114 results for 'court:"USDC Southern District of Georgia"'.
J. Hall partially rules in favor of the doctor in a civil rights and medical malpractice action brought by the estate executor arising from the decedent's death. The executor alleged that the doctor failed to prevent the decedent's pressure ulcers from worsening. The executor lacks standing to bring a wrongful death claim against the doctor. However, a genuine issue of fact exists as to when the statute of limitations began to run on the medical malpractice claim. The doctor's motion to exclude an expert's opinions on causation is granted because the expert's differential diagnosis is not reliable. The expert failed to explain why she rejected other causes of the decedent's sepsis to find that the doctor's negligence caused the decedent's injury.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Hall, Filed On: February 20, 2024, Case #: 4:15cv149, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Wrongful Death, Medical Malpractice
J. Hall partially rules in favor of the tenant in a trespass action brought by an individual alleging that the tenant damaged a mobile home after leaving the property. A decision in an underlying quiet title action which found that the individual does not own the property precludes the individual from relitigating the issue of ownership of the property and moots his claims for damages to the property. The individual's claims for damage to his personal property are dismissed for his failure to prosecute the action.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Hall, Filed On: February 16, 2024, Case #: 1:18cv206, NOS: All Other Real Property - Real Property, Categories: Property
J. Wood denies the debt collector's motion to dismiss an action brought by the individual under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act arising from the collector's failure to remove an allegedly fraudulent account from her credit report. However, the collector's motion for a more definite statement of the claims is granted. The individual's action is a shotgun pleading which does not include a plain statement explaining which accounts are disputed, how the collector communicated false information or how the collector attempted to collect the alleged debt. The individual is ordered to file an amended complaint within 20 days.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Wood, Filed On: February 16, 2024, Case #: 5:23cv103, NOS: Consumer Credit - Other Suits, Categories: Debt Collection
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J. Wood rules in favor of the county and the police officers in a civil rights, excessive force and battery action brought by the individual arising after one of the officers tased him during his arrest. The officers' use of force was not excessive because they believed the individual was holding his girlfriend hostage. A reasonable officer could have believed that the individual posed an immediate threat of harm because he refused to cooperate with the officers and actively resisted their efforts to arrest him. The officers' use of force was proportionate and the individual did not suffer any long-term injuries. The officers are entitled to qualified immunity.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Wood, Filed On: February 15, 2024, Case #: 2:22cv94, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Immunity, Police Misconduct
J. Baker dismisses the individual's and the individual's company's claims in a negligence action against the bank arising from the bank's alleged failure to recognize the individual's right of rescission in contracts for the purchase of vehicles. The company cannot proceed pro se and failed to retain counsel even after being directed to do so. The individual lacks standing to assert the claims in her personal capacity because the claims rest on contracts that were executed only by the company.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Baker, Filed On: February 15, 2024, Case #: 4:23cv3, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Negligence, Contract
J. Wood partially grants the sheriff's, deputies and county's motions to dismiss a civil rights, excessive force and wrongful arrest action brought by the father and son. The action arose after the father was arrested for obstruction and the son was bitten by a K-9 officer and beaten by deputies. The county is not the deputies' employer, therefore the claims against the county for negligent training and supervision are dismissed. The sheriff is entitled to sovereign immunity from the negligent training and supervision claims. Although the father failed to sufficiently state a claim for wrongful arrest against three deputies, the claim may move forward against another deputy.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Wood, Filed On: February 13, 2024, Case #: 4:24cv6, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Police Misconduct
J. Hall partially grants the individuals' motions to dismiss a civil rights and wrongful death action brought by the children of the decedent. The civil rights claim is dismissed due to the children's failure to allege a violation of a federal right. The children's motion to remand the action is denied because the individuals established there was unanimous consent to remove the action at the time of removal. The remaining state law claims are remanded to the state court of Tattnall County.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Hall, Filed On: February 13, 2024, Case #: 6:23cv16, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Wrongful Death
J. Baker partially grants the gun seller's motion for default judgment in a fraud, negligent misrepresentation and breach of contract action against the gun manufacturer arising from a failed agreement between the parties to design and manufacture a new nine millimeter pistol caliber carbine. The seller plausibly alleged that the manufacturer violated the terms of the agreement and that the manufacturer misrepresented its ability to design and produce the parts. The motion is granted as to liability on all counts but a ruling on damages is reserved until after a hearing in March.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Baker, Filed On: February 7, 2024, Case #: 4:21cv334, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Fraud, Contract
J. Baker denies the insurer's motion to dismiss a putative class action brought by the insurance agents alleging that the insurer filed fraudulent tax documents and seeking injunctive relief barring the insurer from enforcing an asset transfer agreement. The class failed to allege facts entitling it to injunctive relief and it is not possible to adjudicate the injunctive relief request. However, the class's claim for monetary damages under the statute is subject to an arbitration provision. The parties are ordered to submit the underlying dispute as to the enforceability of the agreement provisions to arbitration.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Baker, Filed On: February 7, 2024, Case #: 4:20cv219, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Arbitration, Class Action
J. Baker grants the company's motion for default judgment in a breach of contract action and awards a judgment against the shareholder in the amount of $122,000. The action arose from the shareholder's failure to pay money owed under a stock transfer agreement. The company plausibly alleged that the shareholder breached the agreement by failing to pay his portions of a settlement or the fees associated with the underlying dispute.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Baker, Filed On: February 5, 2024, Case #: 4:21cv184, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Contract
J. Ray partially grants the city's and officer's motion to exclude testimony from the driver's accident reconstruction expert witness in a malicious prosecution and civil rights action. The action arose after the driver was twice prosecuted for vehicular homicide after he suffered a seizure and caused a collision which killed his passenger. The case against the driver was eventually dismissed for insufficient evidence. The expert may not testify about whether the driver suffered a seizure, the impact of any such medical emergency on the driver's ability to operate the vehicle or whether the driver had any control over any seizure. The driver failed to show that the expert, who is not a medical doctor, is qualified to opine on whether he suffered a seizure.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Ray, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 4:22cv232, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Malicious Prosecution, Experts
J. Hall grants the employer's and driver's motion to dismiss a wrongful death action brought by the estate creditor after the decedent's death in a car collision. The estate creditor is not a proper plaintiff to bring a wrongful death claim under Georgia law since he has not alleged he is the administrator or executor of the decedent's estate. The only other plaintiffs who can bring a wrongful death claim are the decedent's surviving spouse or children.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Hall, Filed On: January 19, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv103, NOS: Motor Vehicle - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Wrongful Death
J. Wood finds in favor of the employer in a race discrimination and retaliation action brought by the former employee, a Black man, after he was fired for willful destruction of company property for spilling paint on the floor of a manufactured home. The ex-employee failed to provide a specific comparator to show that the employer treated similarly situated employees outside his protected class more favorably. The ex-employee also failed to show that the employer's nondiscriminatory reason for firing him was pretextual.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Wood, Filed On: January 18, 2024, Case #: 5:22cv73, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. Ray recommends that the individual's action against the company and employee be dismissed. The individual failed to adequately plead federal question jurisdiction or establish diversity jurisdiction. The individual's demand for $1 million in damages arising from an altercation with the employee was not made in good faith. The individual has sufficient funds available to pay the filing fee, therefore her motion to proceed in forma pauperis should be denied. The company's motion to stay the case pending consideration of the instant recommendation is granted.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Ray, Filed On: January 16, 2024, Case #: 4:23cv169, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Jurisdiction
J. Ray partially grants the ex-police officer's motion to exclude expert testimony in a race discrimination and employment retaliation action against the mayor and the police chief arising after he was fired. The expert, who is also a police chief, may not offer legal conclusions, tell the jury what result to reach or opine as to what legal authority city policies or practices bestow on the police chief. The expert can talk about how industry customs and practices are shaped by legal requirements. The police chief's motion to preclude certain opinions from the ex-police officer's expert law enforcement officials is denied.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Ray, Filed On: January 12, 2024, Case #: 4:21cv111, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Experts, Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. Hall grants the landlord company's renewed motion to dismiss in an action brought by the tenant arising from eviction proceedings. The motion is construed as a motion for judgment on the pleadings. The tenant's claims against the company are barred by res judicata because the parties in the instant action are identical to those in a previous action and the two cases involve the same cause of action related to the parties' rights under a lease. The previous action also ended with a final judgment in the company's favor. The claims against all parties other than the second company are dismissed. Although the tenant failed to assert any claims or factual allegations against the second company, the tenant is ordered to file an amended complaint to cure his pleading deficiency.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Hall, Filed On: January 10, 2024, Case #: 1:20cv176, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Landlord Tenant
[Consolidated.] J. Epps denies the tenant's request to proceed in forma pauperis in a civil rights action against officials and the property owner arising from a wrongful eviction. The tenant provided incomplete answers to the questions in the instant motion and has provided conflicting financial information in other motions. The tenant is directed to submit a new motion to proceed in forma pauperis within 21 days. The tenant is also ordered to file an amended complaint.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Epps, Filed On: January 5, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv200, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Landlord Tenant
J. Baker denies ship owners' motion for summary judgment in a negligence action brought by the stevedore arising from spinal injuries he suffered while working aboard the ship. The stevedore alleged that he was injured while trying to lift a rusty metal hatch cover that had become stuck. The stevedore sufficiently alleged that the owners committed a tortious act or omission in Georgia which satisfies the Georgia long-arm statute by alleging that the owners breached the turnover duty. The torts allegedly committed by the owners happened in Georgia and the owners are subject to personal jurisdiction in Georgia.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Baker, Filed On: January 5, 2024, Case #: 4:22cv305, NOS: Marine - Contract, Categories: Negligence, Jurisdiction
J. Wood partially rules in favor of the sheriff and police officers in a civil rights, malicious prosecution and negligent hiring action brought by the individual arising from her arrest for calling 911 about gunfire near her home. The charge against the individual was eventually dismissed. The individual failed to show that a causal connection exists between one officer's actions and the adverse effect on the individual's speech. However, a dispute of fact exists as to whether the individual engaged in protected speech and as to whether another officer had a subjective motivation to retaliate against and arrest the individual because of her speech. A jury must determine whether the officer had probable cause to arrest the individual.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Wood, Filed On: December 29, 2023, Case #: 2:20cv110, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Malicious Prosecution
J. Hall denies the sons' motion for leave to join an additional party and remand to Richmond County state court a negligence and premises liability action against the convenience store arising after their mother was fatally shot on the premises. The sons failed to provide necessary citizenship information to sufficiently allege that the car wash owner is a Georgia citizen. The sons also could have discovered that the car wash owner shares the property where the mother was shot before filing the action.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Hall, Filed On: December 28, 2023, Case #: 1:23cv69, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Negligence, Premises Liability
J. Wood grants General Electric's motion to dismiss claims for breach of warranty and non-pecuniary damages raised by the executrix and flight crew members in an action arising after the decedent died and several of the crew members were injured in a helicopter crash that occurred during a military training exercise. However, the motion is denied with respect to the executrix's and crew members' product liability, punitive damages, wrongful death and survival claims. The political question doctrine does not bar adjudication of the claims.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Wood, Filed On: December 28, 2023, Case #: 4:19cv211, NOS: Airplane Product Liability - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Product Liability, Wrongful Death
J. Epps recommends that a civil rights and malicious prosecution action brought by the individual against the Georgia State Patrol and two officers be dismissed. The action arose out of three traffic stops which resulted in the individual being arrested for DUI twice and once for driving with a suspended license. The first DUI charge was disposed of by order of nolle prosequi. Since the patrol is an agency of the state and the state has sovereign immunity, the civil rights claim should be dismissed. The individual failed to allege that one officer lacked sufficient probable cause to arrest him. The individual's state court conviction bars his false arrest claim as to his second traffic stop and arrest.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Epps, Filed On: December 20, 2023, Case #: 6:23cv70, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Malicious Prosecution
J. Hall denies the thrift shop operator's motion to dismiss an action brought by the employees arising from injuries they suffered while working at the shop, which is located on federal property, and grants the employees' motion for leave to file a second amended complaint. Although the employees filed their motion to amend after the scheduling order's amendment deadline, the statute of limitations has not yet run on the employees' claims against the United States. While the United States is not a necessary party for the employees to proceed against, allowing the employees to amend their complaint would be in the interest of judicial economy to prevent duplicative burdens on the parties.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Hall, Filed On: December 15, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv156, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Civil Procedure
J. Ray directs the tenants to submit an amended complaint in an action against the company and city seeking damages for wrongful eviction. The complaint is deficient because the tenant who is listed as a plaintiff is not the tenant who signed the complaint. The action failed to sufficiently establish a basis for the court's subject matter jurisdiction by failing to include information on the citizenship of the parties and omitting a specific monetary amount of damages sought.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Ray, Filed On: December 4, 2023, Case #: 4:23cv341, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Procedure, Landlord Tenant
J. Cheesbro partially grants a doctor's motion to compel discovery and production of documents in a defamation action arising after a media company aired four shows in September 2020 which contained allegedly false statements about the doctor related to gynecological care of ICE detainees. The media company is ordered to produce documents in response to three requests related to scripts referencing the doctor or allegations of inappropriate gynecological medical care of detainees, as well as internal and external communications involving 23 individuals. The company is not obligated to produce scripts and draft scripts created after Sept. 17, 2020 because they are not relevant to the inquiry as to actual malice.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Cheesbro, Filed On: November 28, 2023, Case #: 5:21cv56, NOS: Assault, Libel, & Slander - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Defamation, Discovery
J. Bowen rules in favor of the deputy, officer and police chiefs in a civil rights and excessive force action brought by the veteran arising after he was tased and arrested during an altercation he had with police in the midst of a PTSD-related episode. The police officials are entitled to qualified immunity. The deputy's use of a taser on the veteran was reasonable to prevent him from harming the police chief and to bring the situation under control. Another officer acted reasonably when he threw the veteran to the ground at a hospital to arrest him.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Bowen, Filed On: November 15, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv21, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Police Misconduct
[Consolidated.] J. Wood denies the company's motions to dismiss four negligence actions brought by injured drivers and family members of now-deceased individuals arising from a traffic accident caused by the truck driver. Georgia's consent-by-registration statute is not unconstitutional and subjecting the company to general jurisdiction does not violate the Dormant Commerce clause. The company is licensed to transact business in Georgia and therefore consents to jurisdiction in Georgia. The drivers and family members presented sufficient evidence to show that the company is subject to specific jurisdiction in Georgia and that there was a lease agreement between the company and the agent for the truck driver's truck.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Wood, Filed On: November 6, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv76, NOS: Motor Vehicle - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Negligence, Jurisdiction
J. Hall rules in favor of the warden and prison officials in a civil rights and excessive force action brought by an inmate under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act alleging that his religious rights were violated when he was prevented from wearing his Rastafarian beanie. The inmate also alleges he was injured by officials who threw him to the ground and used a Taser on him after he refused to be handcuffed for a haircut he rejected based on his Rastafarian beliefs. Even if the inmate was briefly choked by an official, the evidence does not show that the officials acted with an intent to cause him harm. The officials applied force in good faith to subdue the inmate. The inmate failed to show that the prison's grooming policy substantially burdened his religious practice. The officials did not violate the inmate's First Amendment rights when they removed his beanie for inspection and a haircut.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Hall, Filed On: October 31, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv100, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, First Amendment, Prisoners' Rights