In White v. Stanley (Georgia Ct. App. 10/3/2023), Rhonda White appealed a jury verdict in favor of the defendants relating to a motor vehicle collision. White argued that the trial court gave an improper jury instruction regarding the Preponderance-of-the-Evidence Standard. The trial court instructed the jury using the existing pattern jury instructions. However, the law […]
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In April, 2022, we reported that HB 620 altered how settlements for minors can be approved under O.C.G.A. § 29-3-3, at least in cases where the trial court approves direct payment to a trust. Prior to passage of HB 620, Section 29-3-3 read as follows: 2021 Version For purposes of this Code section, the term […]
The following Georgia Medicaid cases were litigated outside the context of an administrative hearing, or were appealed beyond that point. Of course, we are not representing there are no other published decisions on point. United Cerebral Palsy of Georgia v. Ga. Dep’t of Behavioral Health and Dev. Disabilities, 331 Ga. App. 616 (2015). A provider […]
There are many types of “Plaintiff’s cases.” This article focuses on injury cases. Injury cases can be as simple as a car wreck or as complex as a medical malpractice case. Regardless, they generally require four essential elements: duty, breach of duty, causation, and damages. See Calhoun First Nat’l Bank v. Dickens, 264 Ga. 285 […]
There are times when formal “legal” communication is necessary. This post addresses several instances regarding how that can be done. It is not meant to be all inclusive and, in many cases, specific communication rules apply. Beginning a lawsuit: When you begin a lawsuit, a summons must be served on the Defendant(s). Generally, Rule 4 […]
On May 20, 2022, the Georgia Court of Appeals issued its Order in In re Estate of Brenda Elizabether Strother (Ward) (Appeal No. A22A0210). There, two daughters filed a petition for emergency guardianship, alleging two members of Brenda’s Jehovah’s Witness church (Robertson and Lewis), named in a 2020 advance directive were refusing to authorize emergency […]
In McAlister v. Clifton (Ga. 4/19/2022), the Georgia Supreme Court heard a case challenging the equitable caregiver statute, O.C.G.A. § 19-7-3.1. There, the trial court awarded Wendi Clifton, McAlister’s domestic partner, visitation rights to McAlister’s adopted daughter, Catherine. McAlister contended the equitable caregiver statute was unconstitutional facially and as applied to Clifton. McAlister also appealed […]
In Bethune v. Bethune (Georgia Court of Appeals A21A1659, March 11, 2022), Donald Bethune was acting as agent for his 89-year-old mother under a power of attorney executed on November 14, 2019. Richard Bethune, Donald’s brother, filed an action seeking relief under the Georgia Power of Attorney Act, O.C.G.A. § 10-6B-1 et seq. On appeal, […]
On March 15, 2022, the Georgia Court of Appeals decided Willis v. Cheeley (A21A1730). There, a contested probate proceeding boiled over into the Superior Court of Gwinnett County where Appellee Joseph E. Cheeley III secured a declaratory judgment against Appellant William Joseph Willis. The Court of Appeals held the declaratory judgment was improperly granted because […]
Every person has a constitutional right to represent himself or herself. However, the right to represent someone else is regulated. Each State regulates the practice of law differently. In Georgia, the practice of law is defined as: (1) Representing litigants in court and preparing pleadings and other papers incident to any action or special proceedings […]
