Will No One Rid Me of This Turbulent Priest?

Will No One Rid Me of This Turbulent Priest?

            Today marks the anniversary of the murder in 1170 of Saint Thomas Becket.  This murder has always been the most serious stain upon the reign of King Henry II

            Of Norman descent (the movie Becket inaccurately has Henry referring to Becket as a Saxon), Becket rose to be appointed Lord Chancellor of England.  While Chancellor Henry nominated Becket (who at this time was not a priest) to the position of Archbishop of Canterbury, clearly hoping that Becket would use his power as primate of England to mold ecclesiastical policy in favor of royal interests.  Becket failed to do so, rather becoming an ascetic and placing the interests of the Church over those of the crown.  Eventually he was forced to resign as Lord Chancellor.

            The contest of wills between Henry and Becket over the Constitutions of Clarendon, they seeking to increase the power of the civil state over the Church and its constituents, led to a final break in the relationship, with Becket even fleeing England for France.  Eventually he would return to Canterbury.

            While in France and likely well into his cups, Henry made a statement (exactly what was said is lost to history – there are conflicting accounts) that was interpreted by four knights as a direction to kill Becket.  They crossed the Channel and challenged Becket in Canterbury Cathedral, there killing him.  Becket was canonized barely three years later, and the four assassins were excommunicated and ordered to go on pilgrimage to the Holy Land (at least one of them thereafter became a Templar).  Henry would later do public penance at Becket’s shrine in Canterbury Cathedral.

            There is a passing reference to Becket in The Lion in Winter.

Court Incorrectly Treats Assets of Dissolved LLC as the Assets of the LLC's Members

Court Incorrectly Treats Assets of Dissolved LLC as the Assets of the LLC's Members

      The procedure followed in Ceres Protein, LLC v Thompson Mechanical & Design, Civ. Act. No. 3:14-CV-00491-TBR-LLK, 2016 WL 6090966 (W.D. Ky. Oct. 18, 2016) upon the administration of dissolution of an LLC was simply incorrect.

      Therein, Ceres Protein, LLC, a plaintiff in the action along with Shannon, one of its members, was administratively dissolved. Thereafter the defendants moved to substitute Tarullo, the other of Ceres Protein, LLC's members, for the LLC. When, ultimately, the LLC was reinstated, it was substituted back in for Tarullo, in effect returning the parties to the place they were at the initiation of the lawsuit.

      The issue is that the LLC need never have been removed as a party to the suit. The dissolution of an LLC does not limit its capacity to participate in litigation. See KRS § 275.300(4)(a). Furthermore, dissolution does not vest in the members the property, including the legal rights, of the LLC. See KRS § 275.300(3)(a). But that is what the substitution of Tarullo purported to do.

      The error of treating the members of Ceres Protein LLC as the owners, upon dissolution, of the LLC’s assets was ultimately corrected, but it should not have needed to be remedied in the first place.

The Assassination of Cicero

The Assassination of Cicero

            Today marks the anniversary of Cicero in 43 B.C.  A lawyer, politician, writer and orator, his letters serve as both a source for the goings-on in a tumultuous period in Rome and as guidance for the art of letter writing.

Thinking Marc Antony to be little more than a thug, Cicero took the additional step of detailing his views in a series of speeches, hoping to reduce Antony’s influence for the benefit of Octavian, Caesar’s heir.  When, however, Octavian and Antony joined forces in the Second Triumvirate, Cicero’s days were numbered, and he was “proscribed” (i.e., ordered executed and his property seized).  While the depiction of his execution as portrayed in the HBO series Rome was true to his character, it in fact took place on a road with Cicero riding in a litter; he did not resist.