The insurance company that provided malpractice coverage to jailed Nashville attorney John E. Clemmons is asking a federal judge to declare they have no responsibility to help pay back his victims who lost more than $1 million.
If the judge agrees, the amount Clemmons’ victims would receive could be smaller than expected.
In a suit filed last week in U.S. District Court in Nashville, lawyers for the Hanover Insurance Company stated that Clemmons’ policy does not apply in cases where he broke the law. Clemmons pled guilty in Davidson and Rutherford counties to theft from his clients.
Clemmons is currently serving an 18-year prison sentence at the state prison at the Charles B. Bass Correctional Complex in Nashville.
In its complaint, the insurance company cited several provisions of the policy they say Clemmons violated, including “any intentional, dishonest, criminal, malicious or fraudulent act or omission.”
The suit cites pending legal actions against Clemmons in three Davidson County cases, his guilty pleas to theft charges and the suspension of his license to practice law.
“Clemmons admitted his misappropriation,” the suit states.
Court records show that bond insurance that Clemmons was required to purchase has provided at least partial reimbursement in three of the cases.
The victims also can collect from the Tennessee Lawyers Fund for Client Protection, but the maximum amount that can be claimed for any one attorney, regardless of how many victims there are, is $250,000.
Full Article and Source:
Hope Dims for Lawyer's Victims Who Lost More Than $1 Million
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Former Conservator, John E. Clemmons, Gets Potential Break on Prison Sentence