Georgia’s case law on apportionment of fault to a non-party continues to evolve. In Zaldivar v. Prickett, A14A0113 (Ga. Ct. App. July 16, 2014) Zaldivar and Prickett were involved in an automobile accident at an intersection, for which they each blamed the other. Prickett sued Zaldivar, but even though she was also injured, Zaldivar did […]
If there was ever any doubt in Georgia about who holds the Patient Mental Health Privilege, when it attaches, and who has a right to mental health records, the Supreme Court of Georgia just made it crystal clear. It’s the patient; not their family, representatives, and not their doctor. In a decision dated June 30, […]
The Georgia Supreme Court just issued a new ruling this week in which it held that when a Plaintiff becomes entitled to an award of attorney’s fees pursuant to Georgia’s offer of judgment statute, O.C.G.A. § 9-11-68, the court must take into account more than the contingency fee agreement plaintiff has with their attorney. Georgia […]
With the rapid proliferation of social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram in recent years, parties to litigation now have access to information on subjects’ private lives that in an earlier era would only have been accessible by hiring a private investigator. In many instances, it is possible to find information online about […]
A recent decision by the Georgia Supreme Court sheds light on the law imposing suit limitations on lien collection actions, and suggests that the statute in question may need to be revised by the legislature. Hospital Authority of Clarke County v. Geico Insurance Co., 294 Ga. 477, 754 S.E.2d 358 (2014) concerns an action to […]
The doctrine of res ipsa loquitur requires that a plaintiff show that whatever caused the plaintiff’s injury was in the exclusive control of the defendant and but for the defendant’s negligence, the plaintiff would not have been injured. Clearly, it is one of the hardest tests in tort law to meet because generally there is […]
As a general rule, under the doctrine of respondeat superior in Georgia, an employer is liable for injuries to another proximately resulting from the acts of an employee committed within the scope of his or her employment. O.C.G.A. § 51-2-2. While there is no controlling definition of scope of employment, generally, if the employee’s wrongful […]
The Georgia Court of Appeals has just issued a new case which clarifies apportionment of fault against a non-party which is codified at O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33. The statute and subsequent cases allow a Defendant in a civil case to file a notice prior to trial to allow a jury to apportion fault to a party […]
This article sets out some of the major changes to the Georgia Evidence Code which became effective January 1, 2013. Georgia has primarily adopted the Federal Rules of Evidence with some exceptions as noted herein. Under the new rules hearsay testimony is now admissible if no objection is made. Previously hearsay was excluded as “illegal” […]