The Tennessee Court of Appeals denied two law firms’ attempts to recuse a judge from four probate cases, saying the move was “‘a manipulation of the impartiality issue to gain procedural advantage.’” But the appellate court also directed the judge to respond to a timely filed recusal motion in an interpleader action and vacated several of his orders, finding that he failed to follow procedural rules as well.
The Tennessee Court of Appeals denied the motion, while vacating Shelby County Probate Judge Joseph Townsend’s orders following a timely interpleader action filed by the firms, finding he wrongly continued making orders in the case afterward.
