Estate of David Lyons v. Latony Baugh

CourtCourt of Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedJuly 25, 2018
DocketM2017-00094-COA-R3-CV
StatusPublished

This text of Estate of David Lyons v. Latony Baugh (Estate of David Lyons v. Latony Baugh) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Estate of David Lyons v. Latony Baugh, (Tenn. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

07/25/2018 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE AT NASHVILLE August 29, 2017 Session

ESTATE OF DAVID LYONS v. LATONY BAUGH ET AL.

Appeal from the Chancery Court for Davidson County No. 15-691-I Claudia Bonnyman, Chancellor ___________________________________

No. M2017-00094-COA-R3-CV ___________________________________

The parties to a wrongful death action reached a mediated settlement under which the settlement proceeds were divided between the surviving spouse and the deceased’s children. After the settlement agreement was judicially approved and the proceeds disbursed, the trial court ruled that the surviving spouse had waived his right to collect any settlement proceeds. The deceased’s children filed a legal malpractice action against the estate of the attorney who had represented their guardian ad litem in the wrongful death action because he failed to contest the surviving spouse’s standing. As part of the settlement of the legal malpractice action, the children assigned their claims against the surviving spouse to the estate of the attorney. The estate then filed this equitable action against the surviving spouse and his girlfriend, seeking recovery of the settlement proceeds and a constructive trust on any property purchased with those proceeds. Both the estate and the surviving spouse filed cross-motions for summary judgment. The trial court denied the spouse’s motion but granted the estate summary judgment based on unjust enrichment. We reverse the grant of summary judgment.

Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Chancery Court Reversed and Case Remand

W. NEAL MCBRAYER, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which FRANK G. CLEMENT, JR., P.J., M.S., and RICHARD H. DINKINS, J., joined.

Patrick D. Witherington, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, LaTony Baugh.

Jason K. Murrie, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Estate of David Lyons. OPINION

I.

A.

The facts are largely undisputed.1 After the death of Roshanda Baugh, her estranged husband, LaTony Baugh, filed a wrongful death action on behalf of himself as the surviving spouse and Ms. Baugh’s four children in the Circuit Court for Davidson County, Tennessee. The court granted Rachel Welty, guardian ad litem for the deceased’s children (“GAL”), permission to intervene in the action to represent the children’s interests.2 Attorney David Lyons represented the GAL.

James Denzmore, the biological father of the children, also moved to intervene. Mr. Denzmore challenged Mr. Baugh’s standing to pursue the wrongful death claim. He alleged that, at the time of the accident, Mr. Baugh had been estranged from Ms. Baugh for two years and had waived his statutory rights. Asserting that he had standing as the children’s biological father, Mr. Denzmore requested an evidentiary hearing to determine the proper party to pursue the claim. The court initially determined that Mr. Baugh had priority under the wrongful death statute. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-5-106(a) (Supp. 2017). And, without holding an evidentiary hearing, the court later ruled that Mr. Denzmore lacked standing and dismissed his motion to intervene. Baugh v. United Parcel Serv., Inc., No. M2012-00197-COA-R3-CV, 2012 WL 6697384, at *3 (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 21, 2012).

After the court’s ruling, Mr. Denzmore filed both a motion to alter and amend and a motion for permission to file an interlocutory appeal. While his motions were pending, the other parties reached a mediated settlement. Id. at *3-4. Mr. Baugh, the GAL, and the defendants in the wrongful death action filed a joint petition for court approval and distribution of the settlement. In the joint petition, the GAL asserted that the settlement was fair and reasonable and in the best interest of the children. Mr. Baugh and the GAL also warranted that, “to the best of their belief, they are the proper individuals to bring and resolve this cause of action . . . , that they have the priority right for same, and that they accept full responsibility for any claims made by any individuals, not a party to this matter, to the contrary, including any claim which has been or may be asserted by James Denzmore.” As part of the settlement, Mr. Baugh received 40% of the proceeds with the

1 Except as otherwise indicated, the facts are taken from the parties’ statements of undisputed material facts. See Tenn. R. Civ. P. 56.03. 2 The Davidson County Probate Court appointed Ms. Welty administrator ad litem of the deceased’s estate and guardian ad litem for the children. Baugh v. United Parcel Serv., Inc. (Baugh I), No. M2012-00197-COA-R3-CV, 2012 WL 6697384, at *1 (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 21, 2012). 2 balance going to the children. The GAL never challenged Mr. Baugh’s standing to receive a share of the settlement proceeds.

After careful review of the verified report of the GAL and the settlement terms, the court approved the settlement agreement, including the division of the settlement proceeds between Mr. Baugh and the children. The court expressly found that Mr. Baugh was the “proper individual to bring and resolve this cause of action . . . , that he has the priority for same.” The court also found “that this settlement is in the best interest of [the children], under all the circumstances, that same is fair and reasonable, and that, therefore, approval by the Court of this settlement is in the best interest of [the children].”

The court then denied both of Mr. Denzmore’s motions. Id. at *4. Mr. Denzmore and the oldest child, who had reached majority, appealed. In the first appeal, we reversed the judgment of the trial court denying Mr. Denzmore’s motion for an evidentiary hearing on standing and remanded for a hearing. Id. at *5. We concluded that the resolution of the standing issue “directly impact[ed] the recovery of the children; it [wa]s in their best interest, as well as in accord with the statute, for the court to determine whether Mr. Baugh waived his right to prosecute the action and participate in the distribution of proceeds.” Id.

On remand, Jermeka Denzmore, the oldest child, replaced Ms. Welty as her siblings’ guardian. Baugh v. United Parcel Serv., Inc., No. M2014-00353-COA-R3-CV, 2015 WL 1539593, at *2 n.1 (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. 31, 2015). And on October 31, 2013, after an evidentiary hearing, the trial court ruled that

Ms. Denzmore had proven by a preponderance of the evidence that Plaintiff LaTony Baugh had abandoned Ms. Baugh. Therefore, the Court held that Plaintiff LaTony Baugh did not have standing to institute and/or collect any proceeds from the wrongful death action pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 20- 5-106(c).

Id. at *2. The court in the same order prohibited Mr. Baugh from transferring, disposing of, or otherwise encumbering the proceeds or assets received from the wrongful death action. Soon the children would learn that the order came too late.

Ms. Denzmore moved the court to award all of the settlement proceeds to the children. The court denied her request to amend the order approving the settlement. But, to “fullfil[] the appellate court mandate,” the court ordered Mr. Baugh to prepare an accounting of his share of the settlement proceeds and “to pay all proceeds that he has received from the settlement into the Court.”

Mr. Baugh’s accounting revealed that his share of the proceeds had been spent on a wide variety of items, the most significant being a home on Autumn Ridge Drive, in 3 Nashville, Tennessee. The Autumn Ridge property was titled to Mr. Baugh and Raushanah Hasan, his girlfriend, as joint tenants with common law right of survivorship. The trial court denied Ms.

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Estate of David Lyons v. Latony Baugh, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/estate-of-david-lyons-v-latony-baugh-tennctapp-2018.