Since its release earlier this month (July 2016) the Pokemon Go mobile app has generated trending news stories of player related injuries caused by distracted driving and walking.  San Diego news channels reported that two men fell off a cliff in attempt to capture the virtual character.  Various local police departments have increased public warnings […]

While these cases fact patterns are not typical liability or insurance defense cases, they demonstrate that the apportionment statute has been held to apply to a wide range of cases and situations and is the law in Georgia with respect to fault and/or damages. Alston & Bird LLP v. Hatcher Management Holdings, LLC, A15A1677 (Ga. […]

A simple internet search will reveal numerous legal journals and web publications regarding the growing role social media plays in modern civil litigation for both plaintiffs and defendants in tort claims.  Even a recent Georgia appellate decision recognized Facebook as “one of the most popular social networking websites” that allows registered users to customize published […]

Following the recent new changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure which took effect December 1, 2015, changes to the Georgia Civil Practice Act have been proposed as part of currently pending legislation, HB 1017.  The changes are largely being touted as updating the code sections for e-discovery. However while there are many minor […]

The Supreme Court of Georgia in the recent opinion Walker v. Tensor Mach. Ltd., No. S15Q1222, 2015 WL 7135149, (Ga. Nov. 16, 2015), continued to expand the apportionment law, this time to nonparty employers with immunity under the Workers’ Compensation Act. The question certified to the court was whether or not the Georgia Apportionment Statute […]

Beginning December 1, 2015 several new changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure take effect. This article will address the major changes, but there are also minor changes in the rules based upon these changes, most of which change references to other rules and/or sections of rules as needed based upon the major changes […]

Perhaps nothing can be more disheartening than a court finding a defendant responsible for spoliation of evidence. This is because a finding of spoliation gives rise to a rebuttable presumption that the subject evidence was harmful to the spoliator. Thus, even a very innocent error in safeguarding potential evidence can be fatal to an otherwise […]

We all remember that dramatic moment when OJ Simpson was asked to put on the black gloves in front of the jury in the so-called “Trial of the Century.” Both gloves, according to the prosecution, contained DNA evidence from Simpson, Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman, with the glove found at Simpson’s house also containing a […]

Parties who have reached a settlement more often than not are very happy to know that the case has been resolved as opposed to having the outcome of the case dictated to them by twelve strangers on a jury. Sometimes, however, the resolution of a case by settlement is complicated due to the parties’ varying […]

Georgia’s case law on apportionment of fault to a non-party continues to evolve.  In Zaldivar v. Prickett, S14G1778 (Ga. July 6, 2015) the Georgia Supreme Court attempted to clear up how apportionment would apply.   The apportionment statute provides when “assessing percentages of fault, the trier of fact shall consider the fault of all persons or […]