Why is Probate Judge Kathryn George Still On the Bench Chief Justice Bridget McCormack?

LIT COMMENTARY

After all is said and done, the corrupt Macomb Co. Probate Judge Kathryn George –  who ordered this elder abuse and financial fraud – is still on the bench and  for the same judicial misconduct she has been taken to task on before.

The Eleventh Circuit at the Partisan https://t.co/7dpyf1Q5HQ conference in Disneyland, Fl. – Georgia’s Judge Lisa Branch discusses her rule of law. #appellatetwitter @JudgeDillard @SCOTUSblog @SupremeCourtGA @SupremeCourt_TX @SupremeCourt_@flcourts @ABAesq @Ocwen_Help @FedSoc pic.twitter.com/rRDJzMQ17Q

— LawsInTexas (@lawsintexasusa) February 22, 2020

AG Nessel Settles Macomb County Guardianship Case Involving Guardian Self-Dealing

Originally published; Sept. 17, 2020 | Republished by LIT; Dec. 26, 2020

This isn’t the first time questions have been raised about Judge George and a guardianship company. According to an order from the Michigan Supreme Court, back in 2008, they removed Judge George as chief judge of the probate court over concerns about her “questionable overuse” of a different guardianship company she was appointing to cases.

LANSING – The controversial Macomb County guardianship case that Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel intervened in on behalf of the people of the State of Michigan, has settled. The private parties agreed that the financial aspects of the settlement are subject to a confidentiality agreement, while the injunctive aspects of the settlement, insisted on by the Attorney General, are public record.

Caring Hearts Michigan Inc. and owner Catherine Kirk agree that the guardianship company will immediately cease operations and legally dissolve by the end of the year. In addition, Kirk and Caring Hearts Michigan employees are permanently barred from operating any other guardianship or conservatorship entity.

The case caught Nessel’s attention in September 2019 after a 12-stop statewide Elder Abuse Listening Tour, where the most frequent complaint involved guardianships.

Caring Hearts Michigan was appointed by Macomb County Probate Judge Kathryn George as both guardian and conservator for Robert Lee Mitchell and Barbara Delbridge, despite a petition submitted by the daughter and stepdaughter of the couple.

Of significant concern to the Attorney General was the web of connections between Caring Hearts Michigan, a guardian agency owned by Kirk, and Executive Care, a 24-hour in-home care company, also owned by Kirk, as well as a law firm — Kirk, Huth, Lange and Badalamenti PLC — owned in part by Kirk’s husband.

“Our involvement in this case revealed what we feared: fiduciaries with a clear financial conflict of interest who billed a shocking amount of money in a relatively short period of time” said Nessel. “The law is very clear on this issue. The court shall not appoint as guardian an agency, public or private, that financially benefits from directly providing housing, medical, mental health or social services to the legally incapacitated individual. In fact, the Estates and Protected Individuals Code specifically prohibits certain financial self-dealing by the guardian with respect to the protected individual.”

Caring Hearts Michigan hired Executive Care to provide in-home care for Mitchell and Delbridge, and hired the law firm to provide legal advice. In about six months, the three entities billed nearly $400,000, almost 72 percent of that for Executive Care.

“It is incumbent on the courts to ensure that the state’s guardianship system is providing properly for the vulnerable and that the court-appointed guardians and conservators fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities to those in their custody,” Nessel said. “To help, my team continues to look for similar instances of self-dealing and we will take swift action when it is discovered.”

Complaints about professional guardian or conservator entities who are engaging in similar self-dealing can be filed online with the Attorney General’s office.

The stipulated permanent injunction order can be read here.

The September 2019 notice of intervention can be read here.

In 575 Adams, LLC v. Wells Fargo Bank, a non-borrower was wrongfully denied his right to conduct discovery and take the deposition of the bank’s trial witness.

The Third District Court of Appeal quashed the lower court’s order granting the bank’s Motion for Protective Order. pic.twitter.com/WLoJp8gfEH

— LawsInTexas (@lawsintexasusa) December 26, 2020

AG Nessel Takes Unprecedented Step to Intervene in Macomb County Guardianship Case

Originally published; Sept. 9, 2020 | Republished by LIT; Dec. 26, 2020

LANSING – In an unprecedented move, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a notice late last week to intervene on behalf of the people of the State of Michigan in a controversial guardianship case in Macomb County.

Nessel’s action comes less than a month after she and Supreme Court Justices Megan Cavanagh and Richard Bernstein wrapped up the last of a 12-stop statewide Elder Abuse Listening Tour. The single most frequent complaint heard was that regarding guardianships, said Nessel.

“It is absolutely incumbent on the courts to ensure that the state’s guardianship system is providing properly for the vulnerable and that the court-appointed conservators fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities to those in their custody,” said Nessel. “That does not appear to be happening in the case of Caring Hearts, which was appointed by Judge Kathryn George as guardian and conservator for Robert Lee Mitchell and Barbara Delbridge.”

The appointment of an outside guardianship company was done despite a petition submitted by the daughter and stepdaughter of the couple.

Of significant concern to the Attorney General is the web of connections between Caring Hearts of Michigan, Inc., a guardian agency owned by Catherine Kirk, and two companies also owned in part by Kirk or her husband – Executive Care, a 24-hour in-home care company, and Kirk, Huth, Lange and Badalamenti, PLS, a law firm owned by Kirk’s husband. Caring Hearts hired Executive Care to provide in-home care for Mitchell and Delbridge. Legal counsel for the couple was – again at the direction of Caring Hearts – provided by Kirk’s husband’s law firm.

“The law is very clear on this issue,” said Nessel. “The Court shall not appoint as guardian an agency, public or private, that financially benefits from directly providing housing, medical, mental health, or social services to the legally incapacitated individual. In fact, the Estates and Protected Individuals Code specifically prohibits certain financial self-dealing by the guardian with respect to the ward.”

Nessel gave a shout-out to WXYZ-TV reporter Heather Catallo for her investigative work that brought this issue to light, saying, “Catallo’s work is an excellent example of the incredible importance of journalism in our society.”

The case now proceeds into discovery where the parties can seek information as well as file additional motions. Chief Judge James M. Biernat, 16th Circuit Court, set January 10, 2020 for a settlement conference and end of discovery.