Cyberrisks to Contractors and Securing Proper Coverage
6/29/18
By: Barry Brownstein
Increasingly sophisticated hackers have targeted personal and business data held by companies like Target Corp., Sony Corp., Equifax Inc. and Yahoo Inc. during the past decade. The construction industry is just as susceptible …
Insuring Against Rule 68 Offers of Settlement
6/28/18
By: Matt Grattan
One tool defense lawyers in Georgia frequently use to induce settlements is an offer of settlement under O.C.G.A. 9-11-68. Rule 68 allows either party to a tort action to serve a written offer to settle the claim, …
U.S. Supreme Court Upholds President Trump’s Travel Ban
6/27/18
By: Layli Eskandari Deal
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, upheld President Trump’s latest travel ban. The Court dismissed the anti-Muslim statements of President Trump and other administration officials when evaluating the legality of the ban. The decision …
Georgia Prescription Drug Monitoring Program – The Last Deadline Approaches
6/27/18
By: Shaun Daugherty
For those of you that have not been residing off planet these last few years, you know that there is a lot of coverage of the opioid “crisis” across the United States. Many states have taken steps …
$10M Wrongful Death Verdict Against City of Albany Reversed on Sovereign Immunity Grounds
6/26/18
By: Wes Jackson
In a much-anticipated opinion, the Georgia Court of Appeals reversed a $10,640,000 trial verdict against the City of Albany on sovereign immunity grounds. Freeman Mathis & Gary attorneys Sun Choy, Jake Daly, and Wes Jackson…
Arbitration Agreement Litigation Wins Continue to Fall Like Dominoes for Pizza Hut
6/26/18
By: Tim Holdsworth
Following the Supreme Court’s opinion in Epic Systems that class and collective actions waivers in arbitration agreements are enforceable, a federal court recently granted a motion to compel arbitration to one of the nation’s largest Pizza Hut …
Georgia Supreme Court Grants Certiorari In Failure to Settle Case
6/25/18
By: Bill Buechner
The Georgia Supreme Court recently granted an insurer’s petition for certiorari in a bad faith failure to settle case to consider what constitutes an offer to settle a claim within policy limits and whether an insurer’s duty …
New York High Court Narrows Statute of Limitations Under Martin Act
6/22/18
By: Ali Sabzevari
New York’s primary weapon aimed at fraud entitled the Martin Act was drastically hindered by New York’s high court, which found that the law’s statute of limitations was three years, not six years. The case is People …
Little Miller, Big Implications
6/20/18
By: Samantha Skolnick
In Georgia, when an individual performs work on a state construction project, they can file a lien for non-payment. The lien is against the project through Georgia’s Little Miller Act. The claim itself is not against the …
Coffee, Water, Less Than 20 Minutes
6/19/18
SCOTUS KICKS THE CAN ON SHORT BREAKS COMPENSATION
By: John McAvoy
On June 11, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to entertain the appeal of a Pennsylvania employer that could have resolved the emerging split of authority between the federal …
Eleventh Circuit Rejects Insured’s Claim for Coverage for $10.7 Million Loss Under Computer Fraud Policy
6/18/18
By: Bill Buechner
The Eleventh Circuit recently held that an insured could not recover $10.7 million in losses under a computer fraud policy covering losses “resulting directly from” the use of a computer to fraudulently cause a transfer of funds.…
Something Rotten: Spoliation Claims Against a Plaintiff
6/15/18
By: Sean Ryan
The Georgia Supreme Court recently clarified that same duty and standard applies to a plaintiff as to a defendant in assessing potential spoliation claims. In Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. v. Koch, 303 Ga. 336 (2018), …