Georgia Legislature Resolves Glaring Issue with Mechanic’s Lien Law
6/11/21
By: Shaun Foley In Georgia, anyone who furnishes labor, materials, or professional services for the improvement of private property has the right to file a mechanic’s lien. Liens are especially useful for contractors who do not receive payment after work is performed because filing one provides them with a security interest in the property. This…
6/4/21
By: Wayne Melnick and Carlos Fernandez The COVID-19 pandemic slowed the roll of most, if not all, cases. Now that the brakes are being slowly eased-off, questions are arising about the Georgia Supreme Court’s Emergency Orders that extended the statute of limitations deadlines. A new case from the Middle District of Georgia interpreted the Emergency…
4/28/21
By: Steven Grunberg Do you ever feel like your dedication to your job is questioned? For one employee of a garbage and recycling disposal company there is little doubt surrounding the answer to this question. In March 2018, Lorenzo Bucknor was driving an Advanced Disposal Services Atlanta, LLC (“ADS”) recycling truck when he arrived at…
Georgia’s New Elections Law May Have Effects For Local Governments
4/15/21
By: William J. Linkous, III Georgia’s new elections law, which has been widely reported upon nationally, passed the Georgia General Assembly during the 2021 session and was signed into law by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp near the end of March. The 95-page revision may significantly affect the operations of local governments, which are often tasked…
Extension Of COVID-19 Liability Protections For Georgia Businesses May Be On The Horizon
3/9/21
By: Aaron Miller The Georgia House voted 99-68 in favor of House Bill 112 on February 9th, 2021, sending the bill to the Georgia Senate. The bill, which extends liability protections granted to local businesses under the Georgia COVID-19 Pandemic Business Safety Act an additional year, will now need to pass the Senate as well. Should House…
Getting Strict with Georgia’s Apportionment Statute: Johns v. Suzuki Motor Corp
11/24/20
By: Janeen Smith The Supreme Court of Georgia recently held that Georgia’s apportionment statute, O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33, applies to strict products liability claims brought pursuant to Georgia’s product liability statute, O.C.G.A. § 51-1-11. Johns v. Suzuki Motor of Am., ___ Ga. ___ , 2020 Ga. LEXIS 760 (Case No. S19G1478, decided Oct. 19,2020). This means that defense…
11/5/20
By: Andy Treese and Jake Loken The Supreme Court of Georgia has held that the state’s apportionment statute abrogates the “respondeat superior rule,” a decisional rule of law that had been in effect since 1967. As a result, employers now face increased exposure to liability on independent theories of negligent hiring, training, entrustment, and retention,…
Federal Court Addresses Georgia Restrictive Covenant Rules
10/21/20
By: Ken Menendez Employers regularly grapple with the interpretation and application of the law regarding restrictive covenants. Court rulings in such cases are often drawn narrowly to address the specific facts of the case at issue and therefore can be of limited value in providing guidance to employer and employee alike. In light of this, decisions…
Seeking Sanctions Against a Dishonest Plaintiff
10/19/20
By: Jennifer Adair Sanctions for discovery abuses are not a weapon reserved for the plaintiff, and defense attorneys should not shy away from pulling this arrow from their quiver when misrepresentations by the plaintiff are so egregious that a vigorous cross-examination at trial simply will not suffice. Rather, defendants should consider whether to petition the…
9/28/20
By: Janeen Smith The risk posed by failing to timely file an answer in Georgia keeps defense counsel up at night. While no defendant nor defense counsel intends to cause a case to be in default, things happen. The Georgia Supreme Court’s recent clarification of the “proper case” justification for opening default in Bowen v. Savoy,…
Georgia Revamps Lactation Break Law for Private Employers and Creates a New One for Public Employers
9/22/20
By: Tim Boughey The Georgia state legislature recently weighed in on the issue of lactation breaks by passing “Charlotte’s Law.” Before August 5, 2020, Georgia employers largely followed the federal Fair Labor Standards Act’s lactation break requirements to provide an employee with a reasonable amount of unpaid break time and a space to express milk…
Expert Testimony on the Ultimate Issue under O.C.G.A § 24-7-704: Anything Goes?
8/18/20
By: Alexia Roney After a recent article in the Georgia Bar Journal, there is renewed interest in using experts to testify on ultimate issues under the protection of O.C.G.A. § 24-7-704. See Brett A. Adams, An Overview of Ultimate Issue Evidence, 25 Ga. Bar J. 19 (June 2020). As of January 1, 2013, expert testimony…