• In The Matter Of Gregory Reece Barton.

    Publication Date: 2018-05-15
    Practice Area: Legal Ethics and Attorney Discipline
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Per Curiam
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Jenny K. Mittelman, Paula J. Frederick (State Bar of Georgia), Atlanta, for appellant.
    for defendant: Gregory Reece Barton (Gregory R. Barton P.C.), Douglasville, for appellee. Herman Maddox Kilgore (Kilgore & Rodriguez LLC), Marietta; Jessica Oglesby, Atlanta; Adam Marshall Hames (The Hames Law Firm LLC), Atlanta, for other party.

    Case Number: S18Y0601

    The Supreme Court disbarred an attorney in connection with two clients' matters, in which the attorney failed to properly communicate and failed to appear at hearings.

  • In The Matter Of John Benneth Iwu.

    Publication Date: 2018-05-09
    Practice Area: Legal Ethics and Attorney Discipline
    Industry: Legal Services
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Per Curiam
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Jonathan Winslow Hewett, Paula J. Frederick, Jenny K. Mittelman (State Bar of Georgia), Atlanta, for appellant.
    for defendant: John Benneth Iwu (Continental Legal Group PC), for appellee. Herman Maddox Kilgore (Kilgore & Rodriguez LLC), Marietta; Jessica Oglesby, Atlanta; Andrew Charles Hall (Hall Hirsh Hughes LLC), Decatur, for other party.

    Case Number: S18Y0694

    Three-Year Suspension Appropriate Sanction for Attorney Who Made False Statements to Bar During Disciplinary Proceedings

  • Gibbs v. The State

    Publication Date: 2018-05-09
    Practice Area: Criminal Appeals | Criminal Law | Evidence
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Benham
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Forrest K. Shealy, Marietta, for appellant.
    for defendant: Michael Scott Carlson, Amelia Greeson Pray, D. Victor Reynolds, Jaret Teague Usher (Cobb County District Attorney's Office), Marietta, for appellee.

    Case Number: S17G1343

    The Court of Appeals properly affirmed the trial courts denial of defendant's motion for new trial based on ineffective assistance of counsel, as he could not show a reasonable probability that the outcome of the trial would have been different absent trial counsel's alleged deficiencies, in light of the strong evidence of his guilt.

  • Evans et al. v. Rockdale Hospital, LLC

    Publication Date: 2018-05-08
    Practice Area: Damages | Medical Malpractice
    Industry: Health Care
    Court: Georgia Court of Appeals
    Judge: Presiding Judge Barnes
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Lloyd Bell (Bell Law Firm), Atlanta; Sidney Moore (The Moore Law Firm PC), Atlanta; James Wilson (Attorney at Law), Marietta, for appellant.
    for defendant: Sharonda Boyce, Daniel Huff, Randolph Powell (Huff Powell Bailey LLC), Atlanta, for appellee. Heather McGrotty (Weathington Mgrew PC), Atlanta; Paul Weathington (Weathington Smith), Atlanta, for other party.

    Case Number: A18A0233

    The trial court erred in denying plaintiffs' motion for additur or, alternatively, for a new trial on damages, because the jurys award of zero damages for medical malpractice plaintiff's past pain and suffering rendered the award of damages so clearly inadequate under a preponderance of the evidence as to shock the conscience and necessitate a new trial under O.C.G.A. § 51-12-12 (b).

  • In the Matter of Miguel Angel Garcia, Jr.

    Publication Date: 2018-05-08
    Practice Area: Legal Ethics and Attorney Discipline
    Industry: Legal Services
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Per Curiam
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: William Jacob Cobb, Paula J. Frederick, Jenny K. Mittelman (State Bar of Georgia), Atlanta, for appellant.
    for defendant: Miguel Angel Garcia Jr. (Miguel A Garcia Jr Attorney at Law LLC), Macon, for appellee. Herman Maddox Kilgore (Kilgore & Rodriguez LLC), Marietta, for other party.

    Case Number: S18Y0158

    Disbarment Was Appropriate For Attorney Who Violated Numerous Rules of Conduct and Failed to Respond to Disciplinary Notices

  • Goodrum v. The State

    Publication Date: 2018-04-26
    Practice Area: Constitutional Law | Criminal Law
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Grant
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Matthew K. Winchester (Law Offices of Matthew K. Winchester), Atlanta, for appellant.
    for defendant: Patricia B. Attaway Burton, Paula Khristian Smith, Christopher M. Carr, Meghan Hobbs Hill (Department of Law), Atlanta; Monique Lynn Kirby, Edward Andrew Case III (Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office), LaGrange; Peter J. Skandalakis (Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia), Morrow, for appellee.

    Case Number: S17A1748

    Defendant Had No Constitutional Right to Be Present When Attorneys Met in Chambers With Judge to Discuss Juror's Qualification

  • Graves v. The State

    Publication Date: 2018-04-26
    Practice Area: Criminal Law | Evidence
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Boggs
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Long Dai Vo, Atlanta, for appellant.
    for defendant: Patricia B. Attaway Burton, Paula Khristian Smith, Christopher M. Carr, S. Taylor Johnston (Department of Law), Atlanta; Anna Green Cross, Sherry Boston, Gerald Mason, (DeKalb County District Attorney's Office), Decatur, for appellee.

    Case Number: S17A1709

    Any error in the trial court's decision to exclude alibi testimony based on the defense's failure to give notice under O.C.G.A. §17-16-5 (a) was harmless in light of the overwhelming evidence of guilt in defendant's trial for murder and related crimes.

  • Chrysler Group LLC n/k/a FCA US LLC v. Walden et al.

    Publication Date: 2018-04-25
    Practice Area: Damages | Wrongful Death
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Grant
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Terry Otho Brantley, Mary Diane Owens, Bradley S. Wolff (Swift, Currie, McGhee & Hiers, LLP), Atlanta; Thomas H. Dupree Jr., Rajiv Mohan (Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP), Washington, for appellant.
    for defendant: Karsten Bicknese, Robert Howard Betts (Seacrest, Karesh, Tate & Bicknese, LLP), Atlanta; James E. Butler Jr. (Butler, Wooten Cheely & Peak LLP), Atlanta; James Edward Butler III (Butler Tobin LLC), Atlanta; Cathy Cox (Mercer Law School), Macon; George C. Floyd (Floyd & Kendrick LLC), Bainbridge; Leigh Martin May (Butler, Wooten, Overby, Fryhofer), Atlanta; Michael Brian Terry, Frank Mitchell Lowrey IV (Bondurant, Mixson & Elmore, LLP), Atlanta; David Thomas Rohwedder (Butler Wooten & Peak LLP), Atlanta, for appellee. Michael Roger Boorman (Huff, Powell & Bailey, LLC), Atlanta; Brian David Boone, Kyle G.A. Wallace, Caroline M. Rawls, William Herman Jordan (Alston & Bird LLP), Atlanta; Christopher Randall Jordan (Hunter Maclean Exley & Dunn), Brunswick; Martin Adam Levinson (Hawkins Parnell Thackston & Young LLP), Atlanta; Garret Warrington Meader (Drew ECKL & Farnham LLP), Brunswick; James Randolph Evans, Anthony Wyatt Morris (Dentons US LLP), Atlanta, for amicus appellant. Matthew Britt Stoddard (The Stoddard Firm), Atlanta, for amicus appellee. Therese S. Barnes (Georgia Supreme Court), Atlanta, for other party. Ashby K. Fox, Louis G. Fiorilla (Burr & Forman LLP), Atlanta; Forrest S. Latta (Burr & Forman LLP), Mobile; D. Victor Reynolds, John Stuart Melvin, Michael Scott Carlson, John Richard Edwards, Amelia Greeson Pray (Cobb County District Attorney's Office), Marietta, for neutral amicus.

    Case Number: S17G0832

    The Court of Appeals did not err in affirming the trial court's decision finding that the compensation of the CEO of a car manufacturing company was admissible in a wrongful death suit because the prejudicial effect of the evidence did not outweigh its probative value pursuant to Rule 403.

  • Cooper Tire & Rubber Company v. Koch et al.

    Publication Date: 2018-04-25
    Practice Area: Civil Procedure | Evidence | Products Liability
    Industry:
    Court: Georgia Supreme Court
    Judge: Justice Nahmias
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Laurie Webb Daniel (Holland & Knight LLP), Atlanta; Reed Thomas Warburton, (Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP), Birmingham; George R. Neuhauser (Nall & Miller LLP), Atlanta; Scott Burnett Smith (Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP), Huntsville, for appellant.
    for defendant: Katherine Lee McArthur, Caleb Frank Walker, Laura K. Hinson Penn (Katherine L. McArthur LLC), Macon; Tracey Lynn Dellacona (Dellaconna Law Firm), Macon, for appellee. Ashby K. Fox, Louis G. Fiorilla (Burr & Forman LLP), Atlanta; Forrest S. Latta (Burr & Forman LLP), Mobile; Brian David Boone (Alston & Bird LLP), Charlotte; Leonard Searcy II (Shook, Hardy & Bacon, L.L.P.), Kansas City; Philip S. Goldberg (Shook, Hardy & Bacon, LLP), Washington, for amicus appellant. Stephen Christopher Collier (Hawkins & Parnell, LLP), Atlanta; Michael Atkinson Arndt (Hawkins Parnell Thackston & Young, LLP), Atlanta; George Lee Welborn (Downey, Cleveland, Parker & Williams), Marietta, for other party.

    Case Number: S17G0654

    The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant's motion to dismiss, or alternatively, to bar certain evidence as a sanction for spoliation of evidence, as the record supported the trial court's conclusion that litigation was not reasonably foreseeable when plaintiff destroyed the evidence.

  • Hand Down List decided on: April 18, 2018

    Publication Date: 2018-04-20
    Practice Area: Civil Appeals | Criminal Appeals
    Industry:
    Court: Appellate Division, Second Department
    Judge: Unsigned
    Attorneys: For plaintiff:
    for defendant:

    Case Number: DOCKET

    Appellate Division, Second Department: April 18, 2018