STATE OF TENNESSEE, EX REL. HERBERT SLATERY III v. THE WITHERSPOON LAW GROUP PLLC, ET AL. - Articles

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Posted by: Karen Belcher on Dec 21, 2022

Court: TN Court of Appeals

Attorneys 1: Darrell J. O’Neal, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellants, The Witherspoon Law Group PLLC, Nuru Witherspoon, Alphonso McClendon, and Glenn Smith.

Attorneys 2: Jonathan T. Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter, Andrée S. Blumstein, Solicitor General, David McDowell, Deputy Attorney General, Kelley L. Groover, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Dean S. Atyia, Assistant Attorney General, and Matthew F. Jones, Assistant Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge(s): MCGEE

This appeal involves an action brought by the State of Tennessee for alleged violations of Tennessee’s statutes regarding the unauthorized practice of law and the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act. The State of Tennessee claimed that the defendants improperly solicited clients who were in the process of making funeral arrangements for their recently deceased children. Following a trial, a jury returned a verdict unanimously finding in favor of the State of Tennessee and assessing civil penalties against the defendants. Accordingly, the trial court entered judgment against the defendants. The defendants appeal. We affirm and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.