We need to report a significant case from the Georgia Supreme Court which is adverse to defendants on apportionment in Georgia. In sum, Georgia law on apportionment before the ruling was that Georgia was a “pure apportionment” state and so, a defendant could push apportionment of fault onto a nonparty tortfeasor. In …
At trial, Plaintiff requested and got a spoliation charge concerning portions of a video that MARTA failed to produce concerning a fall case. That evidentiary victory sowed the seeds to appellate defeat. The Georgia Court of Appeals reminded that “[p]rior to charging the jury on spoliation, the trial court must …
Can a plaintiff’s attorney file a complaint on behalf of a plaintiff in said plaintiff’s name when the plaintiff is deceased? This was the issue facing the court in the matter of Carolyn Repko v. Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center, Inc., 2020 N.J. Super. LEXIS 204 (App. Div. August …
SCENARIO: $100,000 billed to Plaintiff for a surgery center “facility fee” where the provider accepts $10,000 for full payment. QUESTION: In seeking recovery for this medical bill, what amount should Plaintiff be able to “blackboard” to a jury? The inflated, billed amount ($100,000) that Plaintiff didn’t pay and isn’t responsible …
Earlier this month, in a favorable ruling for landowners and landlords, the Georgia Supreme Court issued a 6-3 decision in CHAM et al. v. ECI MANAGEMENT CORPORATION et al. upholding a judge’s instruction to the jury that a man robbed and shot at his girlfriend’s apartment complex may have been …
The Georgia Supreme Court just gave defendants in Georgia a big victory as related to rulings on Default for untimely answer. The former rule put a very heavy burden on the defendant which was quite difficult to overcome. The new rule makes the burden much less onerous, thereby affording a defendant a …