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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