Shortly after yet another favorable ruling in her long legal battle, Ginger Franklin has voluntarily dismissed her suit against Jeanan Stuart, the former public guardian for Davidson County.
In a one-page filing this week, Franklin's attorney, Michael G. Hoskins, gave notice that the suit was being dismissed "with prejudice."
When asked whether there was a settlement in the case, Hoskins replied, "No comment."
"This dismissal operates as an ajudication of this lawsuit upon the merits," the filing states.
Franklin did not respond to an email seeking her comment.
The attorney for Metro Nashville, which had also been named as a defendant in the case, said the parties already had agreed to dismiss claims against the government prior to the overall dismissal.
"I do not know whether there was a settlement," Jeff Campbell wrote in an email response to questions.
"I can say that Metro did not settle this case and is not contributing to one."
He did say that lawyers for the other parties, Stuart and Franklin, recently "indicated the suit would be dismissed soon."
"As is their right, they declined to tell me whether there was a settlement or its terms," Campbell concluded.
Emails to Stuart's lawyer, William B. Hubbard, drew no response.
The dismissal follows closely a ruling favorable to Franklin by Circuit Court Judge Hamilton Gayden, who turned back attempts by Stuart's attorney to have Metro government found liable, since Stuart had been appointed to her post by a vote of Metro Council.
The dismissal ends a legal battle that dates back to 2008 when Franklin was placed in a conservatorship without her knowledge after suffering a serious fall.
She has charged that she lost her home and all her belongings while Stuart had complete legal control of her finances and health care.
In the suit that has now ended, Franklin had charged that Stuart violated her fiduciary duties when, among other things, she allowed Franklin's car to be towed and auctioned off after it was abandoned in a parking garage.
Franklin also filed a separate suit in Sumner County against the group home where Stuart had placed her. That suit ended with a favorable ruling for Franklin.
Stuart stepped down from her post in 2013 on the same day that Probate Judge David "Randy" Kennedy announced he would no longer appoint her to any cases because of questions raised about her billing practices.
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