500 results for 'court:"Georgia Court of Appeals"'.
J. McFadden finds that the trial court properly ruled in favor of the home building company in a contract action brought by the individual seeking the return of a nonrefundable construction deposit. The assignment agreement between the parties is enforceable. The individual retained the benefit of the property under the contract and therefore cannot repudiate the contract. The deposit was not an unenforceable liquidated damages penalty because the individual's payment of the deposit was not linked to any breach. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: McFadden, Filed On: February 29, 2024, Case #: A23A1206, Categories: Contract
[Consolidated.] J. Doyle finds that the trial court properly granted defendant's motion to suppress evidence derived from real-time GPS and cell-site location information provided by T-Mobile to police. The evidence led to defendant's indictment for rape, kidnapping, robbery and other offenses. The trial court discredited a detective's testimony about the exigent circumstances request made by police and found that four statements in the request contained misrepresentations which exaggerated the exigency of the circumstances. The trial court also correctly rejected defendant's motion to dismiss three counts of the indictment related to the alleged rape in his vehicle. There is no evidence that police acted in bad faith by failing to prevent the vehicle from being vandalized before defendant could search for allegedly exculpatory evidence inside. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Doyle, Filed On: February 29, 2024, Case #: A23A1444, Categories: Evidence, Sex Offender, Kidnapping
J. Barnes finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of child molestation and correctly denied defendant's motion for a directed verdict of acquittal and a special demurrer to the indictment. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions and to prove venue. The trial court correctly admitted evidence of nude photos found on defendant's laptop and evidence of other acts of child molestation the victim testified happened in Florida. Statements made by the victim's grandmother accusing the victim of lying which were recorded on a police officer's body camera were correctly excluded as inadmissible hearsay. The statements did not constitute an excited utterance or a present sense impression. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Barnes, Filed On: February 29, 2024, Case #: A24A0036, Categories: Sex Offender, Child Victims
J. Hodges finds that the trial court improperly revoked 24 years of defendant's probation for aggravated assault. Although the trial court correctly found that defendant violated his probation in one county by committing the new aggravated assault offense of choking his ex-girlfriend, the trial court's order incorrectly found that defendant committed other probation violations in another county for which the state did not provide evidence. The one-year delay between the probation revocation petition and the hearing did not violate defendant's due process rights. Affirmed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Hodges, Filed On: February 29, 2024, Case #: A23A1395, Categories: Probation, Assault
J. Markle finds that the trial court properly ruled partially in favor of the surgeons in a medical malpractice action brought by the patient arising from rectal injuries she suffered after a laparoscopic hysterectomy. The trial court correctly found that the surgeons are not vicariously liable for the acts or omissions of a medical student who participated in the procedure. There was no employment relationship between the surgeons and the student. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Markle, Filed On: February 29, 2024, Case #: A23A1419, Categories: Medical Malpractice
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J. Land finds that the trial court improperly ruled partially in the tenant's favor in a breach of contract and specific performance action against the landlords arising out of a dispute over whether the tenant satisfied the terms of a lease purchase agreement when she sent a letter exercising her right to the option to buy the property. A jury question exists as to whether the landlords waived strict compliance with the notice provision of the purchase option agreement. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Land, Filed On: February 28, 2024, Case #: A23A1772, Categories: Contract
[Consolidated.] J. Land finds that the trial court properly dismissed the individual's negligence and medical malpractice action against Publix arising from injuries she suffered after she was prescribed Bactrim, a medication to which she was allergic. The individual failed to provide an expert affidavit from a pharmacist or pharmacologist despite the fact that her theory of negligence implicated Publix's exercise of professional skill and judgment in operating a pharmacy. However, the trial court incorrectly dismissed the individual's claims against the doctor. An expert affidavit provided by another doctor met the statutory requirements because it stated that a supervising doctor should have created a protocol to minimize the risk of a nurse practitioner prescribing an improper drug. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Land, Filed On: February 28, 2024, Case #: A23A1291, Categories: Negligence, Medical Malpractice
J. McFadden finds that the trial court improperly ruled in favor of the trustees on the buyers' breach of contract claim in an action seeking specific performance of an option agreement to buy the trustees' property. The trial court incorrectly found that the option agreement was unenforceable for lack of consideration based on the buyers' failure to pay a $1,000 consideration. The agreement was enforceable and required the trustees to sell the property to the buyers upon timely exercise of the option. Reversed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: McFadden, Filed On: February 28, 2024, Case #: A23A1586, Categories: Contract
J. Watkins finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of child molestation, enticing a child for indecent purposes and incest. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions. Defendant failed to show that he was prejudiced by his trial counsel's failure to move for a mistrial after being informed that an empaneled juror was told by a friend that defendant had a reputation for sexual misconduct. Defendant failed to present testimony from the juror to prove the veracity of the juror's statement and the effect the friend's statement had on the juror's opinion of defendant's guilt. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Watkins, Filed On: February 28, 2024, Case #: A23A1621, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Sex Offender, Child Victims
J. Doyle finds that the trial court improperly convicted defendant of one of two counts of theft by conversion. Sufficient evidence was presented to support one count, including testimony from the business owner that defendant failed to use money to buy equipment and failed to return the money. However, insufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's conviction for theft by conversion of a value greater than $1,500 under an agreement. There was no written contract between the parties and there was not enough evidence in the owner's testimony to show that more than $7,000 was taken for unauthorized transactions. Reversed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Doyle, Filed On: February 27, 2024, Case #: A23A1704, Categories: Theft
J. Doyle finds that the trial court properly granted the department's motion to dismiss the couple's negligence action arising after the husband was injured in a car collision by a suspect fleeing a Georgia state trooper. The trial court correctly found that the couple's claims are barred by the law enforcement exception to the waiver of sovereign immunity in the Georgia Tort Claims Act. Evidence supported the trial court's finding that the officer's conduct in the chase was objectively reasonable and complied with department policy. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Doyle, Filed On: February 27, 2024, Case #: A23A1649, Categories: Negligence
J. Miller finds that the trial court improperly ruled in favor of the disability support coordination agency and the employee in a wrongful death and negligence action brought by the mother arising from her developmentally disabled daughter's death from aspiration pneumonia. Genuine issues of fact exist as to the mother's negligence claims. There are questions of fact as to whether the employee's failure to observe and correct deficiencies in the care home's records pertaining to the use and administration of thickener in the daughter's liquids proximately caused her death. Issues of fact also exist as to whether the agency breached a duty of care to the daughter. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Miller, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: A23A1609, Categories: Negligence, Wrongful Death
J. Hodges finds that the trial court properly ruled partially in Walmart's favor in the shopper's renewal action arising after an off-duty police officer repeatedly hit him with a baton over a suspected shoplifted tomato, breaking his leg. The trial court correctly granted Walmart's motion to bifurcate the shopper's battery and false imprisonment claims against the officer individually from his false imprisonment claim against Walmart. The alleged false imprisonment of the shopper was completed with the officer's initial detention of him. The chain of causation was broken when the officer decided to arrest the shopper and hit him with the baton in his capacity as a police officer, therefore Walmart cannot have liability for the resulting injuries or claims. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Hodges, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: A23A1758, Categories: Assault
J. Doyle finds that the trial court properly dismissed claims brought by the two groups and several individuals against the city attorney and the county commissioners seeking an order setting aside a decision to remove a Confederate monument from a city square. The groups and three individuals lack standing to bring the action. One group lacks direct or associational standing and community stakeholder status. Another group failed to allege any cognizable injury. However, the trial court incorrectly dismissed claims brought by two of the individuals. Those individuals have standing because they are county residents and community stakeholders. The case is remanded for the trial court to determine whether the two individuals' claims are barred by sovereign immunity. Affirmed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Doyle, Filed On: February 23, 2024, Case #: A22A0663, Categories: Civil Procedure
J. McFadden finds that the trial court properly ruled in favor of the nightclub's landlord and two property management companies in a negligence action brought by the customer arising from injuries he suffered when the nightclub's security guard threw him to the ground. The trial court correctly found that the landlord was an out-of-possession landlord that cannot be held liable under the statute. The nightclub was responsible for the premises under the terms of the lease and the property management companies had no legal duty to the customer. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: McFadden, Filed On: February 22, 2024, Case #: A23A1528, Categories: Negligence, Premises Liability
J. McFadden finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of interstate interference with an adoptive grandfather's lawful custody of his 16-year-old grandchild. Although the trial court wrongly found that the 26-month delay between defendant's arrest and trial due to the Covid-19 pandemic was not presumptively prejudicial, defendant failed to show that the denial of his motion for discharge and acquittal based on an alleged speedy trial violation was an abuse of discretion. The trial court correctly admitted evidence of defendant's sex acts with the grandchild. However, the trial court incorrectly ordered defendant to register as a sex offender as a condition of his sentence. Although the grandchild was under the age of 18, the victim of defendant's interference offense was the grandfather. Affirmed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: McFadden, Filed On: February 22, 2024, Case #: A23A1319, Categories: Sentencing, Speedy Trial
J. Hodges finds that the trial court properly dismissed the individual's injunctive relief action alleging that the county board of commissioners' failure to provide proper notice of intent to pass a 2018 salary ordinance increasing their pay violated the Open Meetings Act. Although the trial court incorrectly found that the individual lacked taxpayer standing to pursue his claim against the official, dismissal was still proper because the individual failed to state a proper claim for injunctive relief. The individual failed to make a declaratory judgment claim challenging the legality of the salary ordinance and therefore cannot pursue an injunctive relief claim seeking to stop the official from issuing payments under the ordinance. Affirmed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Hodges, Filed On: February 22, 2024, Case #: A22A0508, Categories: Injunction
J. Fuller finds that the trial court improperly refused to find partially in favor of the executor in a declaratory judgment action on the issue of the niece's standing to contest the validity of a will. The trial court incorrectly found that all family members have standing to caveat a will. The niece withdrew any challenge to the will and deprived herself of standing to file a caveat. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Fuller, Filed On: February 21, 2024, Case #: A23A1491, Categories: Wills / Probate
J. Mercier finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of rape, aggravated child molestation and child molestation. The trial court did not commit any error by refusing to give a preliminary jury instruction or by admitting evidence of other acts committed by defendant which were not admitted during his first trial. Defendant failed to show that he was harmed or prejudiced by the court reporter's failure to transcribe the sidebar in which defendant requested the preliminary instruction. The trial court correctly denied defendant's motion for release of the jurors' personal information. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Mercier, Filed On: February 21, 2024, Case #: A23A1504, Categories: Sex Offender, Child Victims
J. Fuller finds that the juvenile court properly granted physical custody of the couple's three children to the father but incorrectly ordered the mother to pay $800 in monthly child support. The juvenile court failed to consider the father's supplemental self-employment income in the child support calculation. The mother agreed not to have the children's interviews recorded and cannot show from the record that the custody ruling was erroneous. Reversed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Fuller, Filed On: February 21, 2024, Case #: A24A0371, Categories: Family Law
J. Markle finds that the trial court properly ruled in favor of the attorney in a legal malpractice and breach of contract action brought by the trustee after her fraud lawsuit against an insurance company was dismissed in federal court. The trustee did not have an individual attorney-client relationship with the attorney because the attorney represented the trust. The trial court correctly found that the attorney was entitled to judgmental immunity for his decisions in the underlying action to proceed under Georgia rather than New York law and to seek reformation of the insurance contract instead of rescission. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Markle, Filed On: February 20, 2024, Case #: A23A1733, Categories: Legal Malpractice
J. Land finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of criminal attempt to commit child molestation. The trial court correctly denied defendant's motion to suppress statements made to a detective while she was in custody. Defendant made her statement voluntarily and without any hope of benefit. A detective's statement that the FBI was interested in defendant was not improper. The trial court also correctly denied defendant's general demurrer to the indictment because defendant was sufficiently informed of the charges against her. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Land, Filed On: February 20, 2024, Case #: A23A1320, Categories: Miranda, Sex Offender
J. Miller finds that the trial court properly ruled that it was in the child's best interest to return to his home country of Guatemala in an order adjudicating the child dependent. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding that reunification with the child's mother was viable. There is no evidence that the child or his family were personally targeted or harmed by the gangs and crime in Guatemala or that his mother failed to protect him from harm. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Miller, Filed On: February 20, 2024, Case #: A23A1764, Categories: Family Law, Immigration
J. Markle finds that the probate court improperly ruled that the son breached his fiduciary duties while acting as the decedent's conservator and incorrectly ordered the son to reimburse the decedent's estate. The probate court did not follow statutory rules when it failed to determine who acted as the decedent's personal representative and whether the court was required to appoint a guardian-ad-litem. Vacated.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Markle, Filed On: February 20, 2024, Case #: A23A1397, Categories: Wills / Probate
J. Gobeil finds that the trial court properly rejected the board's motion to dismiss the taxpayer's appeal of a property valuation decision. The taxpayer's appeal was timely. The 30-day deadline is calculated from the date the taxpayer receives the decision in the mail, not the date when it is sent by the board. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Gobeil, Filed On: February 16, 2024, Case #: A23A1530, Categories: Civil Procedure, Tax
J. Pipkin finds that the juvenile court properly removed the child from the foster parents' home and placed him with his paternal aunt and her husband. The juvenile court correctly found that it was in the child's best interest to be placed with the aunt and that concerns about removing the child from his strong connection to the foster family were outweighed by the benefit of placing him with his biological family. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Pipkin, Filed On: February 15, 2024, Case #: A23A1454, Categories: Family Law
J. Doyle finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of trafficking in more than 400 grams of cocaine and correctly denied defendant's motion for a new trial. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's conviction, including body cam video evidence that defendant gave a response of disappointment and regret rather than surprise when the deputy found the cocaine in the vehicle's trunk. Defendant failed to show that his trial counsel's performance was deficient. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Doyle, Filed On: February 14, 2024, Case #: A23A1317, Categories: Drug Offender, Ineffective Assistance
[Consolidated.] J. Land finds that the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea to offenses including aggravated assault arising after defendant fired a gun into a crowd which included five police officers. However, the case is remanded to the trial court for correction of a scrivener's error in the written sentencing order. Affirmed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Land, Filed On: February 13, 2024, Case #: A23A1679, Categories: Assault, Plea
J. Land finds that the trial court properly upheld the workers' compensation board's temporary total disability award to the employee. The employee's work as a handyman for his supplemental home renovation business was dissimilar from his job as a crane operator and engineer for the employer. Although the employee was not earning income from his handyman work in the months before his accident while working for the employer, he was concurrently self-employed with the renovation business and the employer and insurer are not entitled to any credit from his post-injury work with the renovation business. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Land, Filed On: February 13, 2024, Case #: A23A1588, Categories: Workers' Compensation
J. McFadden finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of offenses including attempted murder, attempted feticide and kidnapping with bodily injury. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's kidnapping conviction. The evidence showed that defendant pulled the victim into his apartment from outside and assaulted her for hours. Defendant cannot show that his trial counsel performed deficiently by failing to request a jury instruction on attempted voluntary manslaughter because the evidence did not support that instruction. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: McFadden, Filed On: February 13, 2024, Case #: A23A1768, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Kidnapping