Mayor Waited Too Long to Ask for Recusal of Court Chancellor

Tennessee case summary on recusal in divorce.

Husband wants recusal of Chancellor. Appeals court denies on basis that he should have raised concerns sooner.

The husband in this Shelby County, Tennessee, case was the mayor of Shelby County. He filed for divorce in March, 2023. The chancellor assigned to the case, on her own motion, recused herself from the case, stating that this was necessary to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. The case was randomly assigned to Chancellor JoeDae L. Jenkins, who accept the assignment.

Various pleadings were filed and a hearing was held. On June 28, the court made an oral ruling, and on July 24, the court made an order regarding a permanent parenting plan, and allowing the mother to relocate with the parties’ children.

In September, the husband filed a motion to recuse Chancellor Jenkins. A hearing was held in November, and the motion was denied. The husband based this motion on an alleged appearance of impropriety, arising from his authority over the county budget. The trial court held that the issue had been waived because it was not raised, despite the husband being aware of all the facts relied upon in the motion. The husband then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

The appeals court began its analysis by quoting the relevant rule, which requires a filing “promptly after a party learns or reasonably should have learned of the facts” warranting recusal. The appeals court noted that the Chancellor had accepted the case in March, but six months elapsed before the husband filed the motion.

On appeal, the husband argued that he didn’t see the need to raise the issue, since he contemplated an out-of-court resolution.

The appeals court agreed with the lower court. If the husband believed that there was reason for recusal, he should have raised it at the beginning of the case. For that reason, it agreed that the issue had been waived, and affirmed the lower court’s order denying the motion. The appeals court also assessed the costs of the appeal against the husband.

No. W2023-01794-COA-T10B-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan. 11, 2024).

See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see The Tennessee Divorce Process: How Divorces Work Start to Finish.