WILLIAMSON CO.—A well-known Harrisburg businessman now living in Marion has been sued in a civil case in Williamson County on at least one count of battery.
But it’s not just any battery.
Tom Franks, chairman of Farmers State Bank in Harrisburg, has been named by a former girlfriend (2009), Natalie Shelton, as having “battered” her by giving her herpes.
In his response, Franks, represented by none other than Harrisburg attorney Robert Wilson, says in carefully crafted language that he’s “never been diagnosed” with herpes.
However, a recent court decision has used HIPAA to back up an order for medical testing of both parties…so the results can, and likely will, determine the outcome of the case.
Battery via sexual transmission of disease
Shelton, a woman said to be in her mid-30s, with no current address available, filed her civil lawsuit on January 28 of this year in Williamson County circuit court, Marion.
In it, she states that “on approximately October 2009, she developed a relationship with Tom Franks.” This would be while Franks, 59, was (and he still is) married to his wife of decades, Nanette, 62, who currently resides in Saline County but close enough to the Equality area that she has an Equality zip code.
A while after the relationship had commenced, she discovered she had Herpes Simplex Virus Type II. Shelton pointed out that she was “told by her doctor on March 25, 2011” that she was suffering the disease.
She claims that Franks “owed her a duty to not act willfully or wantonly in his conduct toward her, respecting the safety and well-being of others,” including her.
Despite that, “he breached the duty by knowing he had Herpes Simplex Virus Type II prior to having a sexual relationship with her.
“At no time did he inform or warn her,” court documents state, pointing out that he knowingly had unprotected sexual relations with her, thus giving her herpes.
“As a direct result,” the documents state, “his conduct constituted sexual battery, resulting in compensatory damage,” including:
Medical, hospital and prescription expenses that will continue for a lifetime;
Physical and emotional pain and suffering that will continue for a lifetime;
Permanent disfigurement and loss of enjoyment;
Severe emotional distress.
As a result of this, Shelton is asking for punitive and exemplary damages of $15 million and a judgment in excess of $50,000.
What appears to be a professionally-shot photograph of Alecia Paige Gregg Burk and her husband, Addison, back when she was pregnant with her son Anderson, as posted on her Facebook page, evidently belies what was really going on back in 2010, if Paige is to be believed…and that, of course, is questionable, given her mental state. Prior to this photo, acquaintances of Paige tell Disclosure, she was telling anyone in Harrisburg who would listen that she was the reason for the filing of divorce by Nanette Franks against her husband of almost 40 years, Tom Franks. Paige literally bragged to her friends that Nanette had “caught her in bed with Tom,” which is what precipitated the breakup. Whether this is true or not is at question, since Paige’s credibility certainly is an issue.
A second count charges negligence, with the same allegations in place, and asking for a judgment in excess of $50,000.
The difference in the amounts is that the limits for “punitive and exemplary damages” (which can only be awarded by a jury; the case is on a jury trial demand) can be higher, and the $15 mil is a starting point.
A demand for an excess of $50,000 must be stated if the petitioner intends to ask for a minimum judgment that exceeds $50,000.
So overall, Shelton is looking to collect $15 million.
And it’s not like Franks doesn’t have it…which is probably just what Shelton was counting on.
Franks, who had moved to Williamson County in mid-April 2012 (an exclusive area, North Magnolia Drive), was served with the summons in the case January 31, 2013.
Wilson entered his appearance on February 28, and moved for additional time to plead.
He added co-counsel Jeffrey Goffinet, one of the attorneys in the area whose specialty in the past has been to represent public officials (state’s attorneys, police chiefs and officers, etc.), and filed an answer to the claims and a jury demand on March 26.
In his answer, Franks admits to having had a relationship with the 30-something years ago, as she claims.
However, Franks very carefully continues to respond with the statement that he’s “never been diagnosed with herpes.”
Nowhere in the answers does he say he “doesn’t have” it. He just claims he’s “never been diagnosed” with it.
Naturally, a person can walk around with herpes knowing he or she has it, and, if they don’t seek a doctor’s care, they will of course “never have been diagnosed with it.”
One of the multitude of “orgy” shots, taken by a man Disclosure knows only by the name of Aaron, from Goreville, on a boat entrepreneur Chris Schimp purchased for Brittany Lane (top left). With Brittany are her sister, Adrian (lower left) and two unidentified females. Lane is still trying to get her children in a court custody battle in Saline County, yet continues aberrant behavior like this (shot only recently) and then disseminates the photos for all to see…including her ex, trooper Brett Lane, who is trying to gain custody of the children in question. Sadly, over the weekend of July 19-21, the Brittster somehow managed to hook up with Alecia Paige Gregg Burk for a trip to Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana, with the Brittster’s children. There is no way of knowing what former mayor Eric Gregg’s reaction will be if Lane decides to engage Paige in such activity as shown above, as well as take photographs of it–a very likely possibility.
Enter HIPAA
However, HIPAA enters the picture at this point, and will alleviate the little “non-diagnosis” problem.
Many people believe that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act protects them from disclosure of such damning evidence as a scorching case of the herps.
In fact, it does quite the opposite.
Since putting HIPAA into effect nationwide after 9/11 (prior to that, it was a state-by-state thing in the 90s, designed to assist insurance companies in tracking health records of people who changed employment, and thus insurance providers, frequently, in order to expedite scrutiny of health records for the most affordable and appropriate coverage), it’s become something that no one can avoid: whether they “sign a form” or not, every time a person is treated by a mainstream doctor (most naturopaths are exempt), their records are available to law enforcement, the courts, emergency medical personnel/health departments, etc., upon request. In many cases, a subpoena is not even needed, just a court order or, in the event of an emergency (communicable disease outbreak, nuclear contamination), determination by the all-powerful emergency services directors of counties and/or states.
On June 3, an order was entered into the case stating that through HIPAA, each party will have to disclose records specific only to the case.
In this case, there has been a subpoena issued, and the health records have been ordered to be produced.
The likelihood that testing will be ordered for each party—just to be sure—is a very good one.
A case management conference was set for September 24 in the case, at which time all medical records will likely be delivered, but kept under seal.
The throes of a divorce…with ChickenBob
At the same time, Franks is going through divorce throes with Wilson the counsel at the helm of that case as well; this case, too, is in Williamson County.
It was filed April 17, 2012 in Williamson, but that, say sources at the county government level who have watched the drama play out, is because the 2010 divorce filed by Nanette Franks in Saline County was going to be a little too public for the Franks’ family’s taste, so it was moved to Williamson when Tom Franks did.
Information from well-placed sources in Harrisburg has it that the 2010 Saline County divorce was filed when the missus discovered her husband in bed with none other than the repulsive Alecia Paige Gregg Burk, daughter of ousted Harrisburg mayor Eric Gregg.
Sources indicate that this information was disseminated by Paige herself, however; and since her mental state is constantly in question, it could be a flat-out lie that she maliciously began when she learned the Franks were divorcing, as, her acquaintances have advised Disclosure, she has a pretty active fantasy life and has always had an eye on Tom Franks, if for no reason other than he can afford to get her the breast augmentation job the likes of which her new best friend, Brittany Lane, has suffered (more on that in a separate article).
Did the two coincide…?
Whatever the case, when Disclosure first learned of the rumor Paige had started, the paper postulated on its website that perhaps, it if were true, her two-year-old might actually belong to Franks.
In less than a week of that posting, Eric Gregg—who has always been known to bow and sway to the powers-that-be in Harrisburg and Saline County—had resigned as mayor…lending to the premise that “someone,” possibly Franks, had told him to “make this go away,” part of that being to resign.
It’s as good a premise as any, since Gregg’s “stated” reason for resigning—having a new state job that conflicted with holding the office of mayor, or any other employment at all—certainly didn’t bother him until Disclosure lead the way to state politicians putting pressure on him…as well as telling the public what Gregg was doing was actually violating the law.
Moved Saline divorce to Williamson
That said, the Franks divorce in Saline, filed Sept. 16, 2010, was the beginning of the end of the 37-year union that produced four fine children, many of them following in their father’s footsteps of working in the banking industry.
Filings in the case show that Mrs. Franks, being a homemaker of the kind the 70s marriages often produced, stated she had no income, and asked for maintenance until the divorce was settled, of $10,000 a month and attorney fees paid at about $180 an hour.
This was reiterated when the divorce was moved to Williamson County, and a stipulation agreement of same was entered on June 15, 2012.
By March of 2013—when Shelton’s case had already been filed and was moving inexorably forward—a continuance was requested but the divorce was being termed in “second stage” and the parties were “in meaningful settlement discussions.”
As well, a note in the file made by the judge showed that there may have to be many days set for the final hearings, as there were “many expert witnesses involved.”
Whether any of those will be medical experts to testify as to any disease Mrs. Franks may have contracted from her husband’s alleged loose conduct remains unknown.
Apparently the Holiday World trip the sleazy Brittany Lane and unstable Paige Gregg took the third weekend in July wasn’t as much fun as it looked; reports indicate that the fun was disrupted by a vomiting issue that ensued for Ms. Gregg on the second day, July 20.
Girls gone wild
Whether Paige Gregg will be called in, or whether she is suffering the herps (or just delusion with Franks) remains unknown.
However, without her snit-throwing in June, its safe to say that Tom Franks would never have come to Disclosure’s attention had it not been for the morally-reprehensible Paige.
As an addition to the article, Disclosure learned over deadline weekend that Paige had taken off with another person of questionable moral conduct, Brittany Lane, whose cocaine-fueled exploits in this publication have been recounted recently.
How the two came to “hook up” is unknown, although it’s said that because both of them happened to be featured in the July Special Edition of Disclosure, that served as the impetus for their “friendship.”
Since Brittany is known to swing both ways, the weekend trip the two took to Holiday World in Indiana July 19-21, complete with her children, might itself result in a little spreading of the wealth that both of them seem to have as their trademark…if in fact Brittany hasn’t already contracted some sort of hideous and life-altering disease.
However, since Paige’s dream is to be able to afford new breasts, they might be trading secrets on how to get wealthy men to pay for them (as Brittany did)…just as long as she stays away from Zeig Plastic Surgery Center in Evansville, where the surgeon butchered Brittany’s.
It remains to be seen what former mayor Gregg will do if one of the things that emerges from the Holiday World trip are photos of his daughter nude and in compromising positions…like most of Brittany’s friends do after an outing with her.