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Sovereign Immunity Finally Bars $10.6 Million Judgment Against City of Albany

4/30/19

By: Wes Jackson

Following up on our recent blog post highlighting the Georgia Court of Appeals’ decision to reverse a $10.6 million trial verdict against the City of Albany on sovereign immunity grounds, we are pleased to announce that the Georgia Supreme Court has declined to review the Court of Appeals’ decision. The Supreme Court’s decision marks an important win for local governments in Georgia. Freeman Mathis & Gary attorneys Sun Choy, Jake Daly, and Wes Jackson represented the City as appellate counsel.
The wrongful death case concerned the murder of a young man at an illegal night club in Albany, Georgia. The administrators of the man’s estate argued at a trial that the illegal club was essentially a “nuisance” the City of Albany had created or maintained by declining to shutter the club when it had prior opportunities to do so. After trial, a jury awarded the plaintiffs $15,200,000 in damages, apportioning 70% of the liability to the City. The jury only apportioned 10% of the liability to the owners and operators of Brick City, 13% to the actual murderer, and 1% each to seven participants in the brawl.
In reversing, the Court of Appeals concluded that plaintiffs cannot circumvent sovereign immunity by simply alleging that the City’s discretionary conduct amounted to the maintenance of a “nuisance.” The Court of Appeals’ decision is available at City of Albany v. Stanford, 347 Ga. App. 95, 815 S.E.2d 322 (2018). The Georgia Supreme Court’s decision to deny plaintiffs’ petition for certiorari makes the Court of Appeals’ decision final.
The case marks an important win for municipalities in Georgia by reinforcing the scope of their defense of sovereign immunity.
For additional questions about this matter or sovereign immunity under Georgia law, please contact Sun Choy (schoy@fmglaw.com), Jake Daly (jdaly@fmglaw.com), or Wes Jackson (wjackson@fmglaw.com).