A federal judge has dismissed the bankruptcy case filed by Nashville songwriter Danny Tate and the Nashville attorney who once represented him is moving ahead in a Tennessee court to attach the musician's royalties.
Court records show Tate's bankruptcy was dismissed last week by a Kentucky Bankruptcy judge following a hearing which Tate said he had been told was canceled.
The dismissal cleared the way for attorney Michael G. Hoskins to renew his bid to collect Tate's royalties to pay off legal bills incurred when Tate was trying to get released from a court ordered conservatorship.
Tate said he was not at the Thursday bankruptcy court session because he received a phone call from a federal bankruptcy trustee's office informing him that the May 19 hearing had been postponed until next month.
"Somebody didn't want me at that hearing," Tate said.
Hoskins declined to comment. In an email to Tate this week, Hoskins said he had thrown in the trash the musician's motions to have sanctions imposed on him in the bankruptcy case.
The brief message left on Tate's voice mail last week, which Tate provided, states that the hearing could not be held Thursday because a staffer would not be able to attend for health reasons.
Tate said he had assumed the message was accurate and legitimate and did not show up for the hearing.
Immediately following the dismissal, Hoskins filed motions in Circuit Court in Nashville, Tenn. to attach Tate's royalties.
Under federal law, the claim had been put on hold when the bankruptcy was filed. According to court filings the royalties ranged from $12,000 to $20,000 per year. A circuit court judge already has denied Tate's challenge to the legality of the royalty attachments.
The actions in Kentucky and Tennessee are but the latest in a series following the granting of an emergency petition in Davidson Probate Court placing Tate in a conservatorship and stripping him of control over his finances, among other things.
Tate hired Hoskins to help him get out of the conservatorship and he was finally released in 2010.
Hoskins billed some $160,000 for his services, an amount Tate has disputed.
Tate's home was put up for auction by court orderto pay part of his conservatorship debt. Hoskins then purchased Tate's home for $120,000. Hoskins and attorney Paul Housch, who also was involved in the conservatorship battle, divvied up the proceeds.
Hoskins has put Tate's former home on the market for $614,900, down from the original asking price of $649,000.
Tate, 60, has had his songs covered by Lynryd Skynyrd, Ricky Springfield, The Oakridge Boys and Tim McGraw. He got his start when he co-wrote Affair of the Heart by Springfield.
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Full Article & Source:
Tate Facing Loss of Royalties Following Bankruptcy Dismissal
See Also:
Auctioning Danny Tate's Home to Pay His Court-Appointed "Protectors"
Pauper v Probate: Order for Sale of Home
Hoskins' Motion for Order of Sale
USA Today: Hoskins Quote Annotated
Jewell Tinnon's Conservatorship Lawsuit Dismissed
I can't believe a lawyer would stoop so low. It's as if Michael Hoskins has a personal and everlasting vendetta against Danny Tate. And yet the profession wonders why lawyers are called "sharks".
ReplyDeleteI remember when NASGA was reporting on the Tate case back in 2010 and I'm glad NASGA has never let go of this case which is a travesty.
ReplyDeleteI pray for Danny Tate's continued strength and that eventually justice will prevail.
talk about a truckload of dirty tricks now who contacted danny tate with false information? i hope people have their eyes wide open they need to see what can happen to them with absolutely no justice for the victim the pledge allegiance to the flag needs to be amended to reflect reality leaving out deleting ".........with liberty and justice for all."
ReplyDeleteIn 1954, in response to the Communist threat of the times, President Eisenhower encouraged Congress to add the words "under God," creating the 31-word pledge we say today. Bellamy's daughter objected to this alteration. Today it reads:
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
One of the best demonstrated cases of greed - pure and simple. Even Danny's own attorney, can you beat that?
ReplyDeleteEveryone involved in this legal theft of Tate's estate should be prosecuted, right up and including the judge. What they did was shameful and unethical. It may have been legal, but it was certainly unethical.
ReplyDeleteAll in the legal proession aincluding the ajudiciary, are members of a fraternity,and are committed to protect each others backsides. -, ( or they are marked...) EB in Oregon
ReplyDelete