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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Sketch Details

• 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.
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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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