In Re Investigation Of Law Solutions Chicago, LLC

01/22/2021

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE

AT NASHVILLE

November 12, 2020 Session

IN RE INVESTIGATION OF LAW SOLUTIONS CHICAGO LLC

Appeal from the Chancery Court for Davidson County

No. 19-1210-IV Russell T. Perkins, Chancellor

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No. M2020-00411-COA-R3-CV

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The trial court granted the Tennessee Attorney General’s petition seeking to compel the

respondent corporation, Law Solutions Chicago LLC d/b/a UpRight Law (“UpRight”), to

provide information regarding the identities of consumers who had paid for but allegedly

not received UpRight’s services. In so ruling, the trial court determined that the attorney

general had established that UpRight’s practices, if proven, would likely constitute

violations of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act. The trial court also determined

that the information sought was not protected by the attorney-client privilege. UpRight

has appealed. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm the trial court’s ruling.

Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Chancery Court

Affirmed; Case Remanded

THOMAS R. FRIERSON, II, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which JOHN W.

MCCLARTY and KRISTI M. DAVIS, JJ., joined.

Wallace W. Dietz and Briana T. Sprick Schuster, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant,

Deighan Law LLC, formerly known as Law Solutions Chicago LLC d/b/a UpRight Law.

Herbert H. Slatery, III, Attorney General and Reporter; Andrée S. Blumstein, Solicitor

General; Caroline Drinnon, Assistant Attorney General; and Travis Brown, Assistant

Attorney General, for the appellee, Tennessee Attorney General and Reporter.

OPINION

I. Factual and Procedural Background

On October 9, 2019, Herbert H. Slatery, III, Tennessee Attorney General and

Reporter (“the Attorney General”), filed a petition in the Davidson County Chancery

Court (“trial court”) requesting that the trial court order Upright to comply with a Request

for Information (“RFI”) issued pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated § 47-18-106(a).

As explained in the petition, the Attorney General had been investigating UpRight for

alleged deceptive business practices under the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act

(“TCPA”) in connection with UpRight’s “advertising and sale of debt relief and legal

services to consumers” and had also been investigating UpRight’s purported

“unauthorized practice of law.”

The Attorney General asserted that UpRight paired consumers in need of debt

relief services with local bankruptcy attorneys. However, according to the Attorney

General, UpRight did not always provide the services for which consumers had paid.

The Attorney General sought, within the RFI, a list of Tennessee consumers, including

names and addresses (“identifying information”), who had partially paid UpRight’s fees

but had received no services. The Attorney General also averred that UpRight refused to

provide this information, which the Attorney General had deemed relevant to his

investigation.

UpRight filed a response opposing the Attorney General’s petition, asserting that it

had already produced over 14,000 pages of written documents in addition to searchable

data files. UpRight asserted that the identifying information concerning clients who had

not yet filed bankruptcy proceedings was protected by the attorney-client privilege and

could not be disclosed by UpRight without the clients’ consent. UpRight further asserted

that it provided many other “bankruptcy services” to clients aside from the filing of a

bankruptcy petition. In support, UpRight filed an affidavit from its associate general

counsel attesting to the types of services that UpRight provided to its clients prior to the

filing of a bankruptcy petition.

On December 4, 2019, the Attorney General filed a reply, claiming that the

threshold requirements set forth in U.S. v. Morton Salt Co., 338 U.S. 632 (1950), had

been met inasmuch as the RFI was within the Attorney General’s authority to issue, was

not too indefinite, and was reasonably relevant to the investigation. The Attorney

General posited that UpRight had failed to rebut the validity of the RFI.

On February 14, 2020, the trial court entered a final order. The court determined

that the Attorney General had the power to investigate a potential violation of the TCPA

and that the person or entity being investigated could be required to “make available for

examination all documentary material and information relevant to the subject matter of

the investigation.” See Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-106(a)(1) (Supp. 2019). As the court

noted, although the statute further provided that the respondent could petition the Circuit

or Chancery Courts of Davidson County for a protective order, UpRight had failed to

seek such relief.

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Moreover, as the trial court recognized, Tennessee Code Annotated § 47-18-

106(d) provides in pertinent part:

Any court of competent jurisdiction in this state, upon a showing by the

attorney general that there are reasonable grounds to believe that this part is

being, has been, or is about to be violated; that the persons who are

committing, have committed, or are about to commit such acts or practices

or who possess the relevant documentary material have left the state or are

about to leave the state; and that such an order is necessary for the

enforcement of this part, may order such persons to comply with subsection

(a) whether the attorney general has made a prior request for information or

not.

The court specifically found that UpRight’s business practices alleged by the Attorney

General’s office, if proven, would likely violate the TCPA. The court further determined

that the RFI did not appear to seek information that would violate the attorney-client

privilege. The court therefore granted the petition and ordered UpRight to produce the

information sought. UpRight timely appealed.

II. Issues Presented

UpRight presents the following issues for our review, which we have restated

slightly:

1. Whether the trial court erred by determining that the client

information sought by the Attorney General was not protected by

attorney-client privilege.

2. Whether the trial court erred by declining to consider UpRight’s

duty to protect privileged client information.

3. Whether the trial court erred in determining that the information

sought was relevant under the TCPA.

4. Whether the trial court erred by failing to consider the documents

produced by UpRight when determining that the Attorney General

had demonstrated a compelling need for the client information

sought.

III. Standard of Review

We review a non-jury case de novo upon the record with a presumption of

correctness as to the findings of fact unless the preponderance of the evidence is

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otherwise. See Tenn. R. App. P. 13(d); Bowden v. Ward, 27 S.W.3d 913, 916 (Tenn.

2000). “In order for the evidence to preponderate against the trial court’s findings of fact,

the evidence must support another finding of fact with greater convincing effect.” Wood

v. Starko, 197 S.W.3d 255, 257 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2006). We review questions of law,

including those of statutory construction, de novo with no presumption of correctness.

Bowden, 27 S.W.3d at 916 (citing Myint v. Allstate Ins. Co., 970 S.W.2d 920, 924 (Tenn.

1998)); see also In re Estate of Haskins, 224 S.W.3d 675, 678 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2006).

As our Supreme Court has elucidated, “[w]e review a trial court’s rulings on the

application of the attorney-client privilege under an abuse of discretion standard.”

Dialysis Clinic, Inc. v. Medley, 567 S.W.3d 314, 317-18 (Tenn. 2019). “A court abuses

its discretion when it causes an injustice to the party challenging the decision by (1)

applying an incorrect legal standard, (2) reaching an illogical or unreasonable decision, or

(3) basing its decision on a clearly erroneous assessment of the evidence.” Lee Med., Inc.

v. Beecher, 312 S.W.3d 515, 524 (Tenn. 2010).

IV. Attorney-Client Privilege

UpRight asserts that the trial court abused its discretion by determining that the

client information sought by the Attorney General was not protected by the attorney-

client privilege and ordering its disclosure. By contrast, the Attorney General contends

that the information sought—the identifying information concerning UpRight clients who

paid fees but did not proceed to file a bankruptcy petition—is not protected by the

privilege.

In Tennessee, the attorney-client privilege is codified at Tennessee Code

Annotated § 23-3-105 (2009), which provides:

No attorney, solicitor or counselor shall be permitted, in giving testimony

against a client or person who consulted the attorney, solicitor or counselor

professionally, to disclose any communication made to the attorney,

solicitor or counselor as such by such person during the pendency of the

suit, before or afterward, to the person’s injury.

Concerning the purpose of the attorney-client privilege, our Supreme Court has

explained:

Sound public policy seems to have required the establishment of the

rule that facts communicated by a client to his counsel are under the seal of

confidence, and cannot be disclosed in proof. It is a rule of protection to

the client, more than a privilege to the attorney. The latter is not allowed, if

he would, to break this [s]eal of secrecy and confidence. It is supposed to

be necessary to the administration of justice, and the prosecution and

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defence of rights, that the communications between client and their

attorneys should be free and unembarrassed by any apprehensions of

disclosure, or betrayal. The object of the rule is, that the professional

intercourse between attorney and client should be protected by profound

secrecy.

McMannus v. State, 39 Tenn. 213 (1858).

We note, however, that such privilege is not absolute. See Bryan v. State, 848

S.W.2d 72, 79 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1992). As the Bryan Court further elucidated:

For the privilege to apply, the client has the burden of showing that the

communications were made in the confidence of the attorney-client

relationship. That is, not only must the communication have occurred

pursuant to the attorney-client relationship, it must have been made with the

intention of confidentiality. Hazlett v. Bryant, 192 Tenn. 251, 241 S.W.2d

121, 124 (1951). An attorney may be required to testify about

communications and transactions “that have no element of confidence in

them.” Johnson v. Patterson, [81 Tenn. 626,] 649 [(1884)]. For example,

the presence of a third party at the time of the communication or the client’s

expectation that the substance of the communication is to be disclosed to

others does not bring the privilege into play. Hazlett v. Bryant, supra, 241

S.W.2d at 124.

Id. at 80. Furthermore, “whether the attorney-client privilege applies to any particular

communication is necessarily question, topic and case specific.” Id.

The question presented in this matter, whether a client’s identifying information is

protected by attorney-client privilege, was addressed by our sister Court of Criminal

Appeals in State v. Bobo, 724 S.W.2d 760, 765-66 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1981), wherein an

attorney in possession of exculpatory information regarding the defendant was called to

testify concerning the identity of his client, who had provided the information. The

attorney refused to reveal the client’s identity or the information provided, stating that

although he believed the information would not incriminate his client, the client had

instructed him not to disclose the information or the client’s identity. Id. at 765. On

appeal, the Court of Criminal Appeals explained:

By statute and case law, Tennessee recognizes the privilege placed

upon communications between an attorney and his client. T.C.A. § 23-3-

105; Jackson v. State, 155 Tenn. 371, 293 S.W. 539 (1927); McMannus v.

State, 39 Tenn. (2 Head) 213 (1858). Thus, we hold that the substance of

the communications between [the attorney] and his client was privileged

and not subject to disclosure.

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However, we find that the trial court erred in extending the seal of

confidence to the identity of [the attorney’s] client.

Tennessee has not ruled on the question of whether the attorney-

client privilege rule applies to the identity of the attorney’s client.

However, the general rule, followed by the many jurisdictions which have

considered the question, is that the privilege from disclosure does not apply

where the inquiry is confined to the fact of the attorney’s employment and

the name of the person employing him. See Annot. 16 A.L.R. 3rd 1047

(1967); 81 Am. Jur. 2d Witnesses § 213 (1976); 3 WHARTON’S

CRIMINAL EVIDENCE § 556 (C. Torcia Ed. 1973); see also 7A C.J.S.

Attorney and Client § 174 (1980), where the rule is stated as follows:

An attorney has a duty to disclose the name and residence of

his alleged client, and such disclosure may be compelled by a

court, where it is necessary in the interest of justice, in order

to protect the rights of the adverse party to the action, or

another person interested in its outcome.

The authorities show that an exception to the general rule is

recognized where unusual circumstances are present, such as where the

disclosure of the client’s identity might expose him to criminal prosecution,

or in situations in which so much has been divulged regarding the legal

services rendered or the advice sought, that to reveal the client’s name

would be to disclose the whole relationship and confidential

communications. See 81 Am. Jur. 2d Witnesses § 213 (1976); Ex Parte

Enzor, 270 Alabama 254, 117 So.2d 361 (1960); People v. Sullivan, 271

Cal. App. 2d 531, 77 Cal. Rptr. 25, cert. den. 396 U.S. 973, 90 S. Ct. 463,

24 L.Ed.2d 441 (1969); In re Semel, 411 F.2d 195 (3rd Cir. 1969), cert.

den. 396 U.S. 905, 90 S.Ct. 220, 24 L.Ed.2d 181 (1969); Colton v. United

States, 306 F.2d 633 (2nd Cir. 1962), cert. den. 371 U.S. 951, 83 S.Ct. 505,

9 L.Ed.2d 499 (1963); see also Annot. 16 A.L.R. 3rd 1047, 1059 (1967).

The record does not disclose any special circumstances or unusual

situations in the present case that would warrant application of any

exception to the general rule. There is no showing that disclosure of the

client’s identity would operate to reveal any confidential communication

between [the attorney] and his client, nor that such disclosure would serve

to incriminate the client.

Bobo, 724 S.W.2d at 765-66.

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Similarly, in Anderson v. Anderson, No. 86-202-II, 1986 WL 14442, at *7 (Tenn.

Ct. App. Dec. 24, 1986), this Court stated:

The traditional and still generally applicable rule denies the privilege

for the fact of consultation or employment, including the component facts

of identity of the client, such identifying facts about him as his address and

occupation, the identity of the lawyer and the scope of object of the

employment. McCormick on Evidence, Third Edition, § 90, p. 215, and

authorities footnoted therein.

In this matter, although UpRight concedes that the protections of the attorney-

client privilege generally do not extend to the client’s identity, it argues that special

circumstances exist herein warranting an exception to the general rule. See Bobo, 724

S.W.2d at 766. No allegation has been made, of course, that disclosure of the clients’

identifying information herein would potentially expose the clients to criminal

prosecution. See id.; see also Ex Parte Enzor, 117 So.2d 361 (Ala. 1960); People v.

Sullivan, 271 Cal. App. 2d 531, 77 Cal. Rptr. 25, cert. den. 396 U.S. 973, 90 S.Ct. 463,

24 L.Ed.2d 441 (1969).1 Instead, the Attorney General’s investigation concerns only the

business practices of UpRight. UpRight contends, however, that because it only provides

bankruptcy services to its clients, disclosure of its clients’ identifying information would

be tantamount to disclosure of the clients’ confidences given to UpRight in seeking

representation. See Bobo, 724 S.W.2d at 766 (“[A]n exception to the general rule is

recognized where unusual circumstances are present, such as . . . in situations in which so

much has been divulged regarding the legal services rendered or the advice sought, that

to reveal the client’s name would be to disclose the whole relationship and confidential

communications.”).

We are not persuaded that an exception to the general rule permitting disclosure of

a client’s identifying information would apply in this case. Although UpRight has

established, via an affidavit from its associate general counsel, that UpRight’s practice

exclusively deals with consumer bankruptcy matters, this does not demonstrate that the

clients’ motives for seeking advice from UpRight or their confidences provided to

UpRight are revealed by simple disclosure of their identifying information. Without the

provision of information concerning the manner in which UpRight markets its services, it

1

These non-binding authorities cited in Bobo as representing an exception to the general rule involved

instances wherein disclosure of the client’s identity could result in criminal charges being brought against

the client. In its appellate brief, UpRight has cited other non-binding authority for the proposition that the

privilege would extend to protect a client’s identity when it is “connected inextricably with a privileged

communication.” See, e.g., In re Grand Jury Subpoena for Attorney Representing Criminal Defendant

Reyes-Requena, 926 F.2d 1423, 1431 (5th Cir. 1991). We note that these extra-jurisdictional cases relied

upon by UpRight are not controlling in our analysis. See Summers Hardware & Supply Co. v. Steele, 794

S.W.2d 358, 362 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1990) (“Cases from other jurisdictions, including federal cases, are

always instructive, sometimes persuasive, but never controlling in our decisions.”).

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cannot be determined that filing a bankruptcy petition is the only possible motivation for

an individual to seek advice from UpRight. In fact, UpRight concedes in its brief that

many of its clients never proceed to the point of filing a bankruptcy action and that

UpRight provides other services prior to and outside of the act of filing a bankruptcy

petition. UpRight has simply failed to demonstrate that “so much has been divulged

regarding the legal services rendered or the advice sought, that to reveal the client’s name

would be to disclose the whole relationship and confidential communications.” See

Bobo, 724 S.W.2d at 766. We therefore conclude that the trial court did not abuse its

discretion by determining that the information sought by the Attorney General was not

protected by the attorney-client privilege.

UpRight also posits that the trial court failed to consider UpRight’s duty to protect

privileged client information. Having determined that the information sought is not

privileged, we conclude that this issue is moot. In any event, UpRight fulfilled its duty,

pursuant to Rule of Professional Conduct 1.6, by making “reasonable efforts to prevent

the inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure of or unauthorized access to, information

relating to the representation of” its clients. See Tenn. R. Sup. Ct. 8, RPC 1.6(d).

UpRight is authorized by RPC 1.6(c)(2) to disclose client information in order to comply

with an “order of a tribunal requiring disclosure, but only if ordered to do so by the

tribunal after the lawyer has asserted on behalf of the client all non-frivolous claims that

the information sought by the tribunal is protected against disclosure by the attorney-

client privilege or other applicable law.” Having so asserted the privilege, UpRight has

satisfied its duty.

V. Relevance to TCPA

UpRight further contends that the trial court erred by determining that the client

information sought by the Attorney General was relevant under the TCPA. As UpRight

points out, this Court has previously agreed with federal precedent providing that the

practice of law does not involve “trade” or “commerce” for purposes of application of the

TCPA. See Credential Leasing Corp. of Tenn., Inc. v. White, No. E2015-01129-COA-

R3-CV, 2016 WL 2937094, at *7 (Tenn. Ct. App. May 17, 2016) (citing Pagliara v.

Johnson Barton Proctor & Rose, LLP, No. 3:10-CV-00679, 2010 WL 3940993, at *10

(M.D. Tenn. Oct. 6, 2010); Wright v. Linebarger Googan Blair & Sampson, LLP, 782 F.

Supp. 2d 593, 608 (W.D. Tenn. 2011) (“When professionals like lawyers and doctors

practice their professions outside their roles as businessmen or entrepreneurs, they do not

engage in trade or commerce under the TCPA.”); Schmidt v. Nat’l City Corp., No. 3:06-

CV-209, 2008 WL 597687, at *3 (E.D. Tenn. Mar. 4, 2008) (“[T]he TCPA does not

apply to lawyers practicing law because the practice of law is a profession and is not

trade or commerce as defined in the TCPA.”)). UpRight therefore postulates that the

information sought cannot be relevant to an investigation based on the TCPA because

UpRight was engaged in the practice of law concerning the transactions in question. We

disagree.

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A thorough review of Credential Leasing and the authorities cited therein

demonstrates that these cases involved situations where attorneys were sued regarding

their provision of legal services and a TCPA violation was alleged. See Credential

Leasing, 2016 WL 2937094, at *7; see also Wright, 782 F. Supp. 2d at 608; Pagliara,

2010 WL 3940993, at *10; Schmidt, 2008 WL 597687, at *3. Both this Court and the

federal courts have qualified their holdings, however, by clarifying that lawyers “can be

held liable under the TCPA for ‘allegations of unfair, unconscionable, or deceptive

methods, acts, or practices in the conduct of the entrepreneurial, commercial, or business

aspect of [their] practice.’” See Pagliara, 2010 WL 3940993, at *10 (quoting Constant v.

Wyeth, 352 F. Supp. 2d 847 (M.D. Tenn. 2003) (noting that professionals do not enjoy

blanket immunity from TCPA claims)); see also Credential Leasing, 2016 WL 2937094,

at *7 (explaining that “learned professionals such as doctors and lawyers are not exempt

from the TCPA with regard to ‘claims relating to their business practices.’”); Wright, 782

F. Supp. 2d at 608 (recognizing the distinction between the practice of law and business

aspects of the practice).

Our Supreme Court has similarly held that medical professionals who engage in

deceptive business practices can be held liable pursuant to the TCPA despite the fact that

claims of medical negligence do not fall under the TCPA’s ambit. See Franks v. Sykes,

600 S.W.3d 908, 915 (Tenn. 2020) (holding that “a health care provider, when acting in

its business capacity rather than in its professional capacity, is subject to claims under the

[TCPA].”). In Franks, the defendant medical provider was alleged to have filed

undiscounted hospital liens against consumers’ recoveries in the underlying tort cases the

consumers filed concerning their injuries. See id. at 910. The trial court dismissed the

consumers’ claims against the medical provider, and this Court affirmed, concluding that

the practice of medicine did not constitute a “consumer transaction.” See id. at 911. Our

Supreme Court, however, determined that there was a distinction between professional

services provided by a medical or legal professional and the business aspects of the

practice, noting that such distinction had been recognized by the United States Supreme

Court as well as “[c]ourts in jurisdictions throughout the country.” See id.

As our High Court elucidated:

The United States Supreme Court cleared the way for the business -

professional distinction in Goldfarb v. Virginia State Bar, 421 U.S. 773, 95

S. Ct. 2004, 44 L.Ed.2d 572 (1975). In Goldfarb, the Supreme Court held

that the Virginia State Bar was not exempt from a price-fixing claim under

the Sherman Act. Id. at 791-92, 95 S. Ct. 2004. Rejecting the argument

that lawyers did not engage in “trade or commerce,” the Supreme Court

recognized that learned professionals, such as lawyers, engage in business

roles as well as professional roles. Id. at 787-88, 95 S. Ct. 2004. In their

business roles, lawyers are “subject to the same antitrust and consumer

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protection laws as any other business.” Brookins v. Mote, 367 Mont. 193,

292 P.3d 347, 358 (2012) (quoting Goldfarb, 421 U.S. at 787-88, 95 S. Ct.

2004). Before Goldfarb, learned professionals were historically exempt

from federal consumer protection laws because they were not considered to

be engaged in trade or commerce. Brookins, 292 P.3d at 358 (citations

omitted).

Franks, 600 S.W.3d at 911-12 (footnote omitted). Relying on this and other precedent,

our Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s dismissal of the consumers’ claims, holding

that “when a plaintiff alleges an injury caused by a health care provider’s business

practices—including, but not limited to, deceptive practices in advertising, billing, or

collections—the plaintiff may state a claim under the [TCPA].” See id. at 914; see also

Proctor v. Chattanooga Orthopaedic Grp., P.C., 270 S.W.3d 56, 57 (Tenn. Ct. App.

2008) (holding that the TCPA “can apply to the entrepreneurial, commercial, or business

aspects of a medical practice” when confronted with a claim that the medical defendant

had billed the plaintiff for a more extensive procedure than was performed).

In the instant action, the Attorney General has been investigating UpRight

concerning its business practices and fees charged, not whether it adequately performed

the legal services it was hired to provide. In his petition, the Attorney General averred

that UpRight advertised that it was a “debt-relief” firm in addition to providing

bankruptcy services. In an accompanying affidavit, Assistant Attorney General Caroline

Drinnon explained that the Attorney General had received information from the United

States Department of Justice’s Office of the Bankruptcy Trustee that UpRight was

engaging in “aggressive and deceptive sales tactics” with consumers. The Attorney

General specifically alleged that UpRight had made misrepresentations to consumers

during its sales process and that, as a result, consumers paid money to UpRight but

received no services in return. Such activity clearly involves “business practices—

including, but not limited to, deceptive practices in advertising, billing, or collections”

and therefore could result in a finding of a TCPA violation. See Franks, 600 S.W.3d at

914. Upon careful review, we conclude that the trial court properly determined that the

client information sought by the Attorney General was relevant to the Attorney General’s

investigation pursuant to the TCPA.

VI. Necessity of Production

Finally, UpRight asserts that the trial court erred by failing to consider the

substantial amount of information that UpRight had already produced in this case.

UpRight posits that the RFI was “unreasonably burdensome” in part due to UpRight’s

assertion of attorney-client privilege. We disagree.

As this Court has previously explained concerning an investigation pursuant to the

TCPA:

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To prove that a request for information was validly issued,

defendants must only show that they had the requisite “reason to believe”

required by T.C.A. § 47-18-106(a). The power given to defendants to

compel production of testimony and documents or materials is intended to

allow defendants to obtain information about whether unfair and deceptive

trade practices are taking place and to ascertain if an enforcement action is

warranted. Cf., People ex rel. Babbit v. Herndon, 119 Ariz. 454, 581 P.2d

688, 691 (1978); State ex rel. Danforth v. Independence Dodge, Inc., 494

S.W.2d 362, 366 (Mo. App. 1973). To require defendants to make out a

cause of action at the compliance hearing would “require (them) to know in

advance what (they) cannot know until the investigation is completed.”

Mobile Oil Corp. v. Killian, 30 Conn. Sup. 87, 301 A.2d 562, 565 (1973).

“The effectiveness of regulatory legislation depends on the ability of

the officials responsible for enforcing it to obtain information.” Scott v.

Association for Childbirth At Home, International, 88 Ill.2d 279, 430

N.E.2d 1012, 1020 (1981).

In People ex rel. Babbit, the Court held that the recipient of an

investigative demand under Arizona’s Consumer Fraud Act has no right to

engage in discovery of the factual basis upon which the Attorney General

based his issuance of the demand so long as reasonable cause for issuance

of the demand existed. The Court stated: “The question at the hearing is

not whether the state’s information is true or uncontradicted, but whether,

assuming its accuracy, the state has in its possession sufficient information

to satisfy a judge that it is reasonable to believe that there has been a

violation of the act.” People ex rel. Babbit, 581 P.2d at 692.

Windsor Tower, Inc. v. Eaden, 1983 WL 953709, at *3-4 (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan. 26, 1983).

In the case at bar, we agree with the trial court’s implicit determination that the

Attorney General had reasonable grounds for issuance of the RFI pursuant to Tennessee

Code Annotated § 47-18-106(d). Having previously concluded that the information

sought was relevant to the Attorney General’s investigation under the TCPA and was not

privileged, we affirm the trial court’s order directing UpRight to produce the requested

information.

VII. Conclusion

For the foregoing reasons, the trial court’s judgment is affirmed. Costs on appeal

are assessed to the appellant, Deighan Law LLC, formerly known as Law Solutions

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Chicago LLC d/b/a UpRight Law. This matter is remanded to the trial court, pursuant to

applicable law, for enforcement of the judgment and collection of costs assessed below.

s/ Thomas R. Frierson, II

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THOMAS R. FRIERSON, II, JUDGE

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