31 results for 'judge:"Barnes"'.
J. Barnes finds the district court improperly found in favor of the insurance claimant. The adult son was injured in an accident arising from his mother's loss of control of her vehicle and filed a negligence suit against her. She filed a third-party petition against the insurer alleging breach of contract and bad faith, and was awarded compensatory and punitive damages, as well as attorney fees. The mother's argument the insurer failed to indemnify her because it denied coverage prior to suit is without merit. There is no basis for her claim the insurer breached its duty of good faith and fair dealing. Reversed.
Court: Oklahoma Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Barnes , Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 120117, Categories: Insurance, Negligence, Contract
J. Barnes grants a motion to compel by an individual who was convicted of robbery and murder and found innocent 20 years later. The former inmate's requests, including for documents related to a complaint, warrant, discipline for Brady violations and policies governing the preservation of documents, are relevant.
Court: USDC Eastern District of California, Judge: Barnes, Filed On: March 28, 2024, Case #: 2:22cv350, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Discovery
J. Barnes finds that the trial court properly ruled in favor of the individual in an action brought by the company seeking to quiet title to property. The trial court correctly found that the individual had acquired prescriptive title to the property and declared him the fee simple owner of the property. The individual possessed a deed which was sufficient to bestow on him color of title which ripened into prescriptive title under the statute. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Barnes, Filed On: March 14, 2024, Case #: A23A1762, Categories: Property
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J. Barnes finds that the trial court properly ruled in favor of the individual in a breach of contract and conversion action against the business's majority owners. The action arose after the owners refused the individual's attempt to rescind a contract to buy an ownership interest in the business. The trial court correctly awarded the individual money damages against the owners instead of the business. However, the trial court incorrectly ruled in favor of the individual on his claim for attorney fees. Only a jury can find liability and award attorney fees under the statute. Affirmed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Barnes, Filed On: March 13, 2024, Case #: A23A1705, Categories: Attorney Fees, Contract
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. Barnes finds the district court improperly found a certain business is the separate property of the husband in a divorce case. The wife's father gave the husband a $100,000 line of credit to start the company. Though the wife and her father were signatories to the organizing document, the court found no authority that being a service agent or a signatory constitutes a partnership in the underlying LLC. The jointly-acquired marital portion of the value of the business must be calculated by the court. Reversed.
Court: Oklahoma Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Barnes, Filed On: February 15, 2024, Case #: 119960, Categories: Family Law, Property
J. Barnes recommends refusing to find for an electricity generator on a county’s claims arising from the Slater Fire, which was caused when a tree fell into the generator’s powerlines and resulted in multiple injuries and deaths. The county has sufficiently alleged the generator knew there was an extreme fire risk but did not deenergize its powerlines, despite acknowledging in a wildfire mitigation plan that deenergization was key to preventing wildfires.
Court: USDC Eastern District of California, Judge: Barnes, Filed On: February 6, 2024, Case #: 2:22cv1582, NOS: Torts to Land - Real Property, Categories: Energy, Indemnification
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. Barnes finds that the trial court improperly denied the chiropractors' motion to dismiss a medical malpractice action brought by the couple arising from permanent spinal cord injuries the wife suffered after receiving chiropractic adjustments to her spine. A professional negligence action alleging that a chiropractor breached the standard of care is subject to the five-year statute of repose applicable to medical malpractice actions. Since chiropractors are authorized to give patients health treatments and care, an action alleging professional negligence against a chiropractor meets the statutory definition of an action for medical malpractice. The couple's renewal action is therefore time-barred. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Barnes, Filed On: December 4, 2023, Case #: A23A1225, Categories: Medical Malpractice
J. Barnes finds that the trial court properly confirmed and adopted the arbitrator's award in a divorce action. The trial court did not commit any error in compelling arbitration after the husband allegedly breached the arbitration agreement by borrowing money from the refinancing of marital property and by selling his dental practice. The husband's alleged breaches of the encumbrance provision of the agreement were a matter for the arbitrator to decide. The wife failed to show that the arbitrator deliberately disregarded the law. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Barnes, Filed On: November 3, 2023, Case #: A23A0790, Categories: Arbitration, Family Law
J. Barnes finds that the trial court improperly dismissed an action brought by the couple against a now-deceased party. The decedent died after the trial court denied his motion for summary judgment. The trial court incorrectly entered an order dismissing the case even though there was no service of the suggestion of death filed by the decedent's attorney on a non-party representative of the individual's estate. The 180-day period allowing for the filing of a motion for substitution of the deceased individual had not yet begun to run. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Barnes, Filed On: October 30, 2023, Case #: A23A1072, Categories: Civil Procedure
J. Barnes finds that the trial court properly granted the district attorney's motion to dismiss an action brought by the mother and daughter seeking an order declaring that Georgia's Living Infants Fairness and Equality Act is unconstitutional. The law prohibits abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected. The mother and daughter lacked standing to prospectively challenge the constitutionality of the Act because they failed to show that they have suffered an actual, particularized injury resulting from the statute. Neither the mother or the daughter was pregnant when the action was filed and any alleged harm to them as a result of the Act was hypothetical. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Barnes, Filed On: October 17, 2023, Case #: A23A1607, Categories: Civil Rights, Health Care
J. Barnes finds that the probate court improperly refused to partially approve an updated asset management plan for a conservatorship estate. The probate court incorrectly issued a blanket prohibition on the mother disbursing any of the anticipated monthly income of the estate based on its determination that the mother failed to show she could not pay all of the child's monthly expenses herself. The mother, who serves as conservator, has automatic power to make reasonable disbursements from the annual income of the child ward's estate without court approval. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Barnes, Filed On: September 15, 2023, Case #: A23A1581, Categories: Wills / Probate
J. Barnes finds that the trial court properly struck the dentist's and employer's notice of their intent to assess percentages of fault to three nonparty dentists in a dental malpractice action brought by the patient. There is no legal means to divide fault between the dentist and employer and the statute therefore does not apply. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Barnes, Filed On: August 15, 2023, Case #: A23A0765, Categories: Civil Procedure, Medical Malpractice
J. Barnes recommends granting a $3,000 default judgment to a sporting events distributor on its claim a restaurant screened a televised fight without a sublicense. The restaurant failed to respond to the action, and the distributor established it has exclusive ownership of the rights to distribute the program, which an investigator witnessed being shown on a television at the restaurant.
Court: USDC Eastern District of California, Judge: Barnes, Filed On: August 8, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv1089, NOS: Cable/Sat TV - Other Suits, Categories: Licensing
J. Barnes finds that the trial court improperly ruled in favor of the employee on his breach of contract claims against the companies in an action alleging that they owed him severance benefits. The trial court did not properly analyze whether the company assumed the liabilities of the laboratory when it bought all of the laboratory's shares. However, the trial court correctly found that the employment agreement was supported by consideration and that the employee and the CEO did not breach their fiduciary duties in executing the agreement. The case is remanded to allow the trial court to apply the proper legal framework in considering whether the company assumed liability for breach of the employment contract when it acquired shares of the laboratory. Affirmed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Barnes, Filed On: July 27, 2023, Case #: A23A1096, Categories: Employment, Contract
[Consolidated.] J. Barnes finds that the trial court improperly granted Samsung's motion to set aside a default judgment in favor of the individual in a negligence and product liability action arising from injuries the individual suffered when the battery in his e-cigarette exploded in his pocket. The individual was awarded $10.8 million in damages. The trial court incorrectly construed the lack of a complete record on damages in the case against the individual and shifted the burden of proof off of Samsung. Vacated.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Barnes, Filed On: June 30, 2023, Case #: A23A0452, Categories: Damages, Negligence, Product Liability
J. Barnes finds that the trial court properly granted the individual's motion to dismiss a negligence and bad faith action brought by the towing company seeking payment for towing and storing the individual's vehicle after she was involved in a car collision. The company cannot show that the individual had a duty to it that she breached because there was no contractual relationship between the parties. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Barnes, Filed On: June 26, 2023, Case #: A23A0615, Categories: Negligence
J. Barnes finds that the trial court improperly ruled in favor of the city and the property owners in a certiorari action brought by the neighbors arising from a dispute over whether the city's urban design commission properly approved a certificate of appropriateness for the redevelopment of two land parcels. The trial court failed to properly consider the neighbors' substantive challenges to the merits of the commission's decision. Vacated.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Barnes, Filed On: June 22, 2023, Case #: A23A0370, Categories: Property
J. Barnes finds that the trial court properly granted the city's motion to dismiss a wrongful death action brought by the parents after their son was fatally struck by a car while trying to cross a road that allegedly lacked sufficient crosswalks and other pedestrian safety measures. The parents claimed the city failed to provide timely public school busing, causing their son to try to walk to school the day he was killed. The parents' original ante litem notice did not contain allegations of negligence by the city, instead identifying only the public school system's allegedly negligent acts. The notice therefore failed to substantially comply with the statutory requirements. The amended notice was provided to the city outside the six-month deadline and did not relate back to the date of the original notice. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Barnes, Filed On: June 20, 2023, Case #: A23A0904, Categories: Civil Procedure, Wrongful Death
J. Barnes finds the district court properly compelled arbitration in this suit brought by the property owner whose request to build a shed on his property was denied by the homeowners association. The owner argues that the HOA Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions does not contain a complete arbitration agreement, saying the language is vague and unenforceable as written. But, because it does contain an agreement to submit to arbitration, the application of which to the present controversy isn’t challenged, and because no ground exists for the revocation of the agreement, it remains valid. Affirmed.
Court: Oklahoma Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Barnes, Filed On: June 1, 2023, Case #: 120710, Categories: Arbitration, Property, Contract