Kevin Hunter Sharp

ProductiveMD, LLC, a provider of cardiopulmonary exercise testing services, sued 4UMD, LLC and several individuals, alleging they conspired to misappropriate its confidential information, trade secrets, client lists, and copyrighted materials to launch a competing business. The defendants moved for judgment on the pleadings on all claims except copyright infringement and limited portions of the unfair competition and Lanham Act claims. The court granted the motion in part, dismissing the civil conspiracy count entirely and narrowing the breach of loyalty and unfair competition claims insofar as they relied on trade secret misappropriation, while denying dismissal of the remaining claims under the Tennessee Uniform Trade Secrets Act, Lanham Act, Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, and intentional interference with business relations. The rulings rested on the Rule 12(c) standard, accepting the amended complaint's allegations as true and assessing whether they plausibly stated each cause of action.

business & regulatorytorts & liability

This case involved Richard Jones, a 56-year-old employee hired as Assistant Logistics Manager at a VA medical center subject to a one-year probationary period, who sued the Secretary of Veterans Affairs alleging age discrimination after his termination at the end of that period. Jones pointed to comments by his initial supervisor about not wanting to hire someone who "just came here to retire" and about needing to "get rid of these old farts," but the court granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment and dismissed the case. The court reasoned that Jones failed to establish a prima facie case of discrimination because the ultimate decision-maker had independent, non-discriminatory reasons for termination based on ongoing performance concerns, including lack of familiarity with operations and failure to address overtime issues, that persisted after the initial supervisor departed. The court further found no evidence that the initial supervisor's alleged bias had decisive influence over the termination decision, and the employer had articulated legitimate performance-based justifications that Jones did not show were pretextual.

labor & employmentcivil rights

In this case, Renasant Bank sued Eric Ericson to recover unpaid principal and interest on a $4 million construction loan for a Florida home, governed by Florida law, while the Ericsons asserted counterclaims arising from the loan's administration, including issues with a third-party construction manager and a participating bank. Renasant filed motions for partial summary judgment, contending that waiver and release language in subsequent loan modifications barred the counterclaims. The court examined factual disputes over whether the waivers were included by mutual mistake, the scope of the releases under Florida precedent, and whether certain counterclaims could proceed despite the waivers, denying summary judgment where genuine issues of material fact remained regarding enforceability and conduct after the modifications.

business & regulatoryproceduretorts & liability

This case arose from a U.S. citizen's multiple detentions under an ICE hold after local officers in Nashville entered a 287(g) memorandum of agreement with federal immigration authorities allowing them to perform certain enforcement functions. The plaintiff originally sued in state court alleging violations of the city charter and state constitutional and common-law rights, but the case was removed to federal court after the trial court deemed the United States an indispensable party. The district court granted the plaintiffs' motion for leave to file a third amended complaint that narrowed the claims and focused on declaratory and injunctive relief against the local government. Because the amended pleading became the operative complaint, the court denied as moot the pending motions to dismiss filed by the local and federal defendants as well as the plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction. The ruling rested on the principle that new motions addressing the revised allegations could be filed if appropriate.

immigrationcivil rightsfederal powerprocedure