The defense team of Janet Hayes and Mary Beth White won a major victory this week in the Tennessee Court of Appeals. In the case of JP Morgan Chase Bank v. Gary Eldon Fenley, et al, the plaintiff bank filed a Complaint to reform a deed of trust to correct a scrivener’s error in the legal description of a parcel of property in order to foreclose on the property. While the litigation was pending, the mortgagors conveyed title to the property to a third-party who claimed to be a bona fide purchaser for value without notice. Mary Beth won the case at trial, persuading the Chancellor that the third-party did not qualify as a bona fide purchaser because he was aware of the bank’s litigation when he obtained the title to the property.
Janet Hayes joined Mary Beth as a part of the defense team in the appeal, and last Thursday, the Middle Section of the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s judgment.
We congratulate Janet and Mary Beth on their victory.
Janet Hayes, a Shareholder in the Knoxville office, is an advocate for employers and businesses across the state. Her practice is focused on employment and appellate law.
Ms. Hayes has successfully defended all types of employment claims including sexual harassment, retaliatory discharge, discrimination, workers’ compensation, invasion of privacy, wage/hour claims, and denial of benefits.
Mary Beth White, a Shareholder in the firm’s Nashville office, concentrates her practice in the areas of commercial and business litigation, with an emphasis on commercial transportation. She has successfully represented her clients at all levels of the court system in both state court and federal court and has successfully defended a number of large motor carriers and drivers in state and federal court. A member of the Commercial Transportation Group, Ms. White helped implement the firm’s rapid response program that is currently used by many of the firm’s clients. With regard to her franchise litigation work, she advises and represents clients at all levels of litigation.