CHRISTINE BEARDEN; DAVID BEARDEN; TERRI COOK; CAROLYN GIBBONS; ELMER DARRELL GREER; LADONNA F. GREER; MARK HUTCHINS; KEVIN MITCHELL; JAMIE STRANGE PIERSON; CRYSTAL GAIL REGAN v. CHRISTINE BEARDEN; DAVID BEARDEN; TERRI COOK; CAROLYN GIBBONS; ELMER DARRELL GREER; LADONNA F. GREER; MARK HUTCHINS; KEVIN MITCHELL; JAMIE STRANGE PIERSON; CRYSTAL GAIL REGAN V. BALLAD HEALTH; MEDICAL EDUCATION ASSISTANCE CORPORATION, DBA EAST TENNESSEE PHYSICIANS AND ASSOCIATES, DBA UNIVERSITY PHYSICIANS PRACTICE GROUP; BARBARA ALLEN, JULIE BENNETT, DAVID LESTER, ALAN LEVINE, DAVID MAY, GARY PEACOCK, DOUG SPRINGER, AND KEITH WILSON, IN THEIR CAPACITIES AS MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF BALLAD HEALTH AND/OR MEDICAL EDUCATION ASSISTANCE CORPORATION; DAVID GOLDEN AND SCOTT M. NISWONGER, IN THEIR CAPACITIES AS MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF BALLAD HEALTH AND/OR MEDICAL EDUCATION ASSISTANCE CORPORATION AND IN THEIR OFFICIAL CAPACITIES AS MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF EAST TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY; - Articles

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CHRISTINE BEARDEN; DAVID BEARDEN; TERRI COOK; CAROLYN GIBBONS; ELMER DARRELL GREER; LADONNA F. GREER; MARK HUTCHINS; KEVIN MITCHELL; JAMIE STRANGE PIERSON; CRYSTAL GAIL REGAN v. CHRISTINE BEARDEN; DAVID BEARDEN; TERRI COOK; CAROLYN GIBBONS; ELMER DARRELL GREER; LADONNA F. GREER; MARK HUTCHINS; KEVIN MITCHELL; JAMIE STRANGE PIERSON; CRYSTAL GAIL REGAN V. BALLAD HEALTH; MEDICAL EDUCATION ASSISTANCE CORPORATION, DBA EAST TENNESSEE PHYSICIANS AND ASSOCIATES, DBA UNIVERSITY PHYSICIANS PRACTICE GROUP; BARBARA ALLEN, JULIE BENNETT, DAVID LESTER, ALAN LEVINE, DAVID MAY, GARY PEACOCK, DOUG SPRINGER, AND KEITH WILSON, IN THEIR CAPACITIES AS MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF BALLAD HEALTH AND/OR MEDICAL EDUCATION ASSISTANCE CORPORATION; DAVID GOLDEN AND SCOTT M. NISWONGER, IN THEIR CAPACITIES AS MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF BALLAD HEALTH AND/OR MEDICAL EDUCATION ASSISTANCE CORPORATION AND IN THEIR OFFICIAL CAPACITIES AS MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF EAST TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY;

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Jul 23, 2020

Head Comment: Opinion Title Continued: BRIAN NOLAND, in his capacity as a member of the Board of Ballad Health and/or Medical Education Assistance Corporation, in his official capacity as a member of the Board of Trustees of East Tennessee State University and as President of East Tennessee State University and ex-officio member of the Board of Directors of Medical Education Assistance Corporation

Court: 6th Circuit Court (Published Opinions)

Attorneys 1: ON BRIEF: Francis X. Santore, Jr., SANTORE & SANTORE, Greeneville, Tennessee, for Appellants.

Attorneys 2: ON BRIEF: Jimmie C. Miller, HUNTER, SMITH & DAVIS, LLP, Kingsport, Tennessee, Jeffrey W. Brennan, MCDERMOTT WILL & EMERY LLP, Washington, D.C., Michelle Lowery, MCDERMOTT WILL & EMERY LLP, Los Angeles, California, for Ballad Health Appellees.

Attorneys 3: ON BRIEF: Lynda M. Hill, Joshua T. Lewis, FROST BROWN TODD LLC, Nashville, Tennessee, Matthew C. Blickensderfer, FROST BROWN TODD LLC, Cincinnati, Ohio, for Appellee Medical Education Assistance Corporation.

Attorneys 4: ON BRIEF: Janet M. Kleinfelter, OFFICE OF THE TENNESSEE ATTORNEY GENERAL, Nashville, Tennessee, for Appellees David Golden, Scott Niswonger, and Brian Noland.

Judge(s): GIBBONS, GRIFFIN, and THAPAR, Circuit Judges

Court Appealed: Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville

THAPAR, Circuit Judge. As our court has previously explained, there are good reasons not to disparage your opponent, especially in court filings. “The reasons include civility; the near-certainty that overstatement will only push the reader away . . . ; and that, even where the record supports an extreme modifier, the better practice is usually to lay out the facts and let the court reach its own conclusions.” Bennett v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 731 F.3d 584, 585 (6th Cir. 2013) (cleaned up). The most important reason here is that counsel’s colorful insults do nothing to show that his clients have standing to bring this lawsuit. We affirm the district court’s dismissal for lack of jurisdiction.

We affirm.

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