MEMORIAL RESOLUTION 2010

2010 MEMORIAL RESOLUTIONS

Memorial to

George Carpenter

As prepared by Stuart F. James

Litigation is an art, and George Carpenter was one of its great artists. George Carpenter had a unique approach to the practice of law, he was a quiet litigator, a diplomat among warriors, and he knew the law and the people who are a part of the law. He was an intellectual litigator, a strategist who understood how the rules, the law, and the courts are designed protect his clients. George could do battle, and after the battle, win or lose, he kept his reputation-he truly was an artist of the law.

George Carpenter's obituary reads:

"George W. Carpenter, 66, of Chattanooga died Saturday, April 18, 2009 of complications from a lengthy battle with Parkinson's Disease.

He was a well-respected attorney with a career that spanned over 35 years. Mr. Carpenter graduated from the University of Chattanooga, where he served as his class president. He earned his J.D. from the University of Cincinnati College of Law.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph Samuel Carpenter and Mauraine Welch Carpenter.

Survivors include his wife of three years, Glenda "Suzy" Carpenter; daughter Kim Cocker Gravitt (Aaron); daughter Lucy Wright-Crim (Scott) Crim; daughter Katie Boshardy; son Clay (Shannon) Carpenter; daughter Perri Carpenter; 10 grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and several brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews."

George's obituary is understated. Litigation is an art, and George Carpenter was one if its masters. No words can describe the artistry he used in his profession, he had a reputation of being one of the most intellectual and gifted litigators of his time. George's mastery is a credit to a profession that is often criticized by the public. George was a litigation master who painted a picture of respect and honor for his profession. George was the type of lawyer the profession should remember as a lawyer with great public respect, a lawyer whose work is a tribute to the law and to everyone working in the law.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, in a special memorial session on this 8th day of March, 2010, that George Carpenter’s good deeds and kindness be memorialized through this Resolution, and be adopted by this Association as words of respect, praise and memory.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this Resolution be filed in the archives of the Chattanooga Bar Association and be enrolled in the Memorial Resolution Book of the Circuit and Chancery Courts of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and that a copy be presented to his family as a token of the esteem and honor in which he has been held, as an expression of our very deep sympathy and our mutual loss.

CHATTANOOGA BAR ASSOCIATION

John T. Rice, President

Memorial to

George Lane Foster Sr.

As prepared by William M. Foster

I am honored to memorialize my former law partner, longtime friend and uncle, George Lane Foster, Sr. He was the son of William Garnett and Quintene Foster. They had another son named Jimmy, and George’s father had, by his first wife, a son named W. G. Foster, Jr. From his father, George inherited three of the great loves in his life: sports, card playing and an appreciation for words. George’s dad had been sports editor of the Chattanooga Times and was later editor of the Chattanooga Free Press. George grew up in a sports and words centered household. Working crossword puzzles was a hobby he developed early in life and enjoyed throughout his life.

George was graduated from the Baylor School, having ridden the Baylor bus for many years from the East Brainerd area where he lived as a youngster. At the time George grew up, East Brainerd was considered the “boonies,” and it probably was. George received his undergraduate degree from the University of Chattanooga and went on to serve his nation in the Army, including a stint oversees in Japan.

When George returned from the service, he went to Vanderbilt Law School. He enjoyed a distinguished career in law school as a member of the Order of the Coif and as an associate editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review.

While at Vanderbilt, George met and wooed, against some formidable suitors, as George told it, Monty MacCue. Monty and George married and soon settled on Lookout Mountain. They had two children, George, Jr. and Beth. George took great pride in both of his children and the joy that they brought to his life.

In 1957, George joined, as an associate, the firm of Whitaker, Hall and Haynes. His insightful mind and his enthusiasm in working soon led him to develop a love for jury trials. For George, saying “put the jury in the box” was more than just an expression. It was a credo and reflected his love for and understanding of the people making up this great nation. His people skills stood him in good stead through many a jury trial and with many a client. He rates as one of those true characters who have practiced law at the trial bar. He often said “ready for the defendant” and meant it. He loved trying cases before the juries and often had an instant bond with those who sat in the box.

The firm soon became Hall, Haynes, Lusk and Foster. Along with Dawson Hall, Bill Haynes and Jack Lusk, George thoroughly enjoyed and grew in the practice of the law. He often commented that the practice of law was the “greatest way ever invented to make a living.” He greeted each day in the practice with joy for more than 40 years. He was with the firm until his retirement. Although retirement might be good for some, George was soon back in the Courthouse. In George’s long and distinguished career as a trial lawyer, he inspired stories that will be told for years to come. While some of these stories may not be appropriate for recounting in a gathering such as this, others, that I would like to share, help give us the measure of the man.

George was a great believer in a sense of humor and was an excellent teller of tall tales. One of George’s favorite tales about himself involved a cocktail party on Lookout Mountain. Several of George’s cohorts were lamenting their travails in riding the Baylor bus. George rose to the defense of the Baylor bus, saying that he had enjoyed his years on the bus, even if he took some grief from the older boys. Capping his defense of the Baylor bus, George declared, “All I ever knew about sex I learned on the Baylor bus.” Monty turned to George and quickly brought him to heel with the comment, “Please go back and ride the bus some more.” Monty and George were married for many years until her death in 1987.

George was a Sunday School teacher and Sunday School Superintendent at the Church of the Good Shepherd for nineteen years. Former students relate that the Bible story of the week had an amazing correlation - some would say a one to one correlation - with the latest outcome of the previous day’s Braves game or yesterday’s Vandy or UT score. Many a biblical hero, at least as George taught the lesson, had his standing increased on those occasions when the Vanderbilt Commodores had achieved some heroic victory.

George enjoyed an excellent rapport with his fellow trial lawyers. Believing that strenuous and effective advocacy for a client did not necessitate being difficult to deal with, George loved the defense practice of law and often defended the railroad, doctors, the USF&G and CNA among other clients. For one of the oil companies, George brought a suit on its behalf to dispossess a dealer from a small station who had become very remiss in his payments for both rent and oil. In due course, an answer came from the defendant asserting a counterclaim for an antitrust violation by the oil company. All antitrust litigation for the oil company went through an attorney in New York. That attorney called, apologizing that the suit had been delayed in getting to him and lamenting the fact that an answer was due in a couple of days. George asked, “Would you like an extension?” George in his inimitable fashion, pressed the hold button, punched the attorney out and called the plaintiff’s attorney, a fellow trial lawyer he knew well. He quickly arranged a 60 day extension, providing of course the guy continued in the station and was allowed to operate. He punched back into the New York attorney and said, “Relax, you got a 60 day extension.” The New York attorney was very grateful and then after a pause said, “You mean you just got a 60 day extension - no motion, no brief, no hearing – How in the world do you Chattanooga lawyers make any money?” George loved it.

George had an infectious and distinctive laugh which filled a room almost as thoroughly as did his booming voice. George had a unique way of calling a firm meeting - no memos and no scheduling. He simply stuck his head out of his office door and yelled “Get in here!” Though George proclaimed that he duly tucked his shirttail in each morning, it was out and flapping by the time he reached the office. Even jurors often remembered him as that lawyer with his shirttail out.

Many an afternoon George played bridge, regaling those in attendance in the Mountain City Club card room. George’s lunch hour seemed to expand as the cards played out and the tales grew wilder. George had a belief that every flight west of the Mississippi required a connection through (and layover in) Las Vegas.

On one of the rare occasions that George filed a plaintiff’s case, the suit ended up in Judge Sam Payne’s Court. In the early stages of the case the lawyers appeared before the Judge. One of the lawyers looked up at Judge Payne and said “Your Honor, I need to make two motions, in this case. First, I move to disqualify George Lane Foster because he is incompetent to bring a plaintiff’s case. He only does defense work. Second, I need to file a motion to find the real party in interest to see just which insurance company is behind this.”

George laid claim to real skill as a basketball player, though statistics in that area seem somewhat lacking. George looked forward to the annual jawbones vs. sawbones basketball game and played even as the decades rolled by.

George was an avid golfer, with a technique that was definitely his own. He had a picture in his office of himself poised on the tee of one of the many famous courses he was privileged to play during the course of his life. On one case George worked with a lawyer from New York who was a truly talented and accomplished golfer. After months of talking with George on the phone, he came to Chattanooga to work with George in preparing the client for a deposition. As the preparation for the deposition went on, the lawyer paid more and more attention to the picture of George on the wall. Very much perplexed by the picture, he finally announced “There is simply no way that you can strike a golf ball starting from that posture.” George roared in laughter and said “Well, I did.”

Later in George’s life he began to see Chris Helms. Those of us in the office noted a real change in his schedule as George began to spend more and more time with Chris. As George got ready to propose to Chris, associates found out that in addition to indexing depositions, they were available to be deputized to hold bouquets of flowers to be presented to Chris as a surprise along with the appearance of George. George and Chris were married for nearly 20 years.

George’s optimism and zest for living are legendary. George was in Atlanta for some serious depositions. At the end of a long day George took a group of attorneys, including one from Virginia who was in the early stages of recovering from heart bypass surgery, to the Atlanta Fish Market. To the horror of the Virginia lawyer, George looked at the waitress and announced “Honey, your tip is directly proportional to the number of cups of tartar sauce you can put on my fried seafood platter.” If you knew George, you knew that he loved food. He never felt that Chattanooga was the same after his two Shapiro’s hot dogs, carrot cake and a pint of whole milk were no longer available. Even after strokes had sidelined George in assisted living, he still enjoyed, with the nursing home staff’s full concurrence, his daily martini - “Any good English gin, 2 olives.”

Today, as we hear lawyers speak of scorched earth litigation, hear much talk of lawyer burnout and lament the lack of jury trials, it is a pleasure to recall the life of George Lane Foster, Sr. He loved each day of the practice of the law, had an unswerving faith in the abilities of those who sat on juries to achieve justice, and thoroughly enjoyed all those who practiced at the bar. Indeed to George it was truly a profession in which we serve, a profession that George Lane Foster honored and adored from his heart.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, in a special memorial session on this 8th day of March, 2010, that George Lane Foster Sr.’s good deeds and kindness be memorialized through this Resolution, and be adopted by this Association as words of respect, praise and memory.

CHATTANOOGA BAR ASSOCIATION

John T. Rice, President

Memorial to

George Carpenter

As prepared by Stuart F. James

George Carpenter's obituary reads:

"George W. Carpenter, 66, of Chattanooga died Saturday, April 18, 2009 of complications from a lengthy battle with Parkinson's Disease.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph Samuel Carpenter and Mauraine Welch Carpenter.

CHATTANOOGA BAR ASSOCIATION

John T. Rice, President

Memorial to

James D. Robinson

As prepared by Richard A. Smith

Sometimes the events which are most important in shaping a person’s life pass almost unnoticed at the time they occur. Jim Robinson was born in south Knoxville in the middle of the Great Depression of the 1930's. Around the age of 12, Jim decided he was going to learn to play tennis. He had no coach to give him tennis lessons. He did not even have access to a tennis court. He had a secondhand tennis racket and a few tennis balls. He taught himself to play by hitting the tennis balls off a wall back to himself. It is probably not the recommended way to learn the sport of tennis, but it is typical of the way Jim Robinson responded to challenges throughout his life. He had a quiet confidence in his own abilities. He believed that if he persisted, eventually, he would prevail. Within a few years, Jim’s persistence in tennis led him to a Knoxville City Championship and earned him an athletic scholarship to the University of Tennessee. Jim earned four varsity letters in tennis at the University of Tennessee. He received his B.S. in 1956 and his J.D. in 1958 from UT. While at UT, Jim met and married Nancy Glaze. Their 50-year marriage was a source of strength that served as the foundation for Jim’s legal career.

Jim practiced law in Chattanooga for more than 44 years. He was a trial attorney, one of the most accomplished and respected lawyers of his generation. He was a “trial lawyer” at a time when that meant regularly going to court and actually trying lawsuits. Jim loved being a lawyer. He thrived on the competition, but was not exempt from the pressures of the practice. He often referred to the practice of law as “excruciating pleasure.” Jim never saw the lawyer representing the opposing party as his “enemy,” but only as his “opponent” in that case. In his career, Jim tried lawsuits in State and Federal Courts throughout Tennessee. In addition to his trial court practice, Jim also argued cases before the Tennessee Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of Tennessee, the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and even one case before the United States Supreme Court, where he won by a unanimous decision of 9 to 0. He also served as special judge in the Circuit Court of Hamilton County.

Jim served as a member of the Board of Directors and as President of the Chattanooga Bar Association. He was a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the Tennessee Bar Foundation, and Chattanooga Bar Foundation. He was a charter member of the Legal Aid Society (now Legal Aid of East Tennessee).

Throughout his life he maintained his passion for the sport of tennis. Four times, with four different partners, Jim and his doubles partner won the Tennessee State Men’s Open Doubles Championship. He served as a member of the Board of Directors and President of the Manker-Patten Tennis Club, the Chattanooga Tennis Association, and the Tennessee Tennis Association. He was a Director and founding member of the Chattanooga Tennis Foundation. He also served as the director of numerous amateur tennis tournaments.

Jim admired good lawyers. He also admired good teachers. This is perhaps in large part because his wife, Nancy, was a teacher. Jim was also a good teacher. Many lawyers now practicing, myself included, learned invaluable lessons from his patience, persistence and attention to detail in the practice of law. When it came time to try a case, Jim was willing to share the stage with younger lawyers. Even in a catastrophic injury case, Jim would not hesitate to assign a critical part of the trial to a younger lawyer. We expected more from ourselves because he expected more from us.

Even in the last few months of his life, Jim continued to serve as a teacher. His last student was a first grade boy at Hillcrest Elementary School. In memory of his wife, Jim had volunteered as a tutor helping the child learn to read.

Jim Robinson embraced all of life and denied nothing. He was the eternal optimist, the happy warrior. He left nothing undone.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, in a special memorial session on this 8th day of March, 2010, that James D. Robinson’s good deeds and kindness be memorialized through this Resolution, and be adopted by this Association as words of respect, praise and memory.

CHATTANOOGA BAR ASSOCIATION

John T. Rice, President

Memorial to

Robert W. Summar

As prepared by Howell N. Peoples

Robert W. (Bob) Summar, one of four children of Lindsay and Lucy Summar, was born on December 22, 1925 in Old Hickory, Tennessee. He was educated in the public schools of Davidson County and graduated from DuPont High School in 1943. He served in the United States Army from 1943 to 1945 and was preparing to go overseas when Armistice was declared.

He went to Alaska and worked for a year to earn money for school. He graduated from Middle Tennessee State University and in 1952 received his law degree from the University of Tennessee, where he was elected president of his senior class. He came to Chattanooga and he was practicing law with Fielding Atchley, Sr. when his friend, Jack Brown, who also had a law office in the Hamilton National Bank Building, introduced him to the woman who would become his wife.

In September 1958, Ed Davis took office as Hamilton County District Attorney and asked Bob to serve as Assistant District Attorney in Hamilton County. He served in that capacity until 1965, when he returned to private practice. On February 2, 1970, he was appointed Clerk & Master of Hamilton County by Chancellors Ray L. Brock, Jr. and M. B. Finkelstein and served in that position until 1975 when he left to re-enter the private practice of law. On August 1, 1978, he was asked to serve again as Clerk & Master by Chancellors Wilkes T. Thrasher, Jr. and Howell N. Peoples and he served in that position until 1986.

Always a soft-spoken and even-tempered gentleman, Bob was especially adept in dealing with bereaved family members in opening estates, and in conducting Master’s hearings where the parties or their counsel would start to become quarrelsome. He employed an excellent staff as deputy clerks and made service to the public and attorneys a priority. He was responsible for handling and accounting for the millions of dollars of public and private funds that passed through the Chancery Court every year and his books were always in order. In 1986, because of his integrity and his excellent reputation as an administrator, the Tennessee Supreme Court appointed him Clerk of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, in which position he served until his retirement in 1992.

In a Chattanooga Times-Free Press editorial on January 27, 2010, Bob Summar was praised as “a fine family man and active member of Ridgedale Baptist Church (who) provided a good example of quiet, faithful and honorable public service.” Besides his family, Bob’s great loves were U. T. sports and golf. He also had a sense of humor. In the early 1970’s when it was discovered that a layman had held himself out to be a lawyer, filed pleadings, and appeared in our local courts, Bob was asked by a graduate of Vanderbilt’s fine law school: “Couldn’t you tell that he wasn’t a lawyer?” He responded: “Well, he told me that he went to Vanderbilt, and I always have to tell Vanderbilt graduates what to do.”

Bob passed away on January 23, 2010. He was preceded in death by an infant son, Robert Summar, Jr. and a daughter, Leslie Summar Goetz. Besides Barbara, his wife of 51 years, he is survived by daughter, Lisa D’Andrea and her husband Tony; son, Robert W. Summar II and his wife, Johnna; son-in-law, Mark Goetz; grandchildren, John Lee Goetz, Ryan David Goetz, Alexandra Goetz, Caroline Elizabeth D’Andrea, Katherine D’Andrea, Annalisa Marie D’Andrea, Julie Margaret Summar and John Robert Summar.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, in a special memorial session on this 8th day of March, 2010, that Robert W. Summar’s good deeds and kindness be memorialized through this Resolution, and be adopted by this Association as words of respect, praise and memory.

CHATTANOOGA BAR ASSOCIATION

John T. Rice, President

Memorial to

John Richard “Rick” Scarborough Sr.

As prepared by David J. Fulton

John Richard “Rick” Scarborough, Sr., passed away on January 2, 2010. He was 61 years old. Born April 4, 1948, he grew up in Chattanooga, graduating from Brainerd High School in 1966. He attended college at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, which was interrupted by two year’s service in the Army. After his active duty in the Army, he returned to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he met and married his wife of 42 years, Linda, who was also his best friend. While at UTC, he supported Linda and his newborn child, John Jr. by working at the Young Mens Shop and Ira Trivers. This is where Rick acquired his knowledge and skill at dressing sharply. Rick graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1976.

He returned to Chattanooga to practice law with J. L. Bailey with an office on Germantown Road. He then practiced in the Hogshead Building with Al Secor and Jackie Bolton until approximately 1993. Rick and Jackie then entered into an association with attorneys Gerry Tidwell and John Brooks with an office in the Dome Building. In 1999 the firm of Wooden, Ray, Fulton & Scarborough, PC was created. In 2008 Rick’s present firm of Scarborough, Fulton & Glass, PC, was formed.

Virtually all of Rick’s former partners describe him similarly. Rick was not just an attorney of the highest competence and integrity who truly cared about his clients’ needs; he was the most decent man they have worked with. His clients not only respected him, they considered him a close friend. Rick was very knowledgeable in his chosen area of expertise, wills, trusts, probate, and estate planning as well as income tax matters. Rick loved and relished the search for the truth and he believed that the truth was found in a complete and thorough knowledge and understanding of the facts of the case. Rick lived by the creed that things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter the least.

Rick’s graduate degree was in English which is why he was routinely and regularly used to edit legal documents by his colleagues and associates. This is also why Rick was known as a wordsmith, although profanity was not in his vocabulary. Former associates who worked for Rick state that there was never a time when he was too busy to help them out with a case or just to give his encouragement on a difficult day. He was an amazing mentor who taught young attorneys the true meaning of professionalism, consideration of clients and the practical aspects of practicing law. He taught his associates that the practice of law was about making a real difference in people’s lives, and not just about accumulating billable hours. His generosity and willingness to help clients, even if they could not afford to pay a legal fee, was exemplary. For Rick’s associates and staff he was a teacher and friend as opposed to a boss. To legal assistants Rick was generous and genuine of heart, kind with his critiques and a shining spot of comic relief in what at times can be a difficult profession.

Rick’s hobby, other than his diligent pursuit of his law practice, was cooking. He regularly cooked for his church, Brainerd Presbyterian, where he was a tenor in the choir and member for over 20 years. He taught adult Sunday school for 25 years and youth Sunday school before that. Upon Rick’s passing, Brainerd Presbyterian Church drafted a resolution of gratitude and remembrance for one of “its most outstanding and beloved members”. Rick Scarborough was ordained as a ruling elder, serving multiple terms, the last of which ended in 2008. Rick served as moderator of the Presbytery of the Southeast for the year 1993. More than simply bearing these titles, Rick lived out these callings with heart and exemplary dedication. Rick was a biblical scholar and a strong Christian who lived his faith by deeds and not words.

Children can be perceptive and intuitively know when someone genuinely cares about them. Every child that met Rick immediately liked him. My own children usually went to Rick’s office before they came to my office. Rick was a faithful and complete husband, father, and lawyer who stood by his wife, Linda during her difficult ordeal with cancer.

Rick was a long time member and past president of East Ridge Kiwanis Club, a former Lieutenant Governor for Division Three (Kentucky/TN), Chattanooga and Tennessee Bar Associations and at the time of his death was president of the Estate Planning Council.

Rick Scarborough’s service to his long standing clients and the legal profession will be long remembered and honored by those who knew him. He certainly will be missed by his family and many friends, both personal and professional. We are all thankful for the circumstances that brought Rick into our lives.

He is survived by his wife Linda, sons Rick Jr., who is presently with the Tennessee National Guard in Iraq, and his wife Vicki, of Chattanooga, and Mike, of Santa Barbara, California, and two grandchildren.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, in a special memorial session on this 8th day of March, 2010, that John Richard Scarborough, Sr.’s good deeds and kindness be memorialized through this Resolution, and be adopted by this Association as words of respect, praise and memory.

CHATTANOOGA BAR ASSOCIATION

John T. Rice, President

Chattanooga Bar Association | The Pioneer Building | Suite 420 | 801 Broad Street | Chattanooga, TN 37402

CBA Telephone: 423-756-3222 | FAX: 423-265-6602