Judge Rules Clerk Can Be Liable In Conservatorship Case

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A senior Davidson Circuit Court Judge has ruled that the county probate court clerk can be held liable for losses suffered by a conserved person whose assets were looted by a now disbarred attorney who had been appointed to oversee the victim's finances.
In a four-page decision issued this week Senior Judge Ben H. Cantrell denied motions for dismissal filed by Metro government and concluded that the case against the probate clerk can go forward.
Cantrell also concluded, however, that the government agency's liability will be limited to the amounts stolen by the now jailed conservator, John E. Clemmons, after March of 2012.
The case is one of two currently pending in the court system in the aftermath of Clemmons' guilty pleas on charges he stole over $1 million from four persons whose assets he had been assigned to protect. The 69-year-old disbarred Nashville, Tenn. attorney is serving an 18 year prison sentence.
Cantrell recently ruled in the other pending Clemmons case that Metro was not liable for assets stolen from the late William C. Link because the suit was filed after the statute of limitations had expired. His decision in that case is being appealed. Clemmons had served as both a conservator and estate administrator for Link and his disabled daughter.
In the case decided this week, Clemmons' successor conservator, Paul Gontarek, had argued that if the probate clerk had performed its duties, Clemmons would have been required to file annual reports with the court that would have exposed the thefts.
Metro lawyers, however, argued that a judgment already had been issued against Clemmons for the full amount of Griggs' losses and, therefore, no more could be recovered. According to court records, Clemmons admitted to stealing $157,050 from Griggs' assets.
Cantrell, however, disagreed.
"The undisputed facts do not support the defendant's (Metro's) argument," Cantrell wrote, adding that there had been no final judgment in the case against Clemmons and it was "not clear just what the court had awarded."
Virtually all known assets of the jailed lawyer have been depleted, records show.
As for the date from which Metro could be held liable, Cantrell set that date at March of 2012 rather than the March 2013 date argued by Metro lawyers. The 2012 date was when the first missed annual report was due.
"Any losses that occurred prior to that date cannot be attributed to the fault of the clerk's office," Cantrell wrote. "Metro is entitled to limit its exposure to any losses arising after March 2012."
Cantrell also concluded that claims against Metro in the case would not be limited to a single capped claim under the state law limiting governmental liability, the Tennessee Governmental Tort Liability Act.
The plaintiff, he wrote, will be entitled to "recover as many caps under the TGTLA as the proof shows he is entitled."
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Metro Ruling in Estate Case Being Appealed

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A notice of appeal has been filed in a suit seeking to force Metro government to repay the estate of a man whose assets were depleted by more than $500,000 through the admitted theft of a court appointed attorney.
The notice of appeal by Paul Gontarek was filed Friday in Davidson Circuit Court.
The appeal will challenge a ruling by Senior Judge Ben H. Cantrell who threw out the suit concluding that it was filed after the one year statute of limitations had expired. The suit sought to recover $515,907.19 from Metro government.
The suit is one of two stemming from actions by now jailed attorney John E. Clemmons, the 69-year-old disbarred Nashville lawyer now serving an 18 year prison sentence after admitting stealing over $1 million from estates and conservatorships he had been assigned to oversee.
In the Sept. 19 decision Cantrell concluded that the suit was filed well beyond the statute of limitations.
Gontarek and Paul Mason had argued that the one-year limit only applied to wrongful death suits filed against government agencies.
Cantrell, however, citing a state Supreme Court ruling, concluded that the limit was much broader and applied to the claims in the suit filed in behalf of the estate of William Link.
The suit had charged that the thefts from the estate would never have occurred if the Davidson Probate Court staff had done their jobs and enforced a requirement that Clemmons file an annual report detailing all transactions involving the estate assets. Clemmons was appointed the estate administrator in 2003 and filed a single accounting in 2004.
A second parallel case is still pending before Cantrell and it involves the conservatorship of Donald Griggs, which Clemmons also was appointed to oversee.
Clemmons admitted to stealing $157,050 from Griggs' assets.
Gontarek also sought to recover some of the stolen money from the insurance company that provided malpractice coverage for Clemmons. That claim, however, was short circuited by a recent federal court ruling.
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Judge Bars Claims on Clemmons' Insurance

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Victims of disbarred and jailed Nashville lawyer John E. Clemmons cannot recoup any of their $1 million in losses from the malpractice insurance policy maintained by the once prominent local attorney.
In an 11-page decision U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr ruled that the Hanover Insurance Co. has no obligation to defend or indemnify Clemmons who is currently serving an 18 year prison sentence for stealing well over $1 million from estates and conservatorships he was assigned to protect.
Describing Clemmons as "an estate lawyer who stole from his clients," Crenshaw rejected the arguments by Paul Gontarek, who was named to replace Clemmons in two cases after the former lawyer's misdeeds became public. 
Gontarek  was seeking to collect an estimated $300,000 for the estate of William Link and the conservatorship of Donald Griggs.
As Crenshaw noted, Clemmons was first named as the conservator of Link, then took on his estate as administrator and became the trustee of a special needs trust established for Link's disabled daughter.
The decision comes shortly after another court ruling set back attempts to recoup some of the lost money from Metro government. Last week Senior Judge Ben Cantrell ruled in a Davidson Circuit Court case that Metro was not liable even though probate court officials let Clemmons go for years without filing required annual accountings.
Gontarek had argued in that case that had the clerk's office done its job, the thefts would never have occurred or at least been uncovered much sooner.
In the federal case Crenshaw cited provisions in Clemmons' malpractice policy setting an exclusion for "committing any intentional , dishonest, criminal, malicious or fraudulent act or omission."
In addition he concluded that "without question Clemmons had a subjective and objective knowledge Hanover Insurance would not provide him coverage for stealing from his clients' estates."
The judge also rejected Gontarek's effort to collect on the Hanover policy claiming Clemmons was negligent by failing to obtain the required level on a bond filed in the cases.
Crenshaw found that claim was filed too late and did not meet the deadlines set in the policy.
"Clemmons knew the nature of the injury he had inflicted on his clients," Crenshaw concluded.
"The substantial cause of the loss to the estate was Clemmons's theft of funds."
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Judge Bars Estate Recovery From Metro

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A senior Nashville judge has dismissed a $515,907 claim against Metro Nashville government filed in behalf of the estate of a man whose assets were depleted by $771,009 thanks to the lawyer appointed to oversee his case.
In a three-page ruling Judge Ben H. Cantrell concluded that the claim filed in behalf of the estate of William Link had to be disallowed because it was not filed until long after a one-year statute of limitations had expired.
Cantrell concluded that the one-year limit did not only apply to wrongful death cases as the lawyers for Link had argued.
"The plaintiff's argument is appealing, especially in this case, but the court thinks the Supreme Court did not limit their decision to wrongful death cases," Cantrell wrote in the three page decision.
The Link estate was one of four cases in which now jailed and disbarred attorney John E. Clemmons stole over $1 million from estates and conservatorships he was overseeing. Clemmons, 69, is now serving an 18-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in all four cases.
Lawyers for Link had argued that if Davidson Probate Court officials had done their job  and required Clemmons to file mandatory annual accountings, the thefts would have been prevented. According to court filings Clemmons, who was appointed administrator in March of 2003, filed one annual accounting on Sept. 15, 2004.
Cantrell did not dispute that conclusion and also pointed out that court officials approved a series of fee requests submitted by Clemmons up through 2012 "despite the lack of accounting."
Paul Gontarek, who replaced Clemmons as the administrator, said Monday they were reviewing the ruling to determine what if any further action to take.
Cantrell has yet to rule in a similar case in which Gontarek is seeking to recover $157,050 from Metro for Donald Griggs who had his conservatorship overseen by Clemmons.  Arguments in the Griggs case paralleled those on the Link case.
In his ruling Cantrell concluded "that the claims against Metro in this case are barred by the one-year statute of limitations."
Gontarek, meanwhile, is pursuing a claim against Clemmons' malpractice insurance carrier, but lawyers for the company have asked a federal judge to bar any claim because the policy does not apply to criminal conduct.
Probate Judge David "Randy" Kennedy, who appointed Gontarek to replace Clemmons, recently approved fees and expenses for Gontarek and Patrick Mason totaling a little over $35,000. Mason was hired to pursue the claims against Metro.

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Thompson Estate Showdown On Hold?

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

The widow of former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson has asked a probate judge to cancel a scheduled hearing on her motion to dismiss the claims of two of the former presidential candidate's sons.
In a brief motion filed this week Jeri Thompson asked that her motion for summary judgment be removed from the docket for Sept. 29.
The motion is the latest development in the court battle over the one time presidential candidate's estate.
Thompson's two eldest sons have charged that Jeri Thompson made a last minute attempt to change her husband's estate plans at a time when he was not legally competent to authorize any changes.
Emails to Jeri Thompson's lawyer William T. Ramsey did not bring a response today.
Fred D. Thompson 2nd and Daniel L. Thompson, sons of Thompson and his first wife, leveled the charges after discovering a Nashville law firm had been working with Jeri Thompson in the weeks before Fred Thompson's death late last year on estate matters.
Details of the efforts were included in a billing statement filed by the Nashville firm of Waller Lansden Dortch and Davis in a $14,550 claim against the estate.
Jeri Thompson has disputed the law firm's claim, but a hearing on that matter also has been put on hold.
In another recent development the Waller firm has asked that the court block a subpoena of the firm's Thompson estate records.
Jeri Thompson,  the late television actor's second wife, has stated that the only change actually made in her husband's estate was inconsequential and involved adding a second secondary beneficiary to a life insurance policy.
According to a filing by her new attorneys, the life insurance policy named her as the primary beneficiary and it has already been cashed in.
Thompson, who died on Nov. 1, 2015, had two children with Jeri, but neither is mentioned in the decade-old will filed in his estate.
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Fees Approved in Former Clemmons Case

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Fees and expenses of a little more than $35,000 have been approved by Davidson Probate Judge David "Randy" Kennedy but efforts by lawyer to recoup money for victims of a now jailed and disbarred lawyer seem to have slowed to a crawl.
The fees for two lawyers assigned to recoup money stolen by John E. Clemmons were approved late last week. A little over $14,000 will go to Patrick Mason, a Memphis area attorney, and the balance will go to Nashville lawyer Paul Gontarek.
The fees were awarded in one of four cases Gontarek was assigned to take over after the 69-year-old Clemmons pled guilty to stealing more than $1 million from clients in Davidson and Rutherford counties. Clemmons is serving an 18-year prison sentence.
Following his appointment Gontarek filed suit against Metro government charging that had court officials done their job in monitoring Clemmons activities, the thefts would have been detected at a much earlier stage.
A hearing was held some four months ago before Senior Judge Ben Cantrell, but there has been no decision thus far on Metro's efforts to have the suit dismissed.
The fees approved by Kennedy come from the estate of William C. Link. Clemmons admitted to stealing $771,009 from Link's estate.
Metro is also being sued for $157,050 in a second case. Clemmons admitted to stealing that amount from Donald Griggs while the then attorney was overseeing his conservatorship.
The latest fee approval boosts the fees incurred in the Link and Griggs cases since Clemmons was removed to more than $100,000.
Gontarek reported to the probate court recently that he did recoup $375,000 from a bond Clemmons was required to maintain.
In addition to the suits against Metro, Gontarek has is pursuing a claim in federal court against Clemmons' malpractice insurance carrier.
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Lawyers Seek $36,611.53 In Clemmons' Cleanup Case

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Attorneys assigned to cleanup the financial wreckage left behind by jailed and disbarred Nashville attorney John E. Clemmons are seeking fees and expenses totaling another $36,661.53, according to recent filings in Davidson Probate Court.
The fee requests comes in just one of the four cases from which Clemmons, 68, now serving an 18-year prison sentence, has admitted stealing more than $1 million. If approved the latest request would boost total legal fees since Clemmons removal to more than $105,000.
In a lengthy and detailed filing Paul Gontarek is seeking payment of $21,816.50 for work done by himself and colleagues at the Nashville firm of Howard Mobley Hayes and Gontarek. An additional $14,795.03 is being requested by Patrick Mason, a Memphis area attorney also working on the case. Previously they were paid a total of $69,066.46.
Clemmons, who pleaded guilty to stealing $771,009 from the estate of William C. Link, also entered guilty pleas in the other cases, including one in Rutherford County.
When Clemmons' thefts were uncovered Davidson Probate Judge David "Randy" Kennedy removed him from the estate and conservatorship cases and named Gontarek to replace him.
In the recent filings Gontarek reported that thus far $375,000 has been recovered for the Link estate, that amount coming from a bond on Clemmons required by the court.
"Upon taking over as the successor administrator, the undersigned quickly learned that neither the estate nor the special needs trust (for Link's daughter) had any funds," Gontarek wrote.
"All actions taken  by the administrator were reasonable and necessary given the circumstances of the case," Gontarek continued, adding that he was forced to pore through thousands of pages of Clemmons' fraudulent filings going back eight years.
Gontarek wrote that he had to "decode" the false and fabricated accountings submitted by Clemmons.
Beyond the $375,000, Gontarek reported that other efforts to recoup money for the Link estate and his daughter await rulings in state and federal courts.
A suit filed against the Davidson Probate Clerk's office awaits a ruling from Senior Judge Ben Cantrell. That suit seeks $515,907 from Metro government based on the claim that court officials failed to monitor Clemmons activities, thus allowing him steal from his clients.
A parallel suit for $157,050 has been filed against Metro in another one of Clemmons' former cases, the conservatorship of Donald Griggs.
In a second suit on the Links estate pending in federal court, the insurance firm that provided Clemmons malpractice coverage has charged that it should not be liable because Clemmons actions were illegal and not covered by his policy.
The bill submitted by Gontarek's firm seeks payments for hourly rates ranging up to $275 an hour. Mason billed at a $135 an hour.
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Waller Law Firm Fights Thompsons' Subpoena

By Walter F. Roche  Jr.

A prominent Nashville, Tenn. law firm is fighting a subpoena seeking all of its estate records for the late U.S. Senator and television actor Fred Thompson.
In a filing late last week in Davidson Probate Court Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis charged that the subpoena issued in behalf of Thompsons two oldest sons was not properly served and seeks records protected by a lawyer client privilege.
The filing is just the latest legal skirmish over Thompson's estate.
The two sons, Fred D. Thompson 2nd and Daniel L. Thompson, have charged that Thompson's wife, Jeri K. Thompson, may have made last minute changes even after Thompson himself, was no longer legally competent to authorize them.
The Waller firm was deeply involved in those efforts and has a $14,550 discounted claim for legal work done just before Fred Thompson's Nov. 1, 2015 death. Jeri Thompson, the executor of her late husband's estate has disputed the bill.
In the filing on Friday Waller attorney Ames Davis charged that the four-page subpoena seeks documents that already have been turned over to the firm now representing the estate.
In addition the documents are either protected by attorney-client privilege or are protected as attorney work product.
"Waller would be subjected to undue burden and expense if it were required to locate all documents potentially responsive to the subpoena," the Waller filing states.
Jeri Thompson already has denied making any last minute changes to the estate except for adding a secondary beneficiary to two life insurance policies. Those changes, however, proved to be a nullity since Jeri Thompson, the primary beneficiary already cashed in the policies in question, according to court filings.
Thompson, a one time presidential candidate, and Jeri Thompson had two children, Samuel and Hayden, but neither was mentioned in the more than decade old will filed in the estate.
 The four page subpoena served on the Waller firm seeks all of Thompson's estate planning documents, records relating to a Florida property owned by the senator, any benefits Thompson was entitled to from the Screen Actors Guild and any interest he had in American Advisors Group.
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Hearing Set on Dismissal Motion in Thompson Estate

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A Sept. 29 hearing date has been set to consider a motion by the widow of television star and politician Fred Thompson to dismiss claims of death bed estate changes filed by his two oldest sons by a previous marriage.
Jeri Thompson has denied charges by  Fred Thompson 2nd and Daniel Thompson that she made last minute changes to his estate planning documents to their detriment at a time when the one time presidential candidate was not competent to authorize any changes.
The two sons, meanwhile, have served a subpoena on the law firm that had been conferring with Jeri Thompson and the late U.S. senator in the days before his Nov. 1 death. The subpoena served on the Waller Landsen Dortch and Davis law firm seeks copies of all of Thompson's estate planning documents. It also seeks copies of a deed to a Florida property owned by Thompson.
The Florida property was specifically mentioned in billing records the Waller law firm submitted to justify a $14,550 claim against the estate. Jeri Thompson has disputed that claim.
Jeri Thompson has labeled the sons' charges "gross misrepresentations" and stated that the only changes made were to add a contingent beneficiary to two life insurance policies. The changes had no effect on the $50,000 apiece allotted to Thompson's two oldest sons under the decade old will that was finally filed, according to her court filing.
Her response also noted that the designation of contingency beneficiaries became moot when she, the primary beneficiary, redeemed the two policies.
Jeri Thompson, utilizing a power of attorney, added her son with Thompson, Samuel, as a contingent beneficiary on Oct. 26. Prior to that their daughter Hayden was the 100 percent contingent beneficiary, according to her motion for summary judgment.

Group Homes Financed by Partner's Board

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

An affiliate of Tennessee' s largest provider of group homes for disabled residents has obtained tax free bond financing through a public board on which one of its business partners sits.
A $20 million bond issue approved by the Health and Educational Facilities Board of Nashville and Davidson County is being used  to construct eight group homes for current residents of the Greene Valley Development Center, a state facility under a federal court closure order.
The same bond issue, approved by the Nashville board on May 30, will be used to refinance the debt on facilities providing care to 256 disabled patients.
Sitting on the Nashville board is Richard "Dick" Brown, an attorney and former employee of the state agency providing care to the physically and intellectually disabled.
The bond issue was issued in the name of the WCO AL DP, the non-profit that owns group homes run by the Open Arms Care Corp, another non-profit. But the contract to operate the homes, including the eight new ones, is a for-profit firm called Integra Resources.
Integra is owned, in turn, by the SMI Group and Flatrock Investors. Flatrock is owned by Brown and Joseph Torrence.
Minutes of the May 30 meeting of the Nashville board show that Brown was present for the meeting and was involved in a discussion about the bond issue but recused himself from the vote.
"Mr. Brown then provided information on the services provided at the proposed facilities and an historical overview of the closing of the State of Tennessee's institutional facilities," the minutes state.
"Mr Brown described his consulting and management role with WCO and his involvement in the proposed financing," the minutes continue.
Brown said in an email response to questions that he participated in the discussion at the board's request "given my experience with facilities for intellectually disabled individuals over a career of thirty plus years and my current position as an executive with Integra Resources, which is now manager of Open Arms Care."
Though Brown said he disclosed his own personal financial interest to his fellow Nashville board members, he did not do so during meetings with other county boards whose approval was needed because Open Arms facilities are located in those jurisdictions.
"Because none of these bodies had a financial interest in the bond financing and I am not a member of any of them, I did not make a disclosure of financial conflict of interest at those meetings," Brown said, adding that he accompanied the bond counsel at those meetings in Hamilton, Shelby, Greene and Williamson Counties.
He said he only actually spoke at one of those meetings to answer a question.
Minutes of the Hamilton County Commissioners March 30 meeting note Brown's presence, along with an attorney for Open Arms.
The commission voted its approval of the bond issue at a subsequent meeting.
In Greene County records show the  commissioners were told the refinancing was being requested "to obtain lower interest costs."
Brown said in response to questions that he consulted with legal counsel to ensure that his actions complied with state ethics statutes.
"I did have legal advice from the board attorney, bond attorney and Integra Resources counsel on the applicable conflict of interest requirement and followed it as described," he wrote.
 Technically, Brown added, the only direct beneficiary of the bond issue was WCO AL DP, the nonprofit that owns the facilities, but he acknowledged that Open Arms and Integra "will benefit from the use of the facilities to provide the services requested and required by the State of Tennessee."
He said the Nashville board was the logical choice to seek funding since the same board provided funding to Open Arms Care in 1998.
Records show the bonds issued by the Nashville board were purchased in a private sale by Facilities Funding Group. Facilities Funding, state records show, is located in Brown's Nashville office. He is listed on state records as resident agent for the corporation.
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Thompson's Widow Calls Charges "Gross Misrepresentation"

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

The widow of the late U.S. Senator Fred Thompson is asking a judge to throw out a suit filed by the one time presidential candidate's two oldest sons who had charged her with making last minute changes in his estate documents.
In a motion filed Friday in Davidson Probate Court in Nashville, Tenn. lawyers for Jeri Thompson, who is also the executor of her husband's estate, disclosed that she did change the contingent beneficiaries on two life insurance policies but that action had no effect on the interests of Thompson's sons, Fred D. Thompson 2nd and Daniel Thompson.
Denying charges of a last minute conspiracy to change the late actor's estate, Ms. Thompson said the allegations of the two older sons were "gross misrepresentations of the facts based on speculation and incomplete information."
 She said she made the beneficiary changes on Oct. 26, 2015 under a more than decade old power of attorney.
"Plaintiffs cannot show that they suffered any harm or loss that was caused by any actions of the executor," the motion for summary judgment states.
The filing is the latest development in legal battles that surfaced following the death of the late actor.
Jeri Thompson, according to the court filing, added their son Samuel as a 50 percent contingent beneficiary on two life insurance policies. Prior to the change the 100 percent contingent beneficiary was Hayden Thompson, a daughter of Jeri Thompson and the deceased Law and Order prosecutor.
Jeri Thompson was and remained the sole primary beneficiary under both policies.
"The change never had any effect whatsoever because the executor, the primary beneficiary, received the proceeds of the policies, as was Senator Thompson's intent," a 14-page court memorandum states.
According to the suit the changes reduced Hayden's interest as a contingent beneficiary to 50 percent.
Thompson's two older sons of a previous marriage had charged that Jeri Thompson had made changes to the estate using undue influence and at a time when he was not competent to make any changes. They asked the court to nullify any such last minute changes.
The charges were based on billing records from the law firm of Waller Lansden Dortch and Davis, which has filed a claim against the estate for $14,550 for estate work done just before the senator's death.
According to Jeri Thompson's motion, the late senator was considering changing his estate plans, but Waller attorney Charles Trost concluded, following an Oct. 19, 2015 meeting, that he was not competent to make any such changes.
"Senator Thompson's condition worsened before the documents could be completed and before Sen. Thompson could review and sign them," the filing states.
Court records show the will filed in Thompson's estate was prepared in 2003 and did not include either Hayden or Samuel. The two older sons were beneficiaries.
The Waller billing records show there was a last minute flurry of activity regarding Thompson's will and estate plans. Jeri Thompson has filed objections to the billing but a hearing on the bill dispute has been postponed indefinitely, records show.
Jeri Thompson's filing also includes a request for the court to impose sanctions against the older sons' lawyers at Bass Berry and Sims because they sued her with "absolutely no evidence."
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Eldest Sons Sue in Thompson Estate

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

The two eldest sons of the late actor and presidential candidate Fred Thompson are suing his wife charging she may have switched beneficiaries on his life insurance policies and retirement plans just before his death.
The claims by Fred D and Daniel L. Thompson were filed in the late senator's estate case in Davidson Probate Court in Nashville, Tenn. Tuesday.
Citing a dispute over a $14,550 legal bill the two are demanding that Jeri Thompson turn over her husband's estate planning documents so they can determine whether last minute changes were made.
The legal bill from a prominent Nashville law firm, Waller Lansden, shows that there was a last minute attempt to draw up a new will in the days before Thompson's death, but that effort was ultimately unsuccessful.
Instead the will filed in the estate is over a decade old and omits the two children born after Thompson's marriage to Jeri, who is the executor of the estate. She issued a statement denying the charges.
The dispute over the legal bills, first reported in this blog, was put on hold over a month ago by agreement of both parties.
The two eldest sons, who are included in the official will, however are charging that changes may have been made in the beneficiaries of life insurance policies and retirement plans even in property holdings.
They charge that Jeri Thompson has refused to provide them with copies of the estate planning documents.
The motion asks the court to declare any such changes invalid, contending that Jeri Thompson may have exerted undue influence over her husband and that the late senator was not competent to authorize any such changes.
Thompson died in November of last year. The one time presidential candidate and Law and Order prosecutor was once estimated to be worth $8 million.

Tate's Royalties Paid to Court

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Royalties totaling more than $13,000 earned by singer songwriter Danny Tate have been sent to a Nashville court under a garnishment order obtained by his one time lawyer.
BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc), sent two checks, one for $13,078.09 and the other for $119.99, last week to the clerk of the Davidson Circuit Court under the terms of a garnishment order issued in favor of Nashville attorney Michael Hoskins.
Hoskins represented Tate in his efforts to get out of a court ordered conservatorship and the attorney is now collecting the the balance of the fees he charged for the effort.
Hoskins has declined to comment on the issue.
Tate said the second smaller check was actually earned by a company he set up for his publishing royalties and should not have been subject to the garnishment order. He said overall his royalties "have dwindled to a fraction of what they used to be."
He said it appears that the payments made to the court cover three quarters of a year beginning in 2015.
Tate has been earning royalties on such songs as "Affair of the Heart," "Born with a Broken Heart" and "Dark Side of Love."
The garnishment order had been put on hold after Tate filed for bankruptcy in federal court in Kentucky. That case, however, was dismissed on Hoskins' motion, thus releasing the automatic hold on the garnishment order.
Hoskins already collected part of this fee when he purchased Tate's former Belle Meade home at a court ordered auction for $120,000. The proceeds were split between Hoskins and another attorney who had worked on Tate's case.
Tate has disputed Hoskins billings, but the courts have upheld Hoskins position.
Tate's former 3 bedroom home at 5909 Old Harding Pike in Nashville is now on sale for $589,900, down from the original $649,000 asking price.
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Tate Facing Loss of Royalties Following Bankruptcy Dismissal

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A federal judge has dismissed the bankruptcy case filed by Nashville songwriter Danny Tate and the Nashville attorney who once represented him is moving ahead in a Tennessee court to attach the musician's royalties.
Court records show Tate's bankruptcy was dismissed last week by a Kentucky Bankruptcy judge following a hearing which Tate said he had been told was canceled.
The dismissal cleared the way for attorney Michael G. Hoskins to renew his bid to collect Tate's royalties to pay off legal bills incurred when Tate was trying to get released from a court ordered conservatorship.
Tate said he was not at the Thursday bankruptcy court session because he received a phone call from a federal bankruptcy trustee's office informing him that the May 19 hearing had been postponed until next month.
"Somebody didn't want me at that hearing," Tate said.
Hoskins declined to comment. In an email to Tate this week,  Hoskins said he had thrown in the trash the musician's motions to have sanctions imposed on him in the bankruptcy case.
The brief message left on Tate's voice mail last week, which Tate provided, states that the hearing could not be held Thursday because a staffer would not be able to attend for health reasons.
Tate said he had assumed the message was accurate and legitimate and did not show up for the hearing.
Immediately following the dismissal, Hoskins filed motions in Circuit Court in Nashville, Tenn. to attach Tate's royalties.
Under federal law, the claim had been put on hold when the bankruptcy was filed. According to court filings the royalties ranged from $12,000 to $20,000 per year. A circuit court judge already has denied Tate's challenge to the legality of the royalty attachments.
The actions in Kentucky and Tennessee are but the latest in a series following the granting of an emergency petition in Davidson Probate Court placing Tate in a conservatorship and stripping him of control over his finances, among other things.
Tate hired Hoskins to help him get out of the conservatorship and he was finally released in 2010.
Hoskins billed some $160,000 for his services, an amount Tate has disputed.
Tate's home was put up for auction by court orderto pay part of his conservatorship debt. Hoskins then purchased Tate's home for $120,000. Hoskins and attorney Paul Housch, who also was involved in the conservatorship battle, divvied up the proceeds.
Hoskins has put Tate's former home on the market for $614,900, down from the original asking price of $649,000.
Tate, 60, has had his songs covered by Lynryd Skynyrd, Ricky Springfield, The Oakridge Boys and Tim McGraw. He got his start when he co-wrote Affair of the Heart by Springfield.
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Tate Seeks Sanctions Against Lawyer

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Singer and songwriter Danny Tate is asking a federal bankruptcy judge to impose sanctions against the Nashville attorney who represented him in a controversial conservatorship case.
In the motion filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Kentucky, Tate asked that the sanctions be imposed again Michael G. Hoskins. Hoskins, meanwhile, has filed a motion to have Tate's bankruptcy case dismissed for failure to prosecute.
The action is the latest in a series of legal battles since Tate was placed in a conservatorship in Davidson Probate Court in Nashville.
Tate has countered Hoskin's dismissal motion with a motion that it be denied
Hoskins did not respond to a request for comment on the latest developments.
In the motion for sanctions, Tate charged that he was not provided proper notice of the dismissal motion and only learned of it from the court.
Hoskins is seeking the payment of legal fees stemming from his actions as Tate's attorney during the now dissolved conservatorship.
The Nashville attorney obtained a judgment against Tate and then purchased the singer's home at a court ordered auction for $120,000. He has since placed the Belle Meade home on the market. Though originally listed at $649,000, the asking price has been reduced to $614,900.
Hoskins had filed suit in Nashville seeking to attach song royalties Tate receives, but the bankruptcy filing put that effort on hold.
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Multiple Failures by Metro Clerk Claimed In Probate Cases

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

The Davidson Probate Court Clerk's office failed for over a decade to perform its duty to oversee two cases thus allowing a court appointed lawyer to steal some $1 million, according to filings in two pending court cases.
The charges and counterclaims are the latest development in an attempt by another court appointed attorney to recover from Metro some of the money admittedly stolen by now imprisoned Nashville attorney John E. Clemmons.
In filings this week in behalf of the estate of William C. Link and the conservatorship of Donald E. Griggs, attorney Patrick Mason argued that summary judgment should be granted and Metro government should be required to pay up, the exact amount to be determined at a later date.
The clerk's office, the brief states, was guilty of "multiple failures" to meet their statutory duty to ensure that "timely, complete and proper accountings were filed."
Metro lawyers, meanwhile, filed motions seeking to eliminate or vastly reduce any award by arguing that while there was one error in the processing of one case, multiple failures did not occur.
Metro government "agrees in theory" that it could be held liable for the clerk's failure "but the situation here is not a simple failure," Metro lawyers stated.
 In the Link case, according to the Metro brief, a hold had been placed on the case at Clemmons request and the clerk's office failed to later remove the hold which would have triggered annual action to force Clemmons to file annual acountings.
"Here there was only one bad act," the brief states, "enabling Clemmons to steal from the estate."
Mason, who is representing Paul Gontarek, who in turn was appointed to replace Clemmons, also disputed Metro's earlier argument that the claims should be denied because of a one-year statute of limitations.
He noted that Gontarek was not even appointed until April 10, 2013 and could not have discovered Clemmons' theft prior to that date. The claim was filed on April 1, 2014, less than a year after his appointment.
 In the Griggs case, Mason's brief states that "none of these accountings were properly reviewed for accuracy or completeness," adding that if the clerk's office had done its job the "unauthorized and fraudulent charges would have been discovered."
He cited one document in which a clerk's office official "candidly admits" the failure to properly monitor the cases.
Clemmons, 68, is currently serving an 18-year sentence after admitting to the theft of over $1 million from estates and conservatorships in Davidson and Rutherford counties.
The Griggs and Link  cases are being heard by Senior Judge Ben Cantrell, who has scheduled a June  10 hearing for oral arguments.

Songwriter's Home Up for Sale at Steep Increase

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

The Belle Meade home that songwriter Danny Tate lost in the midst of his battle to get out of a court-ordered conservatorship is now on the market for more than five times the amount his one-time lawyer paid for it in 2012.
The 3-bedroom home at 5909 Old Harding Pike is being advertised for $649,900 by local real estate agents.
Tate's one-time lawyer Michael Hoskins of Nashville purchased the home in September of 2012 at a court ordered auction. The sale had been ordered to pay off, at least in part, Tate's legal bills amassed in his years-long battle to end his conservatorship.
Hoskins is still seeking to collect the remainder of his fees but his efforts were stalled when Tate filed for bankruptcy in federal court in Kentucky.
Hoskins and Nashville attorney Paul Housch were the only bidders at the Sept. 18, 2012 auction for Tate's house held on the steps of the Nashville courthouse. Housch was also seeking payment for legal services at the time.
Hoskins did not respond to questions about the sale.
The advertisement for Tate's former home lists its three bedrooms and 2.5 baths and a .84 acre lot. The one-floor home has 2,801 square feet. The property is assessed for $232,100, according to Metro records.
Tate was placed in a conservatorship without his knowledge after his brother filed an emergency petition in Davidson Probate Court on Oct. 19, 2007.
Tate said he learned that his former home was up for sale when he drove by it recently and saw a for sale sign.
Tate has disputed the legal fees assessed against him during and after the conservatorship and filed a complaint against Hoskins with the state board that licenses attorneys.
Tate was one of several witnesses to testify at a series of hearings conducted by the Tennessee Bar Association on problems with the handling of conservatorships in Tennessee. The hearings led to a several amendments to the law, with many of the changes focused on emergency petitions like the one filed against Tate.
A noted songwriter, Tate has also seen the royalties from his songs tied up in litigation stemming from the conservatorship. Hoskins was seeking to attach those same royalties when the bankruptcy case was filed.
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Davidson Assessor

GENERAL PROPERTY INFORMATION

• Map & Parcel: 129 04 0 076.00
• Location: 5909 OLD HARDING PIKE 
• Current Owner: HOSKINS, MICHAEL G.

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• Mailing Address: 5909 OLD HARDING PIKE, NASHVILLE, TN 37205
• Legal Description: LOT 1 LONGVIEW SUB
• Tax District: USD   View Tax Record
• Assessment Classification*: RES
• Legal Reference: 20151001-0099719  View Deed
• Sale Date: 09/22/2015
• Sale Price: $0

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*This classification for assessment purposes is not a zoning designation and does not speak to the legality of the current use of the subject property.

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TOTAL PROPERTY
APPRAISAL / ASSESSMENT

• Assessment Year: 2015
• Last Reappraisal Year: 2013
• Improvement Value: $113,100
• Land Value: $119,000
• Total Appraisal Value: $232,100
• Assessed Value: $58,025
• Property Use: DUPLEX
• Zone: 2
• Neighborhood: 4429
• Land Area: 0.84 Acres

GENERAL ATTRIBUTES - CARD 1

• Property Type: RES DUPLEX
• Year Built: 1940
• Square Footage: 2,811
• Exterior Wall: FRAME
• Story Height: ONE STY
• Building Condition: Average
• Foundation Type: CRAWL

• Number of Rooms: 8
• Number of Beds: 4
• Number of Baths: 3
• Number of Half Bath: 0
• Number of Fixtures: 11

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Kennedy Names New Probate Master

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A new probate master has been appointed in Davidson Probate Court, even as legal disputes continue over the handling of conservatorships in the court presided over by Judge David "Randy" Kennedy.
In a press release in response to inquiries about the change, the court disclosed that Kennedy had named Nashville attorney Adam Barber to serve as probate master.
Court Administrator Tim Townsend said that Robert Bradshaw, who had held the position for over a decade, would remain as an employee of the circuit court clerk and "provide support to the probate clerk."
Bradshaw said in an email response to questions that he had not served as probate master since June of 2013.
"After restructuring I am now the chief accounting manager for the clerk's office," Bradshaw wrote.
Barber previously served as an auditor for the Office of Conservatorships, conducting financial reviews of conservatorships and guardianships. His salary is $60,000, according to Townsend.
The appointment comes as litigation continues over the past handling of conservatorships in Davidson County. Metro government is a defendant in two pending suits that seek the recovery of nearly $1 million stolen from two wards of now jailed conservator John E. Clemmons.
At one point there were two additional suits naming Bradshaw as a defendant, but those cases were dropped voluntarily.
Problems in the handing of conservatorships prompted the Tennessee Bar Association to hold a series of hearings across the state and later to recommend an overhaul of the state law governing the process.
The recommendations were ultimately accepted and approved by the General Assembly. In a separate action Metro government created a new office to monitor conservatorships.
Prior to his work in the conservatorship office, Barber was a partner with the firm of Clark & Washington, where he handled bankruptcy cases. He is a graduate of the University of Vermont Law School.
Townsend expressed thanks to Metro Council and the mayor for providing funding for the post.
"We are very pleased to have someone of Adam Barber's talent and expertise, and are confident that his addition will aid the court in its oversight of the thousands of probate cases that are filed and maintained in Nashville." Townsend said in the statement.
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Metro Seeks to Dodge Liability in Conservatorship Thefts

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Citing a previously undisclosed order by a probate judge delegating some of his powers to a court official, Metro government is asking a judge to dismiss a suit that would force local taxpayers to reimburse a ward for thousands of dollars that was stolen from him by a court appointed conservator.
In a recent filing in a longstanding suit in Davidson Circuit Court, Metro lawyers argued that under the Dec. 16, 2003 order by Probate Judge David "Randy" Kennedy, Probate Master Robert Bradshaw's actions were, in effect, actions by the judge himself.
"Essentially the order permitted the probate master to stand in the shoes of Judge Kennedy," the filing states.
As a result, the Metro filing concludes, Metro cannot be held liable for the $157,907 admittedly stolen from Donald Griggs by John E. Clemmons, the former conservator now serving a lengthy jail term for that and other thefts.
In a parallel filing in another case, Metro is also denying responsibility for $515,907 stolen by Clemmons from another ward, William C. Link.
In that case as well as the with the Griggs case, Metro also contends the statute of limitations to challenge the probate court actions has long since passed.
In opposing filings in the same two cases, Paul Gontarek, who took over from Clemmons as conservator when the thefts were uncovered, has asked for summary judgment against Metro in both cases due to the failure of the Probate Clerk's office to properly monitor Clemmons' activities.
"The probate clerk's office failed to ensure proper accountings were filed," the Gontarek motion states, adding that Clemmons failed to file any annual accountings in the Link case for a decade.
The two suits, both before Senior Judge Ben Cantrell, are the remaining outgrowths of a scandal that erupted when Clemmons was caught stealing from wards he had been assigned to protect. The Nashville attorney, then a fixture in Davidson probate court, eventually pleaded guilty to multiple theft charges and is serving an 18-year prison sentence.
Following the discovery of Clemmons' actions, Judge Kennedy named Gontarek to succeed the imprisoned jurist. Gontarek then filed suit against Metro seeking to recover some but not all of the money Clemmons admitted to stealing.
Gontarek's motion, filed by attorney Patrick Mason, also argues that the duties of the probate clerk to monitor actions of conservators and review mandatory annual accountings "are not discretionary."
The "failure of the probate clerk's office to carry out their statutory duty was the proximate cause of the financial damage," the Mason filing states.
Metro lawyer Melissa Roberge, however, argued that Clemmons bore sole responsibility for the thefts and cited judgments against the disbarred lawyer obtained by Gontarek for the full amount.
Also cited by Metro was an affidavit filed by a probate court official stating that the Clemmons case had been placed on a hold list which short circuited regular warnings when annual reports became due.
"A hold removes a case from system tracking," the affidavit states.
Metro also contends that the probate clerk's office did not have the legal authority to force the filing of an annual accounting.
Cantrell has scheduled a hearing for June 10 on the opposing motions.
Contact:wfrochejr999@gmail.com

Hooker's Will Gone Missing

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

When John Jay Hooker lost his yearlong battle with cancer on Jan. 24 it came as a surprise to no one. The well known Tennessee attorney's illness and the inevitable outcome had been played out in Tennessee courtrooms and across the headlines of newspapers.
Apparently it was a surprise, however, when his family went looking for the original copy of his will which had been drawn up and witnessed more than a decade earlier.
"After the decedent's death a thorough search was made for the original of the lost will, however it cannot be found," a petition to the court states, adding that it was apparently "accidentally misplaced."
The petition, which is now pending before Probate Judge David "Randy" Kennedy, asks the court to accept a copy of the will in place of the signed original.
According to the copy filed with the court, the will was dated Oct. 12, 2005. In it Hooker left his entire estate to his first wife, Eugenia Tish Fort. If she had died before him, the estate would have been split among his three children; John B. Hooker, Dara Hooker and Kendall Hinote.
Fort was also named as personal representative of the estate.
The petition and the copy of Hooker's will were filed by Nashville attorney Robert Delaney on Thursday. It was witnessed by Angie Haynie and Vicki Long, both of Nashville, records show. Delaney said that Hooker had drafted the will himself some years ago.
For whatever reason, he added, the original was misplaced.
Hooker's last days were spent in an ultimately futile battle in the Tennessee legislature and courts to gain recognition of a person's right to death with dignity. The state Supreme Court ultimately ended his efforts for approval of physician assisted suicides by refusing to hear his appeal of an unfavorable lower court decision.
Known as a political gadfly Hooker was the Democratic nominee for Tennessee governor in 1970 and 1998. He ran as an Independent in 2008.
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Arguments Set In Metro Conservatorship Case

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

After months of inaction, a Davidson Circuit Court Judge has set a date for final arguments in a suit attempting to hold Metro Nashville government liable for funds stolen from a man locked in a conservatorship.
Senior Judge Ben Cantrell has signed an order setting deadlines for filings by both sides in the case and fixing  a June 10 date for final arguments in his courtroom.
The case is one of two in which a specially appointed conservator is attempting to recoup money stolen from residents placed in conservatorships in Davidson County.
Disbarred Nashville attorney John E. Clemmons is currently serving a 17 year prison sentence after pleading guilty to stealing about $1 million from four clients including Donald Griggs.
Filing the suits was Paul Gontarek, who was appointed to replace Clemmons after the thefts were discovered. The suits charge that Metro government should be held liable for the losses because officials in the Davidson Probate Clerk's office failed to properly monitor Clemmons activities after his appointment as conservator.
Gontarek is seeking to recover $157,050 for Griggs, while the claim against Metro in another pending case is $515,907.
Gontarek was appointed by Davidson Probate Judge David "Randy" Kennedy.
Under the recent order from Cantrell both sides are required to file cross motions for summary judgment by April 1. Further responses are due on May 2 and May 13 to be followed by the June hearing.
Cantrell already has rejected a Metro motion to dismiss the case.
Clemmons, once a fixture in Davidson Probate Court, began serving his lengthy prison sentence in 2014, shortly after entering his guilty pleas. According to Department of Corrections records he is due for release on Nov. 16, 2038.
The cases filed by Gontarek were assigned to Cantrell after Circuit Court Judge Thomas Brothers recused himself from the cases.
Clemmons cases and several others led to a series of public hearings across the state by the Tennessee Bar Association. Subsequently a reform proposal was submitted to the General Assembly, approved and signed into law by Gov. Bill Haslam.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com

Hearing Set On Facility for Disabled

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A state agency has scheduled a public hearing for tomorrow on a proposal to build a four-bed facility for current residents of the Greene Valley Development Center.
According to a public notice the hearing by the state Department of Health Facilities and Development, will be held at 6 p.m. at the Greene County Courthouse on the proposal submitted by Sunrise Community of Tennessee.
Sunrise has filed an application for approval of a certificate of need to allow the $949,880 facility to be constructed. If approved it will be the new home for four current residents of the Greene Valley center which is being shutdown under a court approved settlement.
The Sunrise facility, which would be located at 640 Old Shiloh Road in Greeneville, is one of several pending applications before the state agency.
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Danny Tate Still Trapped By Conservatorship

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

More than five years after finally winning release from a hotly contested conservatorship, singer songwriter Danny Tate has once again gone into bankruptcy in attempt to regain access to  royalties he hasn't seen for years.
Tate sought bankruptcy protection in federal court in Kentucky in the Fall after a Nashville judge summarily rejected his attempt to recoup at least a portion of royalties ranging from an estimated $12,000 to $20,000 a year.
The royalties have been going to Nashville attorney Michael Hoskins who represented Tate in his efforts to escape a conservatorship first imposed by a Davidson Probate judge in 2007.
Hoskins already has gained title to Tate's Belle Meade home, which was sold off at auction.
In a recent filing in Davidson Circuit Court, Tate's attorneys argued that the attachments placed on Tate's assets and income were driving him into homelessness.
Noting that the garnishment was imposed on Feb. 12, 2013, Tate's lawyers said 100 per cent of his royalties from BMI music have been taken away, leaving him " little or nothing to for his personal family or household needs."
 They asked that the garnishment be reduced to $500 a month.
Hoskins billed Tate $164,087.92 plus 10 per cent interest for his services starting on July 27, 2009.
 Tate's new lawyers, Mark B. Reagan and Stephen Young, had charged that the amount being taken from Tate exceeded legal limits and that his contract with Hoskins was invalid because the songwriter lacked the legal authority to sign a contract while under a conservatorship.
They charged $26,323.44 had been withheld from Tate in excess of the legal limits.
Hoskins, acting as his own attorney, argued that the legal limits referred to by Tate's attorneys applied to wages, not royalties. He also contended that Tate had "acquiesced" to the prior garnishments and lost the right to contest them.
In a decision issued following an Aug. 28 hearing Circuit Judge Joseph P. Binkley Jr. ruled in Hoskins favor, concluding that BMI was not Tate's employer and that he had indeed acquiesced to the ongoing garnishment and "is barred from challenging all prior disbursements."
He wrote that Tate had 20 days after the attachment was issued in March of 2013 to challenge the action.
"The doctrine of acqiescence is applicable in this case," Binkley wrote, adding that "BMI is not his employer."
In a subsequent letter to the court, BMI attorney Richard A. Garza wrote," Please be advised that BMI intends to place a withhold against the debtor's accounts and await further instruction from the bankruptcy trustee."
Without his knowledge Tate was placed in the 2007 conservatorship by his brother. Subsequently he was ordered to pay not only his own legal bills but also his brother's.
Tate was one of several witnesses to testify at  2012 public hearings held by the Tennessee Bar Association on problems with the state's conservatorship process. The hearings led to a series of amendments to the law the next year.
Tate, who turned 60 in November, has had his songs covered by Lynryd Skynyrd, Ricky Springfield, The Oakridge Boys and Tim McGraw.
Contact: wfroche999@gmail.com