Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Knoxville, Tennessee -- March 30, 2023 -- A complaint filed with the federal courts has
According to the complaint, a Tennessee bankruptcy judge used her federal bench to
target an African American female attorney and her law firm, Upright Law, for the benefit of a
court-insider.
Between May 18, 2016 and June 20, 2018, Bankruptcy Judge Suzanne H. Bauknight
issued -- on her own initiative -- at least 87 orders attacking the integrity and competence of
persons associated with Upright Law. The orders were unusual because they were done by
According to the complaint, Bankruptcy Judge Bauknight used her orders to require
Her first orders targeted African-American attorney Grace Gardner. At that time, Ms.
Gardner was the local partner for Upright Law, in Knoxville, Tennessee. She had a twenty-five
On July 15, 2016, Bankruptcy Judge Bauknight began to issue orders attacking Upright
On April 27, 2017, Bauknight began issuing orders targeting Upright Law's legal fees, in
cases pending before her. Between April 27, 2017 and December 27, 2017, Bankruptcy Judge
Bauknight substantially reduced Upright Law's fees in at least fourteen cases. She did this on her
own initiative.
Bankruptcy Judge Bauknight issued these orders while her courtroom colleague --
Gwendolyn Kerney -- was demanding a payment from Upright Law in the hundreds of thousands
of dollars.
When Upright Law refused to settle with Kerney, Bauknight began to issue orders
attacking the integrity and competence of Upright Law's new local partner, Elliott J. Schuchardt.
Between January 9, 2018 and June 20, 2018, Bankruptcy Judge Bauknight issued dozens of
orders -- on her own initiative -- attacking attorney Schuchardt. Schuchardt, too, had a twenty-
On June 21, 2018, Upright Law agreed to pay Bauknight's colleague -- Gwendolyn
Kerney -- $200,000 in connection with the case. The firm also agreed to withdraw from the
Knoxville market.
Attorney Schuchardt has filed a complaint with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth
contends that the orders were unlawful, and should be vacated pursuant to federal law.
Schuchardt has also written to Congress, asking the federal government to establish an
Schuchardt is a 1993 graduate of Columbia Law School, located in New York. For the
first ten years of his practice, he worked with large law firms in New York, Washington, D.C.
and Philadelphia. Schuchardt has spent much of the last ten years engaging in civil liberties work
in the courts.
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CONTACT:
Elliott J. Schuchardt
8033 Ellisville Lane
Knoxville, TN 37909
Phone: (865) 304-4374
E-mail: elliott016@gmail.com
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