Preview:

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE MIDDLE SECTION AT NASHVILLE
JOHNIE N. GIBSON, Plaintiff/Appellant, v. DOUGLAS TRANT and JERRY CUNNINGHAM, Defendants/Appellees. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

FILED
March 29, 2000 Cecil Crowson, Jr. Appellate Court Clerk

Appeal No. M1999-00390-COA-R3-CV Knox County Circuit Court Civil Action No. 3-399-93

APPEAL FROM THE KNOX CIRCUIT COURT AT KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE HONORABLE WHEELER A. ROSENBALM, JUDGE BRUCE E. PASHLEY 436 Cove Drive Marietta, GA 30067 GERALD CHARLES RUSSELL 338 High Street Hightower Professional Office Maryville, Tennessee 37804 ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF/APPELLANT

JEFFREY ALLEN WOODS 550 West Main Avenue Post Office, Box 2467 Knoxville, Tennessee 37901-2467 ATTORNEY FOR DEFENDANTS/APPELLEES

AFFIRMED
INMAN, Sr. J. Concur: CRAWFORD, P.J., W.S LILLARD, J.

I
This is a legal malpractice action, arising from an underlying criminal conviction. The plaintiff pleaded guilty in the U. S. District Court at Knoxville in 1989 to one count of a 103-count indictment charging a violation of federal drug laws. He alleged: (1) that "Judge James Jarvis gave the plaintiff the minimum of twenty (20) years under the sentencing law prohibiting probation or parole"; (2) that the defendant lawyers represented him and six other indictees, all of whom pleaded guilty; (3) that the indictments charged criminal activity by interactions between the plaintiff and the six other indictees; (4) that in undertaking to represent all the federal court defendants the defendants herein had an obvious conflict of interest; (5) that he was fraudulently induced to plead guilty by the defendants herein who assured him that "if he would plead guilty all he would get would be a sentence of 8 to 10 years"; (6) that if he did not plead guilty, his father would be indicted on drug charges; and (7) that in reliance upon these misrepresentations he pleaded guilty, later learning that the United States never threatened to prosecute his father and unaware that the minimum sentence was 20 years. He charges the defendants with gross negligence, willful fraud, willful misrepresentation, willful deceit, outrageous conduct, and malpractice, resulting in, as he alleges, financial losses, mental anguish, loss of freedom and enjoyment of life, physical illness, and loss of constitutional rights. The defendants filed a Rule 12.02(b) motion to dismiss, upon the hearing of which the parties

-2-

stipulated:1 Stipulation In the United State District For The Eastern District of Tennessee, the plaintiff entered a plea of guilty to a single count of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise in violation of 21 U.S.C.

Download gibson.pdf

Tennessee Law