Articles Posted in Civil Litigation

The attempt of corporations and billionaires to buy the Georgia Supreme Court fell far short this week, as Presiding Justice Carol Hunstein was re-elected with more than 61% of the votes cast. Apparently about $3 million  was spent by out of state interests funding the “independent” committees and the Georgia Republican Party, all to defeat…

I have been writing to everyone I know this week to urge them to vote to reelect Justice Carol Hunstein to the Supreme Court of Georgia.  The future of an independent judiciary in Georgia is at stake.  We cannot afford to stand by and allow the financial assassination of our judiciary by big business. The…

Occasionally we encounter situations where a corporate defendant claims that the employee who was driving the business’s truck was on some personal mission, and therefore not in the course and scope of employment.  It is always important to develop the evidence of business related purposes that are somehow related to the trip, as well as…

It’s old news to personal injury litigation specialists but often a surprise to others that, under Georgia law, filing a bankruptcy petition without disclosing the existence of a personal injury claim may bar the injury claim.  It’s called the rule of judicial estoppel, and the consequences can be extremely harsh. The courts have softened the…

Once again the Georgia Court of Appeals has given the bar an object lesson about the importance of a complete record on appeal.  In Hattaway v. Conner, decided August 8, 2006, the cental issue of the appeal was whether the the trial court was correct in its determination that language in the insurance policy’s application…

Last month there was a news story about the New Jersey Committee on Attorney Advertising, a panel appointed by the Supreme Court of New Jersey ruling that attorney advertisements that tout listings such as the “Super Lawyers” listings violate professional responsibility rules against ads that compare lawyers’ services or create an “unjustified expectation about results.” …

When the Georgia General Assembly passed Senate Bill 3 — the “tort reform” conglomeration — in February 2005, most of the legislators hadn’t even read the entire bill, most of its provisions were not discussed in any detail, and hardly anyone understood it. To say it had a lot of poor draftsmanship is an understatement. …

Fundraising for judicial elections has often raised eyebrows. However, where a large number of attorneys practicing before court make small contributions to a judge’s election campaign, there is little danger that the judge’s actions will be affected. But now in West Virginia. Don L. Blankenship, chairman and CEO of Massey Energy Co. of Richmond, Va.,…

I have instructed my staff that if I ever write anything that provokes this kind of response from a court, just take me out and shoot me. A Bankruptcy Court Judge Leif Clark in Texas entered an order on February 21st, denying a motion on the following grounds: The court cannot determine the substance, if…

On Wednesday, April 12, 2006, the United States Supreme Court approved, without comment or dissent, the entire package of proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure concerning the discovery of “electronically stored information.” The package includes revisions and additions to Rules 16, 26, 33, 34, 37, and 45, as well as Form 35.…