Articles Posted in Civil Litigation

Here’s a great post at the Virginia Injury Lawyer Blog on how to get great settlements. The most important factors are the willingness to work hard, think hard, try cases to verdict, and take risks. In that regard, I am reminded of The Book of Five Rings, a reflection on the zen of individual combat…

I just got word last night of a $9 million jury verdict in Chambers County, Alabama, in a case involving a maintenance man raping a 60 year old woman. My friend Pete Law won that one. Along with our $2.3 million verdict on a fractured femur truck wreck case in Gordon County, Georgia, these cases…

Here’s how to obtain a client’s Claims Index report for $25 from American Insurance Services Group, the form for which has now been posted on the Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog. The Shigley Law Firm  represents plaintiffs in wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases statewide in Georgia, and in other states subject to the multijurisdictional practice…

We have all seen the media coverage of the Washington, DC administrative law judge who sued a “mom and pop” dry cleaner for $65 million over a lost pair of trousers.  Those who want to destroy the civil justice system are trying to make this another “McDonald’s hot coffee case”  to  mislead  the public into…

The April 30th issue of Fulton County Daily Report  includes an interview with Chief Judge Dee Downs of Fulton Superior Court.  (She and I made some stump speeches together in her first campaign, as I filled in as a surrogate for the successful candidate for another seat on the same court.)  The judge, who career…

Fri., 3/9/07, Calhoun, GA.  In a scene reminiscent of the 1982 Paul Newman movie, “The Verdict,” the jury after three hours of deliberation Thursday afternoon sent a note to the judge asking if they were limited by the amount the plaintiff asked for.   In closing argument I had asked for a verdict of approximately…

George Washington said that “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”  Eternal vigilance is also required in litigation to avoid being blindsided by late hits. Since late last night I have learned that service through the Lexis File & Serve system in Fulton State Court may be delayed as much as a day and a…

As of today, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America is no more.  The new name of the organization is the American Association for Justice.  After a vigorous debate, it was determined that rebranding the organization would help to reframe the debate about the role of the civil justice system by taking the focus off…

For several years in Georgia and across the country, there has been a quiet debate about whether trial courts should allow or encourage jurors to submit questions to be asked of witnesses.  A 2003 article in Kent Law Review summarizes the issues on both sides of the debate. Maybe I’m a “control freak” (as a…

Georgia juries are capable of surpassing expectations.  An example occurred this week in Marion County, population 7,144 according to the 2000 census.  It is the prototype of the conservative, predominantly white rural Georgia county.  I have been told that the highest jury verdict in the history of the county prior to this week was $10,000.…