s opioid lawsuit against Purdue Pharma
Statement from Tennessee Coalition for Open Government
We have filed, along with Jack McElroy, editor of the Knoxville News Sentinel, a motion to intervene in the state’s opioid lawsuit against Purdue Pharma to oppose and object to any order restricting public access to records, exhibits, testimony, pleadings and other materials in the case.
Judge rules Memphis maneuver to remove Confederate statues was legal
Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle ruled Wednesday that the City of Memphis had a legal right to sell two city parks to a nonprofit organization that then removed Confederate monuments from the premises, reports the Commercial Appeal.
Slatery joins other AGs in lawsuit against manufacturer of OxyContin
Press release from attorney general’s office
Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III, along with a bipartisan group of Attorneys General, sued Purdue Pharma today for its unlawful marketing and promotion of OxyContin and other drugs and its role in causing and prolonging the opioid epidemic in Tennessee.
Judge’s rejection of TN refugee resettlement lawsuit appealed
The Thomas More Law Center, which is representing the state legislature in a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s resettling of refugees in Tennessee, is appealing a judge’s dismissal of the case. The Tennessean reports a formal notice of appeal to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was filed Thursday with approval of lawmakers involved in the matter.
Ohio law — similar to TN ‘defunding Planned Parenthood’ bill — voided by appeals court
A federal appeals court has ruled Ohio’s efforts to cut off Planned Parenthood from receiving funds for preventive health programs violate the organization’s First Amendment rights, according to the Washington Post. And the News Sentinel’s Jamie Satterfield observes the Ohio law is similar to one recently approved by the Tennessee legislature.
