By Sun Choy and Jacob E. Daly

In personal injury cases, plaintiffs often sue multiple defendants with “deep pockets” in order to maximize the potential for recovery. If the defendants are determined to be joint tortfeasors, then all defendants are jointly and severally liable for the full amount of the plaintiff’s damages. Consequently, a joint tortfeasor is entitled to a set-off for any payment made to a plaintiff by another joint tortfeasor to prevent a windfall to the plaintiff. However, what happens if a settling co-defendant is not a joint tortfeasor? Until recently, no Georgia case directly addressed this issue. (more…)

By Fred Dawkins and Betsy Turner

In early February, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) finalized the largest single-lawsuit Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) settlement in its history. Pursuant to that settlement, Sears will distribute $6.2 million to resolve the ADA claims of 235 former employees. In the suit, the EEOC alleged that Sears maintained an inflexible workers’ compensation leave exhaustion policy which violated the ADA. Under the Sears policy, an employee whose workers’ compensation leave lasted more than one year was automatically terminated without any consideration of whether a reasonable accommodation (such as additional leave) might have allowed that employee to return to work. In addition to paying approximately $26,300 to each of the former employees, Sears has to: (1) amend its workers’ compensation leave policy; (2) provide written reports to the EEOC detailing its ADA compliance practices; (3) train employees on ADA issues; and (4) post a notice of the settlement at all Sears locations. (more…)

By Arthur Ebbs

There is no denying that private construction work is generally down in the present economy. Yet during this lull in private work, it is anticipated that funds from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act will ultimately provide increased opportunities for contractors to compete for public work. However, bidding on and performing public work can be risky for the uninitiated. Contractors not used to dealing with local governments and state agencies should be cognizant of the pitfalls of bidding on public contracts, particularly respective to bid mistakes. The government is anxious to lock in the low bidder, and the bidder must balance entering into a contract with an insufficient price against paying out on a mandatory bid bond. (more…)