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Found 116 matching documents.
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 5, 2021
Department of Transportation v. Mixon
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a constitutional provision requiring the government to pay for property it takes or damages can also let landowners sue for an injunction, not just money, in certain circumstances.
[W]hen private property is taken or damaged for public road and street purposes by the State and the counties and the municipalities of the State, just and adequate compensation therefor need not be paid until the same has been finally fixed and determined as provided by law, but such just and adequate compensation shall then be paid in preference to all...
4 We note that at least some parts of the complex statutory scheme regarding eminent domain also appear to require payment to precede a taking. See, e.g., OCGA § 22-1-5 (“Except in cases of extreme necessity and great urgency, the right of eminent domain cannot be exercised without first providing for just compensation to the owner for the interference with...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · February 15, 2021
In the Matter of David R. Sicay-Perrow
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia disbarred attorney David R. Sicay-Perrow after finding he mishandled and misappropriated client settlement funds, including money belonging to other clients, and misled clients about repayment.
According to the State Bar, the Board conducted an investigation into this matter, which revealed the following facts. In January 2013, pursuant to a contingency fee agreement, a husband and wife (the “clients”) retained Sicay-Perrow’s law firm, Sicay- Perrow & Knighten, P.C. (the “firm”), to represent their interests in a civil collections case....
The clients expected to receive $23,850 from the initial lump sum (as Sicay-Perrow was entitled to $7,950 based on a contingency fee agreement). However, in September 2013, Sicay-Perrow sent the clients an e-mail stating that, “an exceptionally large amount of money was stolen by a former office manager” and “I expect that we will be able to remit the lump...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · August 10, 2021
In the Matter of Timothy Walter Boyd
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia disbarred attorney Timothy Walter Boyd after he mishandled an estate matter, secretly diverting more than $29,000 in unauthorized fees from money meant for a grieving family.
checks to Boyd and directed him to endorse those checks to the service provider as payment for its services. Although Boyd agreed to the representation, he failed to provide the deceased’s father with an hourly rate for his legal services and instead advised that his fee would be between $2,000 and $5,000, depending upon the work that needed to be...
Around the same time, the client asked his deceased daughter’s friend to have Boyd give her the checkbook for a bank account Boyd opened at Piedmont Bank with the proceeds from the sale of the deceased’s residence, along with copies of all checks received for the estate, the life insurance policy, and any jewelry appraisals. Boyd met the friend at the bank...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · August 24, 2021
In the Matter of Carl S. Von Mehren
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted a Statesboro-area lawyer's petition for voluntary discipline and suspended him for six months after he admitted mishandling client trust funds and failing to protect a client's legal defense.
PER CURIAM. This disciplinary matter is before us on the Report and Recommendation of Special Master Catherine Koura, who recommends that this Court (1) accept the petition for voluntary discipline filed by Respondent Carl S. Von Mehren (State Bar No. 728840) pursuant to Bar Rule 4-227 (c) after the State Bar filed a formal complaint against him; and (2)...
1 That suit was later resolved when the trial court granted the defendants’ motions for summary judgment on the seller’s fraud claim. record showed that during the time he was supposed to be retaining those funds, the balance of Von Mehren’s trust account often dropped below $70,000 and that, while he denied ever using any trust funds for his personal...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 5, 2021
In the Matter of Leonard T. Mathis
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted an Atlanta-area lawyer's petition for discipline over trust account mismanagement, imposing a public reprimand after he admitted his client trust account was overdrawn when a client tried to cash a settlement check.
Mathis acknowledges, as noted above, that his actions violated Rules 1.15 (I) (a) and 1.15 (II) (b). Mathis notes that, although his actions posed a potential threat of harm to the client, and although the client was unable to negotiate the initially tendered check for four days, the client did not file a grievance as to this matter and has not alleged that...
The Bar has responded to Mathis’s petition, recommending that it be accepted by this Court and that this Court impose as a sanction a public reprimand. In its response, the Bar reiterates the facts laid out by Mathis, adding that its review of this matter revealed that Mathis made numerous “round number” transfers from his trust account to his operating...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · March 15, 2021
CHAM v. ECI MANAGEMENT CORPORATION
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a jury instruction defining a shooting victim as a possible 'licensee' at an apartment complex where he was killed, in a wrongful death case brought by his family against the complex's owner and manager.
1. Background. In December 2015, Callens was shot and killed during an armed robbery in a parking lot of the Concepts 21 Six-Flags apartment complex that was owned and managed by Defendants. It is undisputed that the parking lot was a common area of the apartment complex. At the time of his death, Callens was separated from his spouse and was staying in a...
and then again as part of a renewal in October 2015 — stated that the apartment “shall be used for Residential purposes only and shall be occupied only by persons named in Resident’s application to rent.” Similarly, a former property manager testified that the management had a policy that every adult who resides in a rented apartment should be listed on the...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · December 14, 2021
RCC WESLEY CHAPEL CROSSING, LLC v. ALLEN
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that private landowners have no common-law right to boot or otherwise immobilize vehicles parked without permission, but sent a class-action lawsuit over such booting back for further review.
1. Pertinent facts and procedural history. (a) Factual background. The relevant facts, as summarized by the Court of Appeals, see Allen, slip op. at 4-5, are as follows: On February 5, 2018, Plaintiff parked his vehicle in a parking lot located at 2440 Wesley Chapel Road (the “Wesley Chapel Lot”) in DeKalb County, and nonparty State Impound Authority, LLC...
(b) Trial court proceedings. In February 2018, Plaintiff filed a lawsuit in the State Court of Clayton County on behalf of himself and a putative class of similarly situated persons against Defendants RCC Wesley Chapel Crossing, LLC, Little Giant Farmers Market Corporation, Dollar Tree Stores, Inc., River City Capital, LLC, and River City Capital Property...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · March 1, 2021
In the Matter of Willie George Davis, Jr
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia rejected a proposed 18-month suspension for an attorney who mishandled his sister's estate and his orphaned nephew's money, finding the punishment too weak given how long it could effectively keep him in limbo.
Ultimately, the Special Master concluded that, if Davis could prove that he had paid all of the money due and that he was no longer suffering from any mental disability that would make him unfit to practice law, then he should be permitted to be reinstated to practice so long as he served a total suspension of at least 18 months. The Special Master...
Davis filed a petition to admit the will to probate, and the probate court appointed him to serve without bond as executor, conservator, and guardian per the terms of the will. The nephew was named a beneficiary of his mother’s life insurance policy, the proceeds of which were $157,277.48. Davis admitted that he received the funds and placed them in his...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · April 5, 2021
In the Matter of Edward Shuff Cook
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia imposed only a public reprimand on attorney Edward Shuff Cook for repeatedly and improperly moving client trust account funds, siding with a special master's factual findings over a harsher recommendation from the State Disciplinary Review Board.
NAHMIAS, Presiding Justice, dissenting. I agree with much of what is said in the majority opinion, but I do not agree that a mere reprimand is the appropriate sanction for Cook’s repeated and serious violations of his obligation to safeguard his clients’ funds. Some details not discussed in the majority opinion reveal the extent of Cook’s improper conduct....
(a) Every lawyer who practices law in Georgia, . . . and who receives money or property on behalf of a client or in any other fiduciary capacity, shall maintain or have available one or more trust accounts as required by these Rules. All funds held by a lawyer for a client and all funds held by a lawyer in any other fiduciary capacity shall be deposited in...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · March 1, 2021
In the Matter of Evelyn A. Miller
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted an attorney's request to give up her law license after she admitted diverting more than $250,000 in escrow funds meant for real estate settlement clients, discipline that mirrors sanctions already imposed in Virginia.
PER CURIAM. This disciplinary matter is before the Court on a petition for voluntary discipline filed by respondent Evelyn Ann Miller (State Bar No. 506579) before the initiation of an action for reciprocal discipline. See Rule 9.4 (b) of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, found in Bar Rule 4-102 (d); see also Bar Rule 4-227 (b). In her petition,...
311 Ga. 81 FINAL COPY S21Y0672. IN THE MATTER OF EVELYN ANN MILLER.
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · September 8, 2021
Nelson v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the denial of a murder defendant's motion to suppress cell phone and laptop evidence, ruling that his long incarceration and failure to ask for the devices back weakened his privacy interest despite a two-year delay.
In reviewing a trial court’s ruling on a defendant’s motion to suppress evidence, the trial court’s decision with regard to questions of fact and credibility must be accepted unless clearly erroneous; we will not disturb the trial court’s findings based on conflicting evidence if there is any evidence to support them. See State v. Rosenbaum, 305 Ga. 442,...
and private interests in this context, considering (1) the significance of the interference with the person’s possessory interest; (2) the duration of the delay; (3) whether or not the person consented to the seizure; and (4) the government’s legitimate interest in holding the property as evidence. See id. (citing United States v. Laist, 702 F3d 608,...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · May 3, 2021
JOHNSON v. AVIS RENT a CAR SYSTEM, LLC (Two Cases)
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that Avis Rent A Car and its rental lot operator cannot be held liable for injuries two women suffered when a stolen SUV, driven by an employee fleeing police, crashed into them, because the employee's crime spree was too remote to have been foreseen.
Prior to the incident involving Perry, one other car theft had occurred at the Courtland Street location. This theft occurred in harm. See Rasnick v. Krishna Hospitality, Inc., 289 Ga. 565, 566 (713 SE2d 835) (2011) (“In order to have a viable negligence action, a plaintiff must satisfy the elements of the tort, namely, the existence of a duty on the part...
9 For example, between 2011 and 2013, about 500 cars were stolen per year from Avis lots nationwide out of a nationwide fleet in 2013 of about 320,000 cars. Plaintiffs also presented evidence of a 2010 high-speed chase – that did not result in injuries – after a rental car was stolen during the day from an Avis lot in LaGrange, Georgia, and evidence of...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · May 17, 2021
Abbott v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Floyd County man's murder convictions, rejecting his claims about a witness who had been drinking, evidence of a stolen four-wheeler, and an alleged secret deal with a jailhouse informant.
The evidence presented at Appellant’s trial showed that, shortly after 3:00 p.m. on January 23, 2015, James and Myra Reeves were found dead in their Floyd County home, both victims of recently inflicted shotgun wounds. The door leading into the home from the carport, which was not visible from the street, had been shot through. The home was otherwise in...
Evidence showed that the repossessed car had belonged to McCleskey, until Appellant forged her signature to transfer the title to himself and pawned the title for cash. Appellant then failed to repay the loan, and the car was repossessed; January 23 was the final day of its redemption period. After Appellant’s arrest, McCleskey also discovered that $5,000...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · April 19, 2021
Bedford v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the murder convictions of two men, Million Bedford and Yaheed Brooks, rejecting challenges to the evidence, a closing-argument comment, a juvenile confession, alleged witness bolstering, and denial of added ineffective-assistance claims.
Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdicts, the evidence presented at trial showed that the appellants’ co-indictees, Shauntequia Bell, Emily Prescott, and Sanantonio Young, devised a plan to rob Jackson in order to get money for rent. Prescott had previously traded sex with Jackson to pay for Bell’s jail bond and Bedford and Brooks filed...
Prescott testified that she, Young, and Bell devised a plan to rob Jackson. On the evening of the crimes, she and Young dropped off Bell at Jackson’s house, picked up Bedford and Brooks, and drove them to Jackson’s house, where she, Bedford, and Brooks entered to search for money. After they went into Jackson’s bedroom to ask Jackson where he kept his...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · February 1, 2021
Jordan v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a man who pleaded guilty to felony murder mid-trial had an absolute right to withdraw that plea before sentencing, and reversed the trial court's refusal to let him do so.
attached and at any time during trial, as well as in the form of a motion in arrest of judgment after a verdict in the same term of court.” (citations and punctuation omitted)).
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · September 21, 2021
Washington v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fulton County man's murder conviction, ruling that his lawyer's decision not to object to hotel surveillance and dashcam video evidence was a reasonable trial strategy, not a legal error.
312 Ga. 495 FINAL COPY S21A0829. WASHINGTON v. THE STATE.
Detective Scott Demeester, who was qualified as an expert in cell phone data interpretation and cell-site analysis, testified regarding data recovered from the defendants’ cell phones. A cell phone associated with Washington called and texted Jackson’s cell phone several times in the days leading up to the shooting. At 6:39 p.m. on January 5, Washington...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 19, 2021
American Civil Liberties Union, Inc. v. Zeh
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that a Glynn County misdemeanor public defender sued the ACLU for defamation was a public official, meaning he had to prove the ACLU knew its blog post was false or recklessly disregarded the truth, which he failed to show on the current record.
8 The record does not indicate who appointed Zeh to this position. Liberties Union Foundation (“ACLU Foundation”)9 filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia a civil rights lawsuit against Glynn County, the County’s chief magistrate judge and sheriff, and Zeh, as the “Glynn County Misdemeanor Public Defender.” The lawsuit...
On June 26, 2018, the ACLU Foundation lawyers, on behalf of the putative classes, filed a motion for leave to file an amended complaint. In addition to the allegations against Zeh in the original complaint, the proposed amended complaint alleged that Zeh, in delaying representation to indigent individuals charged with misdemeanor crimes, “act[ed] for Glynn...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · March 1, 2021
Strickland v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Wayne County man's murder and armed robbery convictions, rejecting his claims that the evidence was too weak and that a juror lied during jury selection about knowing him.
On the evening of July 2, 2016, Hubble went to Screven to visit family and watch fireworks. While Hubble was at the fireworks display, Strickland messaged her that he had “tricked” Westberry into giving him the PIN for his debit card. Strickland also stated that Westberry had agreed to let him borrow his car. He then picked Hubble up in Westberry’s car....
Kent testified that, between 9:15 and 9:45 a.m. on July 6, Strickland brought his laundry to housekeeping, that he “waited until he thought I wasn’t looking at him and he hurried up to the washing machine to dump the clothes in,” and that he arranged the load “until all of the black clothes were on the very top.” Later that morning, Strickland called an...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · January 11, 2021
Johnson v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld Sharod Johnson's murder conviction for a fatal Ingles grocery store armed robbery, rejecting his claims about a witness's silence on the stand and about phone, house, and car searches.
After robbing the Waffle House, Johnson and his accomplices decided to rob a Chevron gas station on Buford Highway, where Adside had been a customer and “knew the lady inside.” This time, five men participated in the robbery: Johnson, Adside, Jackson, Holmes, and Slayton. Early in the morning of August 26, the group drove to the gas station in Johnson’s car...
Around 11:00 p.m., only three employees remained at the store: Johnson, Casto (the security guard), and Rosa Marie Turpin (the assistant manager). When all three employees went to the back of the store to check the security door, Adside and his group came out of the cooler with their faces covered, pointed their guns at the employees, and told them to get...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · June 1, 2021
Tyler v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Richmond County man's convictions for felony murder, armed robbery, and burglary in the shooting death of a security guard during a copper theft, finding the circumstantial evidence sufficient.
BETHEL, Justice. A Richmond County jury found Charles Tyler guilty of felony murder, armed robbery, and other crimes in connection with the shooting death of David Fulkrod and theft of copper from a recycling facility. On appeal, Tyler challenges the sufficiency of the evidence as to all of his convictions. Because the evidence was sufficient to support...
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