Tennessee

Wells Fargo Settles With NAACP, But 2 Cities File New Fair Lending Suits

Wells Fargo has just settled a fair housing lawsuit brought by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. But the bank’s court battle over its alleged discriminatory lending practices isn’t over yet. Two cities filed amended federal fair housing complaints against Wells Fargo this week, in which they…

Apr 8, 2010 11:22 PM CDT

Lawyer Pleads to Law Firm Theft, Resigns Gov’t. Job Citing ‘Combination of Factors’

A Tennessee attorney has pleaded guilty to felony theft from his former law firm and resigned as Knox County Law Director, effective today. Special prosecutor H. Greeley Wells Jr. says William Lockett Jr. pocketed $62,572.99 in client fees intended for Kennerly Montgomery & Finley and still owes the firm about…

Apr 8, 2010 5:05 PM CDT

Lawyer Accused of Misappropriating Client Funds While Fighting Suspension

A Tennessee lawyer has been accused of misappropriating client funds while fighting a suspension in a disciplinary case involving similar alleged conduct. Lawyer John Threadgill of Knoxville was charged Monday with felony theft over $60,000 in a case believed to stem from his handling of clients’ funds in 2008, the…

Mar 18, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

Juvenile Court Clerk Deserved Jail Time Over Missing Files, Appeals Court Says

Updated: The juvenile court clerk for Davidson County was properly held in civil contempt and jailed after he repeatedly violated court orders to provide needed files, a Tennessee appellate court has ruled. Vic Lineweaver was jailed for only a few hours in the 2007 incident before his staff found the…

Feb 2, 2010 6:11 PM CST

Tenn. High Court’s Divorce Ruling Costs Class Action Lawyer $6.8M

Tennessee class action lawyer Gordon Ball will have to give his former spouse an extra $6.8 million because of a ruling by the Tennessee Supreme Court on the division of property acquired after a divorce filing. Ball was awarded a $17 million fee after his wife, Marn Suzanne Larsen-Ball, filed…

Jan 20, 2010 1:57 PM CST

Disciplinary Board Accuses Judge of Chronic Tardiness

A Tennessee judge is facing legal ethics charges, in large part because the the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary says she is often late to court. Davidson County General Sessions Judge Gloria Dumas is accused by a state discipline board of consistently arriving late to hear her 9 a.m. docket,…

Oct 27, 2009 10:45 PM CDT

Court Rules Anonymous Blogger Sued for Defamation May Be Unmasked

Corrected: A Tennessee judge has ruled that a husband and wife who operate a real estate business and a halfway house for recovering drug abusers may unmask an anonymous blogger who criticized them at his or her Stop Swartz blog. The blogger accused the couple, Donald and Terry Keller Swartz…

Oct 26, 2009 6:04 PM CDT

Did Court Order Ban Facebook ‘Poke’?

When Shannon Jackson was told she couldn’t contact another woman in Tennessee, she apparently may not have realized that the court order included a virtual “poke” on Facebook. Now she does. The 36-year-old woman has been arrested and charged with violating a Sumner County General Sessions Court protective order that…

Oct 13, 2009 10:49 PM CDT

Bookkeeper Accused of Embezzling $1.7M from Nashville Law Firm

A bookkeeper has been indicted on charges that she embezzled $1.7 million from the Nashville, Tenn., law firm Harwell Howard Hyne Gabbert & Manner. A 40-count indictment alleges Claire Thurman issued herself checks ranging from about $15,000 to more than $60,000 over a three-year period that began in 2006, the…

Sep 28, 2009 11:37 AM CDT

Fact-Finder or Legal Shield? Internal Probe a Tough Gig for In-House Counsel

In-house counsel are in a tough position when they oversee an internal corporate investigation. On the one hand, the company needs to understand the facts to make appropriate determinations. But, on the other hand, the facts may establish liability to third parties for any corporate wrongdoing. That essentially was the…

Sep 15, 2009 9:31 PM CDT

Recording Companies Sue Show of Ellen DeGeneres, the Newest Idol Judge

The nation’s biggest record companies have sued The Ellen DeGeneres Show, claiming songs played while DeGeneres dances violated their copyrights. The suit filed in federal court in Nashville, Tenn., alleges that when the show’s representatives were asked why they didn’t obtain licenses to the songs, they replied they didn’t ”roll…

Sep 11, 2009 12:53 PM CDT

Yet Another Law Firm Employee Is Accused in Claimed Embezzlement

Upping the ante in a rash of admitted or alleged embezzlements by law firm administrators recently, a former bookkeeper has been accused of stealing $150,000 from a Virginia Beach legal partnership. Norma Blackwell, 47, has been charged with mail fraud in federal court in Norfolk, Va., concerning the checks to…

Aug 14, 2009 10:45 PM CDT

Tenn. Law Firm Bookkeeper Is Accused as Ky. Law Firm Bookkeeper Is Sentenced

Partners of a Tennessee law firm apparently didn’t immediately notice that a bookkeeper allegedly was issuing herself five-figure checks from an escrow account. But after an auditor for Harwell Howard Hyne Gabbert & Manner focused on two $50,000-plus checks to bookkeeper Claire Thurman, she was charged in an arrest warrant…

Aug 12, 2009 5:52 PM CDT

Lawyer Accused of Stealing Money He Was Hired to Safeguard

A Nashville, Tenn., lawyer hired to recover money siphoned from a child-care program for poor children has been charged with misappropriating more than $100,000. Lawyer David Weed was charged with two counts of official misconduct, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports. Weed was appointed in 2001 as receiver to recover funds…

Aug 6, 2009 6:53 PM CDT

Buyers of Former Meth Homes Battle Ailments, File Suits

Possibly tens of thousands of homes have been used to make methamphetamine, causing health problems and financial worries for new owners and unsuspecting landlords. The New York Times chronicles the problems of homeowners Rhonda and Jason Holt, whose three babies became listless and struggled with breathing problems after they bought…

Jul 15, 2009 3:18 PM CDT