Songwriter Wins Fight To Regain Control Of Life

A Nashville songwriter won a 2 1/2 year legal battle Monday to regain control of his life and make all medical, legal and financial decisions for himself, in a case that drew wide attention to problems that can arise when a disabled person is put in the care of a guardian.

The same judge who removed Danny Tate's legal rights in 2007 restored them to the 54-year-old musician who has written a top 10 hit and composed tunes for several popular TV shows.

At a hearing that was packed with Tate's supporters, Davidson County Circuit Court Judge Randy Kennedy ruled that Tate is capable of managing his own affairs.

Kennedy had declared Tate mentally disabled in October 2007 at an "emergency" hearing where Tate was not present nor represented by a lawyer. The songwriter was again declared disabled three weeks later and put into a locked psychiatric ward after he was denied a request for a lawyer.

Advocates for people declared unfit to manage their own affairs and placed in the care of guardians say the songwriter's case is an example of abuses found nationwide. Some of them came to Nashville to monitor the court hearing.

The crowd of about 50, many of them wearing T-shirts that read "Free Danny Tate," applauded when Kennedy issued his ruling from the bench.

"Of course I'm happy. But it's a hollow victory because I'm (financially) wiped out," said Tate, who was one of the writers of "Affair of the Heart," a hit for Rick Springfield in the 1980s. He also has written music played during segments on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and "Entertainment Tonight."

Tate had been stripped of his rights after his older brother, David Tate, petitioned the court, saying his younger sibling was in the grip of a life-threatening drug addiction and spending between $500-$800 a day on crack cocaine.

David Tate, 60, has maintained that he did what was necessary to save his brother's life.

Danny Tate admits he was addicted to crack cocaine when court proceedings began against him in October 2007, but he maintains that he was a functioning addict who was robbed of his constitutional rights and drained of his life savings.

Kennedy appointed David Tate as the songwriter's conservator, which is Tennessee's name for a guardian. The legal arrangement was supposed to help the songwriter get clean and sober and protect his finances.

The judge restored Danny Tate's rights after three physicians filed a report saying the songwriter was capable of making his own legal, financial and medical decisions. Tate was also able to show that he had tested negative for drugs for nine months.

"I'm delighted," the older brother said after the hearing. "You think this was fun? I lost a brother to drugs."

The two brothers did not talk to each other in court or afterward.

The songwriter testified that his estate had been "plundered" by the legal arrangement. He hasn't accused his brother of stealing his money, only being responsible for a legal battle that cost him his life savings.

Tate had more than $600,000 in a money market account when court proceedings against him began in 2007 and was getting paid $125,000 a year in royalties.

Almost all that money is gone.

Unlike other court battles, where each side pays its own legal fees, a disabled person with money foots the entire bill for the court battle over a conservatorship. Every time a motion was filed against him, the songwriter paid for it.

"I figured he'd be let out when he didn't have another dollar to his name," said Michael Hoskins, a lawyer who now represents the songwriter. He said he would fight attempts to sell the songwriter's house to pay for legal fees.

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Songwriter Wins Fight To Regain Control Of Life