443 results for 'court:"Georgia Court of Appeals"'.
J. Doyle finds that the trial court improperly convicted defendant of fleeing or attempting to elude an officer. Insufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's conviction. The officer who pursued defendant's vehicle gave testimony which did not support the fleeing offense alleged in the indictment. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Doyle, Filed On: June 25, 2024, Case #: A24A0491, Categories: Evidence
J. Pipkin finds that the trial court improperly granted defendant's pre-trial motion to suppress evidence found in a search of his phone. Defendant was charged with offenses including aggravated child molestation and sexual exploitation of children. The trial court incorrectly found that the search warrant authorized an impermissible general search. The search warrant affidavit and the swearing officer's testimony sufficiently limited the scope of the search to the video on defendant's phone. Reversed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Pipkin, Filed On: June 25, 2024, Case #: A24A0420, Categories: Search, Sex Offender, Child Victims
J. Watkins finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of possession of a firearm by a first offender probationer and correctly denied defendant's amended motion for a new trial. Testimony suggesting that defendant was planning to rob the Waffle House where he was apprehended was brief and isolated and the trial court gave the jury a curative instruction telling them not to consider the line of questioning in reaching a verdict. Defendant failed to show that his trial counsel's performance was deficient or that he was prejudiced by the alleged deficiencies. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Watkins, Filed On: June 24, 2024, Case #: A24A0484, Categories: Firearms, Ineffective Assistance
J. Land finds that the trial court improperly upheld the decision by the labor department denying the attorney's claim for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance after he left his job to care for his children during the Covid-19 pandemic. There was evidence showing that the attorney performed work up until March 2020, when he left work to serve as the primary caregiver to two of his children who were not in school due to the pandemic. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Land, Filed On: June 24, 2024, Case #: A24A0144, Categories: Covid-19, Labor
J. Land finds that the trial court properly refused to rule in favor of the restaurant in a negligence action brought by the individual arising from injuries he suffered in a car collision caused by a drunk driver. A jury must decide whether the restaurant that served the driver alcohol knew or should have known that the driver would soon be driving. The driver said in her affidavit that she was holding her car keys as she entered the restaurant, that her keys were in plain view as she sat at the restaurant table and that her car was visible from inside the restaurant. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Land, Filed On: June 24, 2024, Case #: A24A0281, Categories: Negligence
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J. Watkins finds that the trial court improperly refused to find in favor of the beauty salon landlord in a premises liability action brought by the customer arising from injuries she allegedly suffered when a wall-mounted hairdryer fell on her. The evidence was insufficient to create an issue of fact as to whether or not the landlord was an out-of-possession landlord. The customer failed to show that the landlord knew or should have known that the hairdryer was not properly installed. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Watkins, Filed On: June 24, 2024, Case #: A24A0201, Categories: Premises Liability
J. Doyle finds that the trial court improperly revoked defendant's probation after he was arrested for violating probation by refusing to participate in a substance abuse treatment program. Insufficient evidence was presented to support the order. The form signed when defendant refused to participate in the program was not admitted into evidence and there was no inquiry into why the state failed to produce the officer who signed the form. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Doyle, Filed On: June 24, 2024, Case #: A24A0529, Categories: Probation
J. Rickman finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of burglary. The trial court correctly denied defendant's motion for a new trial and correctly rejected defendant's motion to suppress his admission during a custodial interview that he entered a home to commit theft. The interrogation took place after the state made a request to remove defendant from the first-appearance hearing calendar. There is no evidence defendant would have heeded his attorney's advice to remain silent even if they had been able to meet before the questioning. Defendant waived his Miranda rights. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: June 24, 2024, Case #: A24A0600, Categories: Burglary
J. Land finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of rape and correctly denied his motion for a new trial. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's conviction, including evidence that the victim was highly intoxicated and unable to consent to sex. The trial court did not commit any error in instructing the jury that they could find force and lack of consent if the victim was intoxicated. Defendant failed to show that his trial counsel performed deficiently or that he was prejudiced by the alleged deficiencies. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Land, Filed On: June 21, 2024, Case #: A24A0483, Categories: Sex Offender
J. Land finds that the trial court improperly resentenced defendant to 25 years for violating his probation after his guilty plea to violating the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act and making terroristic threats as a lesser-included offense of aggravated assault. The trial court incorrectly used defendant's negotiated guilty plea as the basis for the first offender resentencing even though the plea was rejected by the trial court and withdrawn by defendant. Defendant's admission of guilt was made for the purpose of receiving the benefit of reduced punishment under the plea agreement which was ultimately rejected by the trial court. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Land, Filed On: June 21, 2024, Case #: A24A0065, Categories: Sentencing
[Consolidated.] J. Gobeil finds that the trial court improperly denied the manufacturers' motions to dismiss the consumer's product liability claim in an action alleging that endocrine-disrupting chemicals in chemical hair relaxers caused her to develop uterine fibroids. The consumer's first purchase of the products in 1995 and 2003 triggered the repose period under the statute. The consumer did not allege that the product formulations changed or that the containers of product she purchased within 10 years of filing the action are the ones that injured her. The trial court incorrectly rejected one manufacturer's motion for a more definite statement with respect to the consumer's fraud claim. However, the trial court correctly refused to dismiss the consumer's negligence claim. Reversed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Gobeil, Filed On: June 21, 2024, Case #: A24A0313, Categories: Fraud, Negligence, Product Liability
J. Barnes finds that the trial court improperly ruled in favor of the employer and the employee in a negligence action brought by the driver. The driver suffered injuries after hitting a cow in the middle of a road which had previously been hit by the employee, who was driving a dump truck. A jury should decide whether the employee could have safely taken steps to warn other drivers of the cow's presence in the road. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Barnes, Filed On: June 21, 2024, Case #: A24A0394, Categories: Negligence
[Consolidated.] J. Barnes finds that the trial court improperly entered production and protective orders compelling the individual’s medical provider and a claims manager to create and produce a database report including financial and billing information for the driver in a negligence action brought by the individual arising from a car collision. The requested report was not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence and the trial court failed to impose restrictions on the use and dissemination of the information. The report would be overly broad and would include detailed sensitive financial information about patients. Vacated.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Barnes, Filed On: June 21, 2024, Case #: A24A1046, Categories: Negligence, Privacy, Discovery
J. Gobeil finds that the trial court improperly entered a judgment in the driver's favor in a negligence action against the individual arising from back injuries the driver suffered in a car collision. The trial court incorrectly allowed the driver's attorney to tell the jury that the individual had liability insurance coverage. The information is likely to have impacted the trial outcome. The trial court also incorrectly granted the driver's motion for attorney fees. Reversed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Gobeil, Filed On: June 21, 2024, Case #: A24A0161, Categories: Negligence
J. Barnes refuses to direct the trial court to enter a consent judgment but overturns the trial court's judgment in light of the agreement reached between the parties. The case is remanded to the trial court for the parties to reach a resolution. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Barnes, Filed On: June 21, 2024, Case #: A24A0001, Categories: Settlements
J. Land finds that the trial court improperly denied the individual's motion to vacate a 2013 judgment and writ of fieri facias entered against him in an action brought by the bank to recover on a promissory note. The judgment and writ became dormant under the statute in 2020. The 2014 reissuance of the writ after the bank mistakenly canceled the original writ did not re-start the dormancy clock. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Land, Filed On: June 21, 2024, Case #: A24A0502, Categories: Enforcement Of Judgments
J. Doyle finds that the juvenile court properly entered an order finding the Guatemalan child dependent. However, the juvenile court improperly determined that it lacked jurisdiction to make findings related to whether returning the child to her birth country would be in her best interest. The case is remanded for the juvenile court to make those findings. Affirmed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Doyle, Filed On: June 20, 2024, Case #: A24A0266, Categories: Family Law, Immigration
J. Rickman finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of aggravated sexual battery and child molestation but incorrectly imposed a special condition of his probation. The condition prohibiting contact with minors is overly broad and failed to put defendant on notice of the groups and places he is required to avoid. Defendant failed to show that any alleged error in the jury instructions impacted the trial outcome. Affirmed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: June 20, 2024, Case #: A24A0503, Categories: Probation, Sex Offender, Jury Instructions
J. Pipkin finds that the juvenile court properly approved a change of placement for the dependent child after she was removed from the mother's home due to incidents of domestic violence against the mother by the mother's husband. The evidence supported the juvenile court's findings and its determination that the child should be placed with her paternal grandmother. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Pipkin, Filed On: June 20, 2024, Case #: A24A0099, Categories: Family Law
J. Gobeil finds that the trial court properly dismissed the individual's negligence action against the company for insufficient service. The action arose from an all-terrain vehicle accident. Evidence supports the trial court's finding that the person the individual served, who was a registered agent for the company's United States distributor, was not a registered or appointed agent for service on the company. The trial court did not commit any error by considering the deposition of the person the individual served. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Gobeil, Filed On: June 20, 2024, Case #: A24A0092, Categories: Civil Procedure, Negligence
J. Hodges finds that the trial court improperly awarded $3,000 in attorney fees to the cohabitant after dismissing the individual's petition for a temporary protective order alleging that the cohabitant threatened him with physical harm in several phone calls. The trial court incorrectly dismissed the action with prejudice more than 30 days after it was filed and failed to provide a statutory basis for the attorney fee award. Vacated.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Hodges, Filed On: June 20, 2024, Case #: A24A0542, Categories: Restraining Order, Attorney Fees
J. Pipkin finds that the trial court improperly apportioned damages awarded to the decedent's parents in a wrongful death action against the company and truck driver arising from a car collision. The case was not a single tortfeasor case since no order was ever issued dropping any of the named parties despite the entry of a pre-trial settlement and a pre-trial grant of summary judgment. The trial court therefore incorrectly failed to reduce the compensatory damages owed by the company by 20% where the jury assigned 5% fault to one passenger and 15% fault to the driver. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Pipkin, Filed On: June 20, 2024, Case #: A24A0137, Categories: Damages, Wrongful Death
J. Rickman finds that the trial court improperly ruled in favor of the company on the wife's loss of consortium claim in an action brought by the husband arising from injuries he suffered when a lift gate on his work truck malfunctioned. The wife gave contradictory testimony with respect to the date of her separation from the husband. The trial court incorrectly found that the wife's explanation for the contradiction was unreasonable. The appeals court overrules its prior decisions applying Georgia's "clearly erroneous" standard in reviewing determinations of whether an explanation is reasonable. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: June 18, 2024, Case #: A24A0545, Categories: Negligence
J. Doyle finds that the trial court properly granted a writ of possession to the landlord in a dispossessory action against the tenant arising after a fire. The trial court correctly found that the tenant was a holdover tenant. The landlord gave timely notice of termination under the 20-day notice provision of the lease since the landlord calculated the total cost of remediation the day before sending the notice. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Doyle, Filed On: June 18, 2024, Case #: A24A0237, Categories: Landlord Tenant
J. McFadden finds that the trial court improperly ruled in favor of the building owner in a premises liability action brought by the individual arising from injuries she suffered when a step broke while she was descending one of the building's staircases. Genuine issues of fact exist as to whether the owner had constructive knowledge of the defects in the staircase and whether the individual could have reasonably known of the defects. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: McFadden, Filed On: June 18, 2024, Case #: A24A0539, Categories: Premises Liability
J. Mercier finds that the trial court improperly refused to find in favor of the insurer in a declaratory judgment action brought by the car dealership arising after the insurer denied the dealership's claim under a physical damage insurance policy. The dealership sold a vehicle to an individual who crashed it three days later while fleeing from police. The individual gave the dealership evidence of insurance and that policy was in effect at the time he damaged the vehicle. The insurer's policy does not cover the claim because the individual's policy was valid at the time of the incident. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Mercier, Filed On: June 18, 2024, Case #: A24A0477, Categories: Insurance
J. Doyle finds that the trial court improperly refused to find in favor of the property sellers in a fraud action brought by the buyers alleging the sellers concealed or misrepresented the presence of mold in a home. The buyers admit that they knew there was mold in the home, therefore they should have made a complete investigation before closing on the property rather than relying on the sellers' representations. The buyers failed to exercise the requisite level of due diligence required by Georgia law. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Doyle, Filed On: June 18, 2024, Case #: A24A0213, Categories: Fraud
J. Pipkin finds that the mother's claims regarding the trial court's prior custody and visitation determinations are moot because the couple's special needs son is now an 18-year-old adult. The case is remanded to allow the trial court to dismiss the mother's claims with respect to custody and visitation. The trial court correctly held the mother in contempt for routinely disobeying orders. Affirmed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Pipkin, Filed On: June 17, 2024, Case #: A24A0567, Categories: Family Law
J. McFadden finds that the trial court properly entered a $4.5 million jury verdict in favor of the patient in a medical malpractice action against the doctor arising from injuries the patient suffered due to an improperly implanted spinal cord stimulator. The trial court correctly instructed the jury that they should not consider the presence or absence of insurance or benefits in deliberating on liability and damages. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in giving the charge in light of a potential juror's comment that insurers pay medical malpractice awards. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: McFadden, Filed On: June 17, 2024, Case #: A24A0556, Categories: Damages, Medical Malpractice
J. Mercier finds that the trial court improperly convicted defendant of sexual exploitation of children. The trial court incorrectly allowed defendant to represent himself at trial. Defendant did not knowingly and intelligently waive his right to counsel since the trial court failed to inform him of the nature of the charges against him or the range of consequences he faced if convicted. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Mercier, Filed On: June 14, 2024, Case #: A24A0299, Categories: Sex Offender, Self Representation