Tennessee appeals court judges have vacated a six-month suspension handed to a regional bail bonding company after one of its former contractors was caught seeking sex in in return for writing a woman's bond.
The Tennessee Court of Appeals said judges in Marion County was wrong to punish Cumberland Bail Bonding, its owner, and two other bonding companies he owns in the county over misconduct by ex-bondsman Kelvin Pell.
Kelvin PellIn an opinion published Wednesday, the appeals court judges said Pell's behavior was "shocking to the conscience," but said there was no evidence that his employer knew about it, was negligent in its hiring practices or failed to immediately remove him as soon as it became public.
Cumberland Bail Bonding owner Andy Baggenstoss said he feels "vindicated" by the appeals court ruling.
"First and foremost, we would want to say we deeply regret [Pell's] actions were harmful to someone, and this is not indicative or the standard in which I run any of my companies," Baggenstoss said.
Noting that the appellate ruling called Cumberland's hiring practices "irreproachable, meeting or exceeding statutory requirements," Baggenstoss added, "I have to say that we always felt Judge [Thomas] Graham's ruling was made in error and today I am happy with and feel vindicated by the appeals court decision. "
The case began in February 2017 when the Marion County Sheriff's Office set up a sting against Pell. Detective Chad Johnson said at the time there had been rumors Pell was swapping bonds for sex with women who had been arrested. With a cooperating witness wearing a wire, detectives recorded Pell negotiating the arrangement. Then they caught him in a motel room with his pants around his ankles while the woman hid out in the bathroom.
Pell was charged with sexual battery, a Class E felony, and patronizing prostitution, a Class B misdemeanor. Marion County court records show he pleaded guilty in September to the charge of patronizing prostitution, while the sexual battery charge was dropped. Pell was fined $50 and placed on six months' unsupervised probation, records show.
The appeals court ruling noted that neither Cumberland nor the courts knew anything about the Feb. 8, 2017, arrest until a story appeared in the Times Free Press.
Pell's attempt to deflect blame by telling investigators that writing bonds in exchange for sex was a common practice in the industry infuriated Marion County Circuit Court judge, who suspended Cumberland Bonding on Feb. 17. The judges' order said Cumberland violated local rules by failing to notify the court of Pell's arrest. They then included Baggenstoss' other Marion bonding businesses, A Bail Bonding and A+ Bail Bonding, and set the suspension for six months.
The appeals court, though, said the judges were wrong. Pell worked only for Cumberland, and there was "no evidence regarding any misconduct" by the other two companies, according to the ruling. Pell's background check before hiring came up clean. And as soon as Cumberland learned about Pell's arrest, "it took immediate action to remove Mr. Pell as an authorized agent in order to limit any further misdeeds," the ruling states. And the Marion judges had no authority under state law to suspend the companies because Cumberland's employee manual didn't specifically forbid sex with clients, the ruling continues.
"The purpose of the suspension was to deter one rogue agent, but the effect was to punish Cumberland, whose actions appear to have been blameless," the appeals court judges wrote.
Baggenstoss said revising the manual was a positive result from the whole case.
"I do think we have to have clear lines and a very clear understanding of what we can do, what we cannot do, what we should do and what we should not do," he said.
"As a father of two beautiful daughters, I want those lines defined, and if I can help do that by inserting those lines and being a leader in my industry I am absolutely happy to change my policy," he said.
Contact staff writer Judy Walton at jwalton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6416.