TN - Gail Palmgren - Legal Questions for our Verified Attorneys - *No Discussion*

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This thread is for legal/law questions for our verified attorneys to answer regarding Gail Palmgren's case.

Thank you to JBean for letting us start this thread!

Thank you in advance to our verified attorneys for taking the time to answer!

* No Discussion *

* Questions and Answers only *

* Answers from Verified Attorneys only*
 
Reference info for our attorneys:

Restraining Order against Matt Palmgren
Filed & Ex Parte Order Friday June 24
Emergency Hearing Wednesday June 29 - ex-parte order dissolved

Exparte order document:
http://wrcb.images.worldnow.com/images/incoming/news/palmgrenrestrainingorder.pdf

News Articles & Videos:
http://casesignal.wordpress.com/2011/06/23/gail-palmgren-news-articles-videos-may-2011/

Tweets from Reporters at the emergency hearing:
http://casesignal.files.wordpress.c...ng-order-emergency-hearing-june-29-tweets.pdf
 
Would it be possible that the actions that lead to MP's loss of job from BCBS could be prosecuted criminally in addition to civil actions? Is there any basis for BCBS to bring either civil or criminal charges against MP?
TIA!

<At BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, we are committed to protecting member interests and corporate assets by detecting, investigating and preventing wrongful acts committed against the corporation.
Financial losses incurred as a result of fraud, waste, or abuse have a direct effect upon you as the consumer of health care services. >
 
Question: Can an attorney clarify the legal basis for expediting the hearing (from the set date of July 11) to make it impossible for the out-of-town plaintiffs to attend? [The decision was made Wed. AM to have the hearing the same day, at 1:30. Plaintiffs in New York and Florida had planned to attend July 11.]
 
Question: Would the ex parte order as signed on Friday have prevented holiday weekend travel, or would it have just prevented them from moving away during the time the order was in effect?
 
Could Gail's sister file for POA in Gail's absence? Since Gail and her husband were obviously headed down the road to divorce, could the possibility of POA come into play for Gail's best interests? TIA
 
Question: Can an attorney clarify the judge's basis for dissolving the ex-parte order?

TIA!

Yes, there was no legal basis for it whatsoever. :) I'm surprised it was signed even on a temporary basis.

Would it be possible that the actions that lead to MP's loss of job from BCBS could be prosecuted criminally in addition to civil actions? Is there any basis for BCBS to bring either civil or criminal charges against MP?
TIA!

<At BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, we are committed to protecting member interests and corporate assets by detecting, investigating and preventing wrongful acts committed against the corporation.
Financial losses incurred as a result of fraud, waste, or abuse have a direct effect upon you as the consumer of health care services. >

I'm not familiar with this case. The news article I found said he was terminated because this situation was too distracting in the workplace. I don't see how that would lead to any civil action or criminal charges.

Question: Can an attorney clarify the legal basis for expediting the hearing (from the set date of July 11) to make it impossible for the out-of-town plaintiffs to attend? [The decision was made Wed. AM to have the hearing the same day, at 1:30. Plaintiffs in New York and Florida had planned to attend July 11.]

There was no need for the Plaintiffs to attend. It was really a legal argument for the attorneys and judge to deal with.

Question: Would the ex parte order as signed on Friday have prevented holiday weekend travel, or would it have just prevented them from moving away during the time the order was in effect?

It probably would have prevented weekend travel as well--it's kind of vague.

Could Gail's sister file for POA in Gail's absence? Since Gail and her husband were obviously headed down the road to divorce, could the possibility of POA come into play for Gail's best interests? TIA

POA being power of attorney? You can't get a power of attorney without the signature of the person involved. But possibly the sister could be appointed as Gail's guardian/conservator to make decisions for her in her absence.
 
Yes, there was no legal basis for it whatsoever. :) I'm surprised it was signed even on a temporary basis.

Thank you, AZ!

Two things were mentioned about not following procedure:
- lack of notice
- not disclosing that Gail had sent her sister Diane a cashier's check for $17,000 five days before she disappeared

Would they have been a part of the judge's decision? Or just part of the points the attorneys argued?

In other words, with no legal basis as you say, would the procedure issues have been comparatively minor, and not a part of the decision to toss it?

Hope I'm wording that clearly.

Thank you again, AZ. :grouphug:
 
The two children were the last ones to see Gail at their home when she dropped them off.

They are 12 and 9 years old.

Can LE question them without Matt's (their father/Gail's husband) permission?

If so, do they get an attorney or some kind of person with them during questioning to ensure independently they don't get too upset, tell LE to hold off if they do get upset, that sort of thing?

The dad has an attorney. Would LE have to contact the dad's attorney before questioning the kids? Or are the kids separate in that representation?

Thank you! :grouphug:
 
Could we please have your expert opinion on this? We're all pretty "upset" to say the least!

When Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office detectives entered the Signal Mountain home of a missing woman a couple of weeks ago, the family’s computers were missing.

The computers instead had been turned over to Lee Davis, an attorney representing Matthew Palmgren, the husband of Gail Palmgren, the 44-year-old mother of two who has been missing since April 30.

Davis said in an interview Thursday that the computer hard drives have been sent to technicians to see if any files or history can be recovered that might lead to Gail Palmgren.

“We’ve sent them off to see what’s on them,” he said. “Obviously, if files have been deleted, they’ve been deleted.”

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/jul/08/missing-palmgren-computers-turned-over-defense-att/
 
Could we please have your expert opinion on this? We're all pretty "upset" to say the least!

When Hamilton County Sheriff&#8217;s Office detectives entered the Signal Mountain home of a missing woman a couple of weeks ago, the family&#8217;s computers were missing.

The computers instead had been turned over to Lee Davis, an attorney representing Matthew Palmgren, the husband of Gail Palmgren, the 44-year-old mother of two who has been missing since April 30.

Davis said in an interview Thursday that the computer hard drives have been sent to technicians to see if any files or history can be recovered that might lead to Gail Palmgren.

&#8220;We&#8217;ve sent them off to see what&#8217;s on them,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Obviously, if files have been deleted, they&#8217;ve been deleted.&#8221;

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/jul/08/missing-palmgren-computers-turned-over-defense-att/

AZ, I think it should be noted that Lee Davis has stated that within 15 minutes of being retained very early on, he contacted LE and offered for them to search the property. LE turned him down.

I think it should also be noted that Matt (Gail's husband) retained the PI who works with this attorney and is an ex-cop from Chattanooga PD, to find Gail.

Under these circumstances, wouldn't it be reasonable for the attorneys and PI to have the hard drives scanned to see if there was any lead to what happened to Gail? If I were paying them to find my missing spouse, well, they better scan those hard drives. It seems a very basic thing to do to find a missing person.

Thanks! :grouphug:
 
Thank you, AZ!

Two things were mentioned about not following procedure:
- lack of notice
- not disclosing that Gail had sent her sister Diane a cashier's check for $17,000 five days before she disappeared

Would they have been a part of the judge's decision? Or just part of the points the attorneys argued?

In other words, with no legal basis as you say, would the procedure issues have been comparatively minor, and not a part of the decision to toss it?

Hope I'm wording that clearly.

Thank you again, AZ. :grouphug:

I assume the "lack of notice" was just for the original temporary order, which was requested ex parte so, by definition, there would be no notice. This is not a procedural defect. The problem was that there was no basis for the original order, not that it was issued ex parte.

The lack of disclosure of the cashier's check is not really a procedural or substantive defect, but probably did set off a "red flag" in the judge's mind and make him feel that he had been taken advantage of in the ex parte proceeding.

The judge likely did consider the cashier's check, as he was apparently oblivious to the fact that there was no legal basis for his order in the first place.

The two children were the last ones to see Gail at their home when she dropped them off.

They are 12 and 9 years old.

Can LE question them without Matt's (their father/Gail's husband) permission?

If so, do they get an attorney or some kind of person with them during questioning to ensure independently they don't get too upset, tell LE to hold off if they do get upset, that sort of thing?

The dad has an attorney. Would LE have to contact the dad's attorney before questioning the kids? Or are the kids separate in that representation?

Thank you! :grouphug:

They can be questioned (I assume they are witnesses, not suspects) without parental permission where the parent is a suspect. They would not have a right to an attorney if they are not suspects, but likely there would be an LE person with child psych experience present and the questioning would be videotaped.

The dad's lawyer would not have to be involved.

Could we please have your expert opinion on this? We're all pretty "upset" to say the least!

When Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office detectives entered the Signal Mountain home of a missing woman a couple of weeks ago, the family’s computers were missing.

The computers instead had been turned over to Lee Davis, an attorney representing Matthew Palmgren, the husband of Gail Palmgren, the 44-year-old mother of two who has been missing since April 30.

Davis said in an interview Thursday that the computer hard drives have been sent to technicians to see if any files or history can be recovered that might lead to Gail Palmgren.

“We’ve sent them off to see what’s on them,” he said. “Obviously, if files have been deleted, they’ve been deleted.”

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/jul/08/missing-palmgren-computers-turned-over-defense-att/

AZ, I think it should be noted that Lee Davis has stated that within 15 minutes of being retained very early on, he contacted LE and offered for them to search the property. LE turned him down.

I think it should also be noted that Matt (Gail's husband) retained the PI who works with this attorney and is an ex-cop from Chattanooga PD, to find Gail.

Under these circumstances, wouldn't it be reasonable for the attorneys and PI to have the hard drives scanned to see if there was any lead to what happened to Gail? If I were paying them to find my missing spouse, well, they better scan those hard drives. It seems a very basic thing to do to find a missing person.

Thanks! :grouphug:

Sounds like LE made a mistake here. If they declined the opportunity to search, it is reasonable for the homeowner to think the property can be used as he sees fit.

If I were LE, I would seize the computers from wherever the attorney sent them RIGHT NOW. I would also ask the attorney, in writing and copied to the media, whether the computer company was retained to assist with providing legal advice to his client, or to help find Gail. The attorney will likely respond "to help find Gail," as the media will be badgering him for a response. Then, as there would be no attorney work-product privilege involved, I would seize all work orders and communications between the attorney and computer company, and question the employees of the computer company as to what work they did and why.

ETA: Looking back at the questions above, it sounds like the attorney has already admitted that he sent the computers off for analysis to help find Gail.
 
:twocents:posted by another member on the Gail Palmgren Thread, but I too would like AZlawyer's input on this one myself:
______________________________________________________________

Originally Posted by Annie_61
What are the legal obligations of a PI if he finds something incriminating against his own client. Is he bound by some ethics/client confidentiality clause to only tell his client/clients attorney and not the LE or does he have to go straight to the LE? Are they covered like Dr, lawyers and priests? Sorry if these seem stupid question but I don’t know anything about PI’s and how they work.

Has his roll been to try collect up all the information that GP had been putting out there, recover documents etc. to get it back into the hands of MP & his attorney. That sure would help MP and his attorney be well prepared with what he needs to do to cover his butt. Can/will a PI step outside the roll his client has hired him for and look for information on where Gail might be if he hasn’t been asked to do that as such?

This post is just some thoughts on why someone might hire a PI other than to help find a missing person and no I am not saying MP is guilty of anything, just some thoughts and questions I had when some asked why he would hire a PI if he has something to hide.
 
Thank you for answering our questions, AZ!

I've another one:

Can you help explain the legal ramifications of searches conducted under a search 'agreement' vs a search warrant? If evidence was taken into custody during either (or both) type of searches, would evidence seized under a search 'agreement' hold the same weight as evidence seized under a court ordered SW- if it were to progress to a criminal case?
 
Another puzzler for our talented attorneys:

LE in this case has not interviewed the husband, MP, who retained a criminal defense attorney, and they have not interviewed the children, (ages 12 and 7, I think).

The last confirmed sighting of Gail is believed to be when she left her children at her residence and left in her Jeep. This information is from the husband who claims he arrived home ten minutes or so after she left and the children were left home alone. It does seem to be corroborated by a neighbor who saw her pulling out of the driveway.

The neighbor didn't actually speak to Gail, just saw her pulling away. The children had just spent several hours driving home from a trip with their mother and so potentially would know her state of mind, who if anyone she interacted with that day, etc.

Some of us on the thread feel that the reason the children have not been interviewed is that the father (or his attorney) has not allowed it. Others on the thread think the police don't feel the need to interview the children, or that it's enough for their purposes to rely on what the father said the children said.

What would be the normal way to proceed in a case like this where children this age are involved? Would LE ask to interview the children? Would there be a strategic reason to not ask to interview the children?

The father has not been named as a suspect if that helps.
 
Hi AZ! Question -

Let's say Matt filed for divorce today, and the hearing came along, and Gail's missing person investigation is in the same status as it is right now, what does the judge do? Does he appoint an attorney to represent her? Would it be a PD?

How about somebody hiring an attorney to act on her behalf, while Matt is her next of kin? Can someone who is not her next of kin hire an attorney to act on her behalf?

Wouldn't it be a conflict of interest if Matt, as her next of kin, hired an attorney for her, in a divorce case?

Thanks! :blowkiss:
 

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