Fees Charged to Woman Who Fought Conservatorship

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A Nashville judge has ordered a woman to pay over $20,000 in legal fees from a conservatorship that she heatedly opposed.
In two separate orders Davidson Probate Judge David "Randy" Kennedy ordered Reba Sherrill of Sumner County to pay the fees requested by her court appointed conservator and another lawyer who was charged with investigating her case.
Sherrill was placed in the conservatorship on a petition originally filed by lawyers for the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she was a patient at the time.
Under Kennedy's order Sherrill or her new conservator, her brother, must pay $7,605 to Corletra Mance, who served as guardian ad litem, and $12,500 to Cathryn Armistead, who served as conservator.
Kennedy did reduce Armistead's original fee request of $13,468, but his order did not specify which items he reduced or eliminated. Her original bill included a $437.50 item for a 2.5 hour shopping trip to pick up shampoo and soap for Sherrill. She also billed $297.50 to make a trip to Regions Bank to check on an account balance and open an account for the conservatorship
Armistead billed at the rate of $175 an hour. She was eventually replaced as conservator by Sherrill's brother. Mance billed $150 an hour for her services.
In similar cases in Kennedy's court, legal fees have often been charged to the original petitioner, in this case Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt, however, was dismissed from the case several weeks ago.
Sherrill stated earlier that she did not believe she should be liable for the legal fees for a conservatorship that was unnecessary to begin with.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com