Thursday, April 18, 2013

TN Attorney John E. Clemmons, Court Appointed as Conservator, Sued for Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Conversion, and More

A Nashville attorney whose law license already is under suspension for misappropriation of a ward’s funds is being accused in a civil suit of misappropriating at least $450,000 from a now-deceased elderly woman whom the courts had entrusted to his care.
In the suit filed in Davidson County Circuit Court, John E. Clemmons has been charged with breach of fiduciary duty, conversion, intentional misappropriation of more than $450,000 and repeatedly failing to account for his handling of the estate of Nannie P. Malone.

In a 16-page complaint filed Friday, Teresa A. Lyle, Malone’s daughter, charged that Clemmons had sold off at auction hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of Malone’s property but had failed to properly account for the proceeds.

The suit comes after the state Supreme Court indefinately suspended Clemmons license to practice law, citing him for misappropriation and concluding his continued practice of law “poses a threat of substantial harm to the public.”

The high court action stemmed from a Rutherford County case in which chancery court officials found that Clemmons had paid himself $50,400 without court approval from the estate of a nursing home resident who had been entrusted to his care. A review showed an additional $16,500 could not be accounted for.

In the suit filed in Davidson County, attorneys for Lyle charged that “Clemmons has not made any itemized accounting of any expense” incurred in the auction of Malone’s properties, including a 68-acre farm and four lots.

Full Article and Source:
Suspended Lawyer Faces Lawsuit in a Conservatorship Case
See Also:
TN Attorney John E. Clemmons Suspended After $50,000 Taken From Disabled Ward

14 comments:

Finny said...

Think John E. Clemmons is the only lawyer or conservator who lined up on Fridays to have Judge Kennedy rubberstamp his billings?

Donnie said...

KARMA seems to be catching up with attorney John E. Clemons and I agree with Finny that this is likely only the beginning.

Sylvia said...

All of Clemmons cases must be reviewed and audited regardless of the statute of limitations. I will state again that I believe an audit of all probate cases in Davidson County Probate files need to be audited by federal authorities, with special attention to the Robert Thurman case. We need to remember:

"In Davidson County probate court, lawyers typically line up on Friday morning to get their fee requests approved in conservatorship cases.

With more than 1,900 cases of disabled adults in conservatorships in Judge Randy Kennedy’s court, that can represents thousands of dollars each week.

Traditionally, Kennedy approved the lawyer fees on the same day.

Now, citing concerns over the costs and expense of conservatorships, Kennedy says he will hold fee requests for at least three days “to allow the court a greater period of time to examine and scrutinize all such unopposed motions.......”.

Thelma said...

Wonder how much other damage he did in Nashville with Kennedy's help?



jerri said...

time to comment on some good news the beginning of some long overdue good news? john clemmons is involved with that thurman case with his pal paul housch that thurman case is very suspicious i remember there was a big land deal purchase that thurman's mother rejected so bring it on huh lets conserve her so then her conservator makes the land deal worth millions now comes son robert and it seems there was some family difference of opinion so robert was conserved and the billing in that case is a cardiac arrest moment talk about a bs case hey is it still open? where are those feds and the irs wonder if everybody who cleaned thurman out reported their unearned income in this case unearned is legit money for breathing i keep my faith in high gear that one day soon crime scene tape will be up at the courthouse which really is just a courtroom where business deals go down and we the chump taxpayers are paying for the judge to be there go figure john clemmons needs to go to prison for the rest of his sorry life

Annette said...

I will pray for Teresa Lyle's success!

Anonymous said...

It appears Judge Kennedy's court is falling down all around him.

Ben said...

We celebrate this suit and hope and pray for its success. So many of us victims have the same complaints but can't sue. But, this case gives us great hope.

Anonymous said...

I bet Clemmons is getting a feel for how his wards felt under his control.

Anonymous said...

Truth in justice honest court procedures must prevail to keep the USA as a role model for other nations. Very disturbing news item.

Anonymous said...

Clemmons should go to jail, as should Judge Kennedy. This situation is not unlike guardianships in Cook County (Chicago) Illinois. Wards of the 18th floor of the Daley Center lose their entire estates to attorneys and guardians, all with the approval of the judges.

We need some real investigations.

Anonymous said...

Best positive post I have seen on this site so far. I hope to read more!

Anonymous said...

There is a very clear and inappropriate alliance between certain probate judges and probate lawyers. Where is the oversight?

Anonymous said...

My best friend,Vickie Fromm which was Nannie Malone's other daughter (who visited her mother every day without fail at the nursing home)advised John Clemmons by phone that she was having him audited for embezzlement over her mother's missing funds that were unaccounted for.John Clemmons filed a 5 page motion in the courts that same day to keep her from seeing her mother as retaliation. She killed herself the night she received a copy of the motion in the mail. It was more than she could handle; the thought of not getting to see her mother.I hope he gets what he deserves. There should also be a wrongful death suit filed on the Malone family side against John E.Clemmons. It is heartbreaking that my friend took her life over this man. She battled him every week and I still have documentation in her own handwriting about his behavior.