Appeals Significant Cases
FMG Attorney Michael Hill Secures Affirmance of Summary Judgment in Case Alleging Violations of a Public Employee’s First Amendment Rights
Silvia Cotriss v. City of Roswell, et al., Case No. 19-12747 (11th Cir., June 29, 2022). FMG Attorney Michael Hill obtained affirmance of a summary judgment award on behalf of the City of Roswell and…
Silvia Cotriss v. City of Roswell, et al., Case No. 19-12747 (11th Cir., June 29, 2022). FMG Attorney Michael Hill obtained affirmance of a summary judgment award on behalf of the City of Roswell and its police officers in the Eleventh Court of Appeals after a former city police officer was terminated for flying a Confederate flag at her home. She filed suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging that her First Amendment right to free speech had been violated. Mr. Hill argued that the officer’s display of the flag could impair the City’s ability to effectively run the police department and could diminish the public’s trust in the police. Applying the balancing test established by the Supreme Court in Pickering v. Board of Education, the Court held that the city’s interest in effective and efficient fulfillment of the police department’s operations outweighed plaintiff’s speech interest. The Court found that the city has a “clear interest” in maintaining a favorable reputation with the public that could be impeded if members of the public associate the symbolism of the Confederate flag with the police department.
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FMG Obtains Summary Judgment in Landlord Liability Case in Georgia
Attorneys Wayne Melnick and Sangeetha Krishnakumar won summary judgment for FMG clients in Fulton County, Georgia. Plaintiff, the surviving parent and administrator of her son’s estate, brought suit against a property owner alleging theories of premises liability/negligent security against FMG’s…
FMG Obtains Dismissal of Insurance Coverage / Bad Faith Action in Kentucky
Lienholders sued officers of a defunct corporation, alleging breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation, and fraud. They sought more than $18 million for work and materials in the construction of a cannabis processing plant in Western…
FMG Attorneys Prevail in Multimillion-Dollar Class Action Pension Dispute in Georgia
FMG attorneys Ben Mathis, Michael Freed, and Bill Buechner prevailed on behalf of Hall County, Georgia in a pension dispute seeking over $100 million in lost contributions and profits on behalf of a class of…
Massachusetts Federal Court Dismisses Legal Malpractice Case
Attorneys Jessica Kelly and Andrew Vandini obtained full dismissal of a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on the ground that the Massachusetts court lacked personal jurisdiction over our clients,…
FMG Attorneys Obtain Summary Judgment Win in Trust Case in Massachusetts
FMG attorneys Jessica Kelly and Nancy Reimer obtained summary judgment for our client who served as a trustee of a marital trust. The surviving wife of the settler of the trust was unhappy with the…
FMG Wins Dismissal of Data Breach Class Action Lawsuit in Oklahoma
FMG Attorneys David Cole and Matt Foree won a motion to dismiss in a class action lawsuit filed against Oklahoma City University involving a data breach that occurred in July 2022. The proposed class action…
Pennsylvania Court of Appeals Affirms Summary Judgment to FMG Client
FMG attorneys Erin Lamb, Lisa Grandner, and Joshua Ferguson obtained summary judgment for a client in a case in Pennsylvania arising out of an accident between the plaintiff’s motorcycle and a motor vehicle that occurred…
FMG Obtains Summary Judgment in Georgia Wage and Hour Case
FMG attorneys John Bennett and Bill Buechner recently prevailed on a motion for summary judgment on behalf of a major construction company in connection with multi-plaintiff claims for alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards…
Summary Judgment Win in Personal Injury Case in Georgia
FMG Attorneys Jennifer Adair and Aaron Miller succeeded in their motion for summary judgment on behalf of Tryphena’s Garden, a wedding venue where a guest claimed she tripped and fell due to a faulty entry…
FMG Attorneys Obtain Dismissal of Legal Malpractice Action in Massachusetts
FMG Attorneys Nancy Reimer, Jessica Kelly, and Brendan Collins obtained dismissal of the plaintiff’s legal malpractice action as untimely. FMG’s client previously represented the plaintiff in an action brought by a condominium association seeking to…
FMG Wins Dismissal of Data Breach Class Action Lawsuit
FMG Attorneys David Cole and Matt Foree won a motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed against Oklahoma City University over a July 2022 data breach. The proposed class action alleged the University failed…
Summary Judgment Win in Georgia
Jennifer Adair and Aaron Miller obtained summary judgment on behalf of Tryphena’s Garden, a wedding venue where a guest claimed she tripped and fell due to a faulty entry ramp. Counsel were able to establish…