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Found 218 matching passages in 119 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 · 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 · 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 · 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 · 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...
2. Rule Violations. As summarized by the Special Master, based on this conduct, Davis admitted in his petition for voluntary discipline that he violated Rules 1.7 (b), 1.15 (I) (a) and (c), 3.5 (d), 8.1, and 8.4 (a) (5). The maximum sanction for a violation of each of these rules is disbarment, except for Rule 3.5 (d), for which the maximum sanction is a...
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 · 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 · 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.
(c) The standard of judicial review that applies in this case. We generally review a trial court’s ruling on an anti-SLAPP motion to strike de novo, see Wilkes, 306 Ga. at 263, viewing the pleadings and affidavits submitted by the parties in the light most favorable to the plaintiff (as the non-moving party). See, e.g., RCO Legal, P.S., Inc. v. Johnson, 347...
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...
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 · 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,...
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 · 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.
3 We note that there is generally a common-law right to exclude others from private property. See Pope v. Pulte Home Corp., 246 Ga. App. 120, 120 (1) (539 SE2d 842) (2000) (“The term ‘property’ includes not only the land possessed, but also the rights of the owner in relation to that land. The owner has the rights to possess, use and dispose of the property...
4 Defendants also claim that there is a common-law right to immobilize a vehicle pursuant to consent given by its owner or operator. In support of this claim, Defendants assert that signs were posted on the Wesley Chapel Lot identifying Defendants’ right to immobilize unauthorized vehicles parked there, and thus individuals who illegally parked on the lot...
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 · July 7, 2021
In the Matter of James Archie Barnett
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia approved James Archie Barnett's application to be certified fit to practice law again, more than two decades after he was disbarred for abandoning clients and ignoring bar investigators.
The Fitness Board provided notice to the State Bar of Georgia and to the bar membership and chief judge of the Atlanta Judicial Circuit; provided newspaper notice to the public in the area where Barnett had practiced; and sought confirmation from the Client Security Fund that no restitution was due. See Part A, Section 10 (d) (1)-(4) of the Rules. The State...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · August 10, 2021
In the Matter of Matthew A. Bryan
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia disbarred a lawyer named Matthew Alexander Bryan after he was already disbarred in Montana for mishandling a trust worth about $398,000 and lying about his law practice.
Based on a review of the disciplinary procedures and rules in Montana and records from the Montana disciplinary proceeding, the Review Board concluded that the conduct that led to Bryan’s disbarment in Montana would constitute a violation of Georgia’s disciplinary rules. It also noted that the records from the Montana disciplinary proceeding showed that the...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · March 15, 2021
Pender v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the murder-related convictions of Christopher Pender and Christopher Whitaker in a Muscogee County shooting, and used the case to clarify how courts should review theft-by-receiving convictions.
During his interview, Whitaker admitted calling Mayfield 4 Fair turned himself in to the police and was later interrogated. He denied any involvement in the crimes. about two hours before the shooting to set up a deal to buy marijuana. He also admitted being in the Ford F-150 during the Scott shooting. He admitted having a gun at the time but denied that he...
Based on the statements Williams and Pender made to the police and evidence of Pender’s possession of the truck, the jury was authorized to determine that Pender was guilty of theft by receiving. The evidence authorized the jury to determine that Pender knew or should have known that the truck was stolen and that he retained the truck with no intention of...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · February 1, 2021
In the Matter of Stephen Vincent Fitzgerald, Jr
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia granted a former attorney's application to be certified fit to practice law again, nearly a decade after he surrendered his license for mishandling about $455,000 in client funds.
to Fitzgerald’s integrity and empathy and to his potential to once again become a productive member of the Bar. Through its investigation, the Fitness Board determined that no active grievances or other disciplinary matters against Fitzgerald are pending before the State Bar and that no restitution was required to be made to the Client Security Fund.1 In...
Supreme Court opinion · Supreme Court of Georgia · October 5, 2021
Lane v. State
Summary by Georgia Commons (AI-written): The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fulton County man's felony murder conviction in a fatal Krystal restaurant robbery, rejecting his claims about a polygraph mention and his lawyer's performance at trial.
The evidence presented at trial showed that, on November 6, 2002, assistant manager Simpson and restaurant employee Young were working the third shift2 at a Krystal restaurant in College Park. The State presented testimony that, prior to this incident, Lane seemed to be struggling financially and had asked friends for money. Around 5:00 a.m., two 911...
Kristie Miller, Lane’s girlfriend, testified that, around 9:00 a.m. on November 6, Lane called her and told her “he had did something bad.” Lane’s friend, Bernard Champion, testified that Lane stopped by for a visit on the morning of November 6. Lane was wearing a plaid jacket and told Champion to turn on the news. When the story about the robbery and...
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.
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...
A DNA analysis of the blood found on Westberry’s pants pockets and on the metal rod showed that the blood came from Westberry. The medical examiner found 11 lacerations on Westberry’s head as well as injuries to his right hand and determined that he died from blunt trauma to his head. The same afternoon that Westberry’s body was discovered, Hubble spoke...
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