Tag: Court of Appeals

Georgia Supreme Court Overrules Precedent on Attorney’s Fees for Counterclaimants

4/8/20

By: Jake Carroll Georgia law permits the award of attorney’s fees to a claimant where the party defending the claim has “acted in bad faith” in making the contract, has been stubbornly litigious, or has caused the plaintiff unnecessary trouble and expense. O.C.G.A. § 13-6-11. The “bad faith” refers to bad faith in the making…

Kentucky Court of Appeals Reminds Plaintiffs They Bear a "Tall Burden" in Proving Bad Faith

6/26/19

By: Barry Miller A Kentucky Court of Appeals decision adopted a federal court’s observation that Kentucky bad faith decisions fall into two broad categories. One category reflects “a more expansive approach to a finding of bad faith,” analyzing facts where the insurer’s conduct was oppressive and the facts establishing liability were clear. The second category…

Georgia Court of Appeals Concludes the Term “Affiliate” is Ambiguous

2/4/19

By: Jake Carroll In Salinas v. Atlanta Gas Light Company,[1] the Georgia Court of Appeals’ recently examined whether Georgia Natural Gas (“GNG”) and Atlanta Gas Light Company (“AGLC”) were “affiliates.” Both AGLC and GNG were owned and controlled, either directly or through an intermediary, by a company named AGL Resources, Inc. In Salinas, AGLC sought…

In the Land of Insurance Coverage, Specificity is King

12/13/18

GA Court of Appeals Finds Insurer Must Cover Millions in Damages Because of Policy Ambiguities By: Brandon Howard Whenever a court suspects an insurance policy is “ambiguous,” anxiety strikes the minds of both coverage counsel and insurers alike. For coverage counsel, combating an alleged ambiguous provision of a policy typically occurs on the back-end, after…

Who’s Liable for Letting the Dogs Out?

10/23/18

By: Wes Jackson “Cry ‘Havoc!,’ and let slip the dogs of war.” William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar act 3, sc. 1.   Havoc indeed—in a case argued before the Georgia Supreme Court on October 10, two pit bulls slipped out of a tenant’s backyard gate with a broken latch and then mauled a woman walking her…

Let’s Eat Grandma! Punctuation Matters

7/19/18

By: Ted Peters California Corporations Code Section 1601 provides certain rights to shareholders of corporations doing business in California.  Specifically, as the statute currently reads, corporations are required to open their books and records upon written demand from any shareholder as long as the purpose of the demand is “reasonably related” to the shareholder’s interests. …

Is An Employee’s Intentional Act An Employer’s “Accident”?

7/10/18

By: Rebecca Smith and Zach Moura It may just be, according to the California Supreme Court’s recent decision in Liberty Surplus Ins. Corp. v. Ledesma & Meyer Construction Co., Inc. (June 4, 2018, No. S236765).  In Liberty v. Ledesma, the underlying lawsuit was brought by a minor who sought damages for molestation committed by an…

$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 represented the City as appellate counsel. At trial, Sheryl Stanford and Wilfred Foster, as co-administrators of their son’s…

Shortening the Statutory Limitations Period in a Residential Lease

5/23/18

By: Jake Daly Every state has statutes or rules governing the time within which various types of claims must be filed.  In Georgia, the general rule is that a personal injury claim must be brought within 2 years of the date the injury occurred.  Is this an immutable rule, or can it be changed by…

Winemakers Decan’t Warn a Consumer About Every Risk

5/16/18

A Pour Result for Plaintiffs’ Attorneys in California, but a Grape Win for Vintners By: Robyn Flegal In May 2018, the California Court of Appeals refused to revive a class action lawsuit claiming wines made by fifteen winemakers should contain an arsenic warning. The lawsuit was originally filed in 2015, alleging that these wines exposed…

Antisocial Media: Court Critical of Cop Capturing Curious Citizen’s Cellphone

4/23/18

By: E. Charles Reed, Jr. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a police officer violates clearly established law by seizing a bystander’s cellphone at an accident scene in the absence of exigent circumstances. With the rise of social media and the availability of devices with cameras, newsworthy events and potential evidence of…