CUMBERLAND RIVER DEATHS
NASHVILLE FILM FESTIVAL
AUGUST 22, 2024 | VOLUME 36 | NUMBER 33
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Hagerty begins economic development tour in Middle Tennessee Senator touts local leadership but decries U.S. financial state under Biden administration NICOLLE S. PRAINO
Cheekwood Estate and Gardens
PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS
Cheekwood countersues Swan Ballaffiliated group
Arts nonprofit alleges SBI has no ownership of annual fundraising event
U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty began his statewide economic development tour in Spring Hill Wednesday by visiting Worldwide Stages, an entertainment production venue. Hagerty also made stops in Shelbyville at the Musgrave Pencil Company and Southern Precision Machining as well as at automotive components supplier Meiwa in Lewisburg, which he helped bring to the state back in 2013 as commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development. Touting the leadership of Tennessee, the Republican senator said he’s >> PAGE 2
WILLIAM WILLIAMS In the latest move of an ongoing litigation battle, Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art has countersued a Swan Ball-associated nonprofit entity claiming the rights to the annual gala’s state trademark, contending the entity’s actions are “an assault on Cheekwood and the legacy of generations of volunteers and donors.” In the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, Cheekwood argues it has full ownership — and not SB Initiative Inc. (SBI) — of the Swan Ball and that the issue is not about, as SB argues, a trademark but, rather, financial accountability.
Cheekwood contends the charity/expense ratio for the Swan Ball has averaged 32 percent over the past three events, which contrasts with the nationally accepted return figure of 60 percent to 70 percent. As such, Cheekwood argues, only 32 cents of a donor’s dollar benefits Cheekwood, with the remainder covering the cost of the Swan Ball. Cheekwood alleges in the lawsuit that SBI’s acts “have caused Cheekwood damages and unjustly enriched SBI.” In the lawsuit, Cheekwood argues it owns and maintains the Swan Ball domain, associated website, and a GoDaddy account
used to register and renew the Swan Ball website. Relatedly, Cheekwood alleges SBI registered, maintained and is presently using “infringing domains with a bad faith intent to profit.” Cheekwood alleges that, on several occasions in May and June, several former Swan Ball volunteers believed associated with SBI “attempted covertly to gain unauthorized access to Cheekwood’s computers and files, Cheekwood’s Swan Ball Mailchimp account, and the Cheekwood’s FrontStream account, onsite and online.”
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Sen. Bill Hagerty PHOTO: HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
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