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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