500 results for 'court:"Georgia Court of Appeals"'.
J. Dillard finds that the trial court properly denied defendant's motion arguing that the statute of limitation barred her prosecution for failure to maintain her lane of travel. Defendant's prosecution commenced in January 2021 on the date the traffic citation was issued, not in March 2023 when the first accusation in the case was filed. The prosecution therefore did not violate the statute of limitation. However, the trial court failed to sufficiently rule on defendant's claim that her right to a speedy trial was violated. The case is remanded to allow the trial court to enter an order including proper findings on that issue. Affirmed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Dillard, Filed On: February 13, 2024, Case #: A23A1501, Categories: Criminal Procedure
J. McFadden finds that the trial court properly granted the father's petition to legitimate his biological daughter and correctly awarded him joint legal custody and primary physical custody of her. Sufficient evidence supported the finding that the custody award was in the child's best interest, including evidence that the mother tried to alienate the child from the father during the litigation. The trial court correctly awarded the father $25,000 in attorney fees. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: McFadden, Filed On: February 13, 2024, Case #: A23A1384, Categories: Family Law, Attorney Fees
J. Dillard finds that the trial court improperly granted the driver's motion to enforce an insurance settlement in an action brought by the estate administrator seeking damages for a car collision that resulted in the decedent's death. The trial court incorrectly found that the insurer's release and payment complied with the terms of the administrator's offer and formed a settlement agreement. The insurer's check indicated that it would become void if not presented within 90 days, varying from the requirement in the administrator's offer that the settlement payment be free from conditions that are not permitted in the release. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Dillard, Filed On: February 13, 2024, Case #: A23A1527, Categories: Settlements
J. McFadden finds that the trial court properly granted the attorney's motion for attorney fees after the lawyer's defamation action against him was dismissed. The defamation action arose after the attorney filed motions for sanctions and a Bar complaint against the lawyer for allowing an unlicensed law student to conduct depositions in a case. Evidence supports the $21,000 attorney fee award. The trial court correctly found that the action lacked any justiciable issue of law or fact and did not abuse its discretion in finding that the award was reasonable. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: McFadden, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: A23A1312, Categories: Defamation, Attorney Fees
J. McFadden finds that the trial court properly ruled partially in favor of the neighbors in a trespass and injunctive relief action brought by the property owner arising from a dispute over the placement of underground utility lines. The trial court correctly found that the neighbor has a property interest arising from a quasi-easement allowing the utility lines to remain in their current location on the owner's property even though they are not inside the boundaries of a recorded express easement. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: McFadden, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: A23A1228, Categories: Property
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J. Markle finds that the trial court properly ruled in favor of the landlord in a breach of contract action against the guarantor but incorrectly included an award of 150% of rent and attorney fees in the damages award. The trial court did not conduct the correct analysis with respect to the award. The guaranty signed by the guarantor clearly obligated her to pay money due under the lease between her company and the landlord. Although the guaranty incorrectly referred to the guarantor as the tenant instead of her company, the error does not render the guaranty unenforceable. Affirmed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Markle, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: A23A1647, Categories: Landlord Tenant, Contract
J. McFadden finds that the trial court properly entered a $1.15 million judgment in favor of the law firm in an action against the client arising from unpaid fees for legal services. The trial court correctly refused to give a jury instruction on evidence spoliation. The firm did not have a duty to preserve notes the sole member attorney made to aid in creating invoices. Litigation was not being contemplated at the time the notes were discarded. The client failed to show that the trial court abused its discretion in precluding the client's expert from giving an irrelevant opinion on the firm's purported violation of one of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: McFadden, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: A23A1474, Categories: Contract
J. Fuller finds that the trial court properly granted the shop owner's motion to dismiss the reviewer's libel action under Georgia's anti-SLAPP law. The action arose when the owner published a response to the reviewer's negative Google reviews, calling him a neo-Nazi who was targeting her business, harassing her and threatening to kill other shop members. The trial court correctly found that the owner's statements were protected speech. The owner's comments were made in response to review bombing initiated by the reviewer on a public forum and the reviewer conceded that he is a public figure. There is no evidence that the owner knew her statement about the supposed death threat was false or likely false. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Fuller, Filed On: February 7, 2024, Case #: A23A1234, Categories: Anti-slapp, Defamation
[Consolidated.] J. Gobeil finds that the trial court properly ruled in favor of the county in the taxpayers' actions challenging the county's 2015 and 2017 valuations of their real property interests. The county correctly included the separate value of the taxpayers' memberships in a private recreational club when appraising their property interests and calculating ad valorem taxes. Membership in the club automatically transferred with the sale of an ownership interest, therefore membership is inextricably bound with the sale of the properties. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Gobeil, Filed On: February 5, 2024, Case #: A23A1344, Categories: Property, Tax
J. Markle finds that the trial court improperly ordered the citizens to post a $364,000 surety bond in a declaratory judgment and injunctive relief action against the state challenging the development and construction of electric vehicle manufacturing facilities on state-owned land. The trial court failed to consider the merits of the citizens' claims that the development failed to comply with building codes and environmental controls before ordering them to post bond. Vacated.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Markle, Filed On: February 2, 2024, Case #: A23A1718, Categories: Zoning
J. Dillard finds that the trial court properly granted defendant's third amended motion to suppress evidence found during a police search of a home which led to defendant's arrest for armed robbery, aggravated assault and a firearm offense. The trial court correctly found that defendant had standing to challenge the validity of the search warrant because he was a regular overnight guest at the home. Defendant had been staying at the home in the days before the search warrant was executed and had clothes and personal items with him. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Dillard, Filed On: January 30, 2024, Case #: A23A1728, Categories: Evidence, Robbery, Search
J. Fuller finds that the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea to voluntary manslaughter and aggravated assault. Defendant's convictions did not merge because there was no evidence that the two gunshots fired by defendant occurred in quick succession as part of a single act. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Fuller, Filed On: January 30, 2024, Case #: A23A1699, Categories: Plea, Manslaughter
J. Dillard finds that the trial court improperly ruled in favor of the lake owner in a declaratory judgment action against the property owners seeking to restrict the property owners' use of the lake. The property owners' warranty deed established an easement for use of the lake by express grant. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Dillard, Filed On: January 29, 2024, Case #: A23A1265, Categories: Property
J. Watkins finds that the trial court improperly entered a divorce decree giving the mother sole custody of the couple's child and denying the father any parenting time. There was no evidence that limiting the father to supervised visits with the child would be insufficient to prevent contact between the child and the father's new partner. There was also no evidence that contact with the partner would be harmful to the child or that concerns about the father's personal behavior and use of steroids had any effect on how he interacted with the child. Affirmed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Watkins, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: A23A1549, Categories: Family Law
J. Land finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of burglary. The trial court correctly denied defendant's motion to sever the charges against him, which arose from a burglary of a convenience store and a burglary of an abandoned house. The charges against defendant were factually connected and linked by overlapping evidence, including video footage showing the person who burglarized the store running towards the street where the abandoned house was located. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Land, Filed On: January 24, 2024, Case #: A23A1422, Categories: Burglary
J. Miller finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of child molestation and public indecency. Defendant, a county jail inmate, was caught masturbating during a visit with his girlfriend and their three-year-old daughter. Sufficient evidence was presented to allow the jury to find that defendant masturbated in the child's presence, including evidence that defendant was within three feet of the child in the visitation area. The child molestation statute does not require that defendant's arousal be due to the presence of the child and only requires that defendant was aware of the child's presence at the time he committed the act at issue. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Miller, Filed On: January 24, 2024, Case #: A23A1675, Categories: Sex Offender, Public Indecency
J. Pipkin finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of aggravated child molestation. Defendant failed to show that he was prejudiced by any alleged deficiencies in the indictment. The trial court did not commit any error in instructing the jury that the offenses could be proven on any date within the statute of limitations. Defendant failed to show that his trial counsel was deficient for failing to strike a juror from the venire or that he was prejudiced by his trial counsel's failure to request a jury charge on alibi. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Pipkin, Filed On: January 24, 2024, Case #: A23A1307, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Sex Offender, Child Victims
J. Brown finds that the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to withdraw her guilty plea to theft by shoplifting less than $500. The trial court correctly found that defendant's plea was voluntarily and knowingly entered. The trial court also correctly concluded that there was insufficient evidence showing that defendant's plea was the product of coercion based on her being in custody for months and being fearful of getting "lost in the system." Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Brown, Filed On: January 24, 2024, Case #: A23A1428, Categories: Theft, Plea
J. McFadden finds that the juvenile court properly awarded temporary custody of the children to the Department of Family and Children Services and correctly entered an order requiring the mother to complete a parental fitness evaluation. Sufficient evidence was presented to allow the juvenile court to find that the children would be dependent if returned to the mother, including evidence that the mother physically abused one child and emotionally abused the children during visits after they were removed from her custody. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: McFadden, Filed On: January 24, 2024, Case #: A23A1434, Categories: Family Law
J. Dillard finds that the trial court improperly granted the company's motion for permanent injunction in an action against the individual and ordered the individual to remove an affidavit asserting an ownership interest in a parcel of land currently owned by the company. The trial court incorrectly characterized the language expressing consideration in the quitclaim deeds conveying the property from the individual to the company. Vacated.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Dillard, Filed On: January 24, 2024, Case #: A23A1382, Categories: Property
J. Dillard finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of aggravated assault, family violence battery and criminal trespass. The trial court correctly admitted into evidence a nurse examiner's expert opinions about the effects of strangulation and correctly qualified the nurse examiner as an expert witness. Defendant was told before trial that the nurse examiner would use an anatomical diagram and otherwise failed to establish that he was prejudiced by the state's alleged failure to comply with discovery obligations. Any error in admitting the nurse examiner's testimony probably did not affect the trial outcome in light of the strong evidence of defendant's guilt. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Dillard, Filed On: January 23, 2024, Case #: A23A1765, Categories: Assault, Battery, Experts
J. Dillard finds that the trial court improperly granted a declaratory judgment in favor of the association in an action arising from a dispute over the construction of a property owner's home. The trial court incorrectly denied the owner's request for a declaratory judgment that he is not subject to a declaration's provisions related to construction. The trial court failed to consider the entire declaration or whether the language in the exemption provision was ambiguous. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Dillard, Filed On: January 23, 2024, Case #: A23A1709, Categories: Contract
J. Dillard finds that the juvenile court improperly adjudicated the mother's six children dependent following the death of the mother's two-month-old. The juvenile court's decision was not supported by clear evidence that the children were subject to abuse or neglect. Although the mother and her partner admitted to using marijuana, there was no evidence that the drug use was excessive or adversely impacted the children. There were two incidents when two children suffered injuries but the mother immediately sought treatment for them and there was no evidence that the mother inflicted the injuries on the children. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Dillard, Filed On: January 23, 2024, Case #: A23A1311, Categories: Family Law
[Consolidated.] J. Dillard finds that the trial court improperly refused to find in favor of the wholesale company or the company owner in a malicious prosecution and emotional distress action brought by the individual. The action arose from the individual's robbery, terroristic threats and battery indictment for trying to confiscate male sex-enhancement pills from the company which he claimed were counterfeit and infringing on his trademark. The trial court incorrectly analyzed elements of the malicious prosecution claim by failing to acknowledge the evidence that probable cause supported the individual's charged offenses. Vacated.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Dillard, Filed On: January 23, 2024, Case #: A23A1472, Categories: Malicious Prosecution
J. Dillard finds that the trial court properly granted the insurer's motion to dismiss a negligence action brought by the driver arising from a car collision with an individual. The trial court also correctly denied the driver's motion for service by publication. There was a four-month delay between the expiration of the statute of limitations and the driver's motion. The driver failed to exercise the greatest possible diligence in attempting to serve the individual. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Dillard, Filed On: January 23, 2024, Case #: A23A1244, Categories: Civil Procedure, Negligence
J. Watkins finds that the trial court properly denied defendant's amended motion for a new trial following his convictions for offenses including attempted murder and aggravated battery family violence. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions, including evidence that defendant had a history of intentional violence towards the victim. Defendant failed to show that his trial counsel performed deficiently. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Watkins, Filed On: January 22, 2024, Case #: A23A1429, Categories: Battery
[Consolidated.] J. Watkins finds that the trial court properly denied defendants' motions for new trials following defendant's obstruction and firearm conviction and the co-defendant's firearm conviction. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions, including evidence that she was close enough to the firearm in the truck to access it and that she resisted the officer's instructions to exit the vehicle. Defendant failed to show that her trial counsel's performance was deficient. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Watkins, Filed On: January 18, 2024, Case #: A23A1239, Categories: Firearms, Ineffective Assistance, Obstruction
J. Barnes finds that the trial court improperly revived a $65,000 dormant judgment entered against an individual. The individual was not properly served with a copy of the scire facias to revive the judgment because he was served by a private process server rather than by a county sheriff as required by the statute. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Barnes, Filed On: January 18, 2024, Case #: A23A1379, Categories: Enforcement Of Judgments
J. Pipkin finds that the trial court improperly denied the taxpayers' motion for class certification in an action against the county and municipalities alleging that the county board of assessors used an illegal method for determining property taxes on homes sold in 2015 in order to assess higher taxes. The taxpayers established commonality in the proposed class because they claim that all class members suffered the injury of having their taxes calculated by an illegal method of valuation due to the county's and municipalities conduct in overriding the fair market value assessment. The trial court incorrectly found that the taxpayers did not meet the predominance requirement. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Pipkin, Filed On: January 18, 2024, Case #: A23A1646, Categories: Tax, Class Action
J. Hodges finds that the trial court properly found in favor of the police officer in a civil rights and excessive force action brought by the individual arising from her arrest. The trial court correctly dismissed the purported renewal action. The individual's initial claims were dismissed without prejudice for failure to properly serve the officer, therefore the action was void and not subject to renewal. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Hodges, Filed On: January 17, 2024, Case #: A23A1550, Categories: Civil Rights, Police Misconduct