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.
Contact:wfrochejr999@gmail.com

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.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com

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.