26 results for 'judge:"Rickman"'.
J. Rickman finds that the trial court properly granted the company's motion for default in a dispossessory action against the tenant. The tenant failed to respond to the action within seven days of being served. The company's request for specific enforcement of a provision in the lease in addition to a writ of possession did not change the applicability of dispossessory laws or the company's obligation to timely answer. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: April 26, 2024, Case #: A24A0291, Categories: Landlord Tenant
J. Rickman finds that the the lower court improperly convicted defendant of failure to register as a sex offender based upon his failure to update his employment information with the local sheriff. The state failed to prove defendant violated the statutory time requirement. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: April 3, 2024, Case #: A24A0475, Categories: Sex Offender
J. Rickman finds that the trial court improperly refused to rule in favor of the theme park in a negligence action brought by the patron arising from injuries he suffered when another guest crashed into the back of his go-kart. Evidence showed that the patron had previously ridden the go-kart course and knew that the go-karts sometimes bumped each other. He therefore assumed the risk of his injuries. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: March 14, 2024, Case #: A23A1463, Categories: Negligence
J. Rickman finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of criminal attempt to commit kidnapping but incorrectly convicted defendant of criminal attempt to entice a child for indecent purposes and simple assault. Defendant tried to lure the victim into his car by falsely claiming that her father wanted defendant to pick her up. Although the trial court correctly denied defendant's motion for a directed verdict on the attempted kidnapping offense, there was no evidence that defendant was motivated by an act of indecency or child molestation. The evidence was also insufficient to support defendant's assault conviction. Reversed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: March 12, 2024, Case #: A23A1683, Categories: Assault, Kidnapping, Child Victims
J. Rickman finds that the trial court properly denied defendant's motions to dismiss for prosecutorial misconduct the third indictment charging him with sale of a controlled substance and theft in obtaining a controlled substance. Double jeopardy did not bar defendant's prosecution on the third indictment. The trial court also correctly denied defendant's motion seeking access to communications between the state and an expert witness. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: March 12, 2024, Case #: A23A1661, Categories: Drug Offender, Double Jeopardy
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J. Rickman finds that the trial court improperly convicted defendant, a former police officer, of aggravated assault and violation of oath by a public officer after he fatally shot an unarmed man who was having a mental health crisis. The trial court incorrectly admitted the police department's use of force policy into evidence without identifying and redacting portions of the policy that conflict with Georgia's self-defense law, including a directive instructing officers to exhaust all methods of non-lethal force before using deadly force. It is unlikely that the admission of the policy did not contribute to the verdict because defendant's defense was based entirely on whether he was justified in using lethal force. Defendant may be retried on the aggravated assault offense but not for the violation of oath offense based on a violation of the policy. Reversed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: March 12, 2024, Case #: A23A1506, Categories: Assault, Self Defense
[Consolidated.] J. Rickman finds that the trial court improperly failed to grant a directed verdict in the apartment complex owners' favor on all of the mother's theories of liability in a premises liability action brought by the mother after her son was fatally shot inside a leased apartment by another child. The complex owners fully parted with possession of the apartment and are not liable for the negligence of the parent who left a loaded gun around her unsupervised child. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: March 12, 2024, Case #: A23A1387, Categories: Premises Liability
J. Rickman finds that the trial court improperly revoked the entire balance of defendant's 10-year suspended sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm after defendant failed to attend an inpatient drug treatment program. Entrance into a treatment program was a general condition of defendant's suspended sentence rather than a special condition. The trial court's statement to defendant that his sentence would become "unsuspended" and he would have to "do some time in the penitentiary" if he was refused entry into a program for recent drug use did not inform defendant that violation of the condition would require him to serve up to the balance of his original sentence in confinement. The trial court was not authorized to revoke more than two years of defendant's suspended sentence. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: December 28, 2023, Case #: A23A1600, Categories: Sentencing
J. Rickman finds that the trial court properly ruled in favor of the board in a dispute with the apartment complex owner over the ad valorem tax assessment of a rent-restricted apartment complex. The trial court correctly found that the income method of property valuation was inapplicable to determine the fair market value of a property financed with federal low-income housing tax credits under Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: October 26, 2023, Case #: A23A1103, Categories: Property, Tax
J. Rickman finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of cruelty to children. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions, including evidence that the seven-week-old victim had numerous skeletal fractures and other injuries and that defendant failed to seek medical care for the victim. Five of the counts against defendant arose from injuries suffered by the victim which occurred as distinct acts separated by deliberate intervals. However, three of the counts arose from injuries which may have occurred at the same time as other injuries. Those counts therefore should have merged for sentencing. Affirmed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: October 24, 2023, Case #: A23A0791, Categories: Child Victims
J. Rickman finds that the trial court improperly upheld the administrative law judge's decision in favor of the agency in an action brought by the water works arising from a dispute over a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. The permit imposed new limits for fecal coliform bacteria and total residual chlorine in discharges into a river. Genuine issues of fact exist as to whether the water works' combined sewer overflows have a reasonable potential to cause an excursion above the applicable water quality standard. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: October 12, 2023, Case #: A23A0857, Categories: Environment, Water
J. Rickman finds the trial court erred by denying defendant's motion to suppress evidence of a shotgun found in his home by police while they were responding to a reported domestic disturbance, which led defendant to be convicted of firearm possession as a felon. The evidence does not show the officers were justified in re-entering defendant's home without a warrant after the disturbance had been de-escalated, the victims were safely removed from the house and defendant was gathering his belongings to leave, making the search which uncovered the shotgun illegal. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: October 2, 2023, Case #: A23A1128, Categories: Evidence, Firearms, Search
J. Rickman finds that the trial court improperly denied defendant's motion to suppress evidence found during a search of his apartment which led to his firearm possession and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute charges. The initial entry by police officers into defendant's apartment to perform a "security sweep" was unlawful, therefore the evidence stemming from their search was unlawfully obtained. Defendant did not give consent for officers to enter and there was no evidence that defendant's apartment harbored a person posing a danger to others on the scene. Defendant's eventual consent to the search was only given after the unlawful entry. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: September 19, 2023, Case #: A23A1026, Categories: Drug Offender, Firearms, Search
J. Rickman finds that the trial court improperly considered issues related to liability at a bench trial on damages after the homeowner's motion for default judgment was granted in a negligence and breach of contract action against the contractor. The trial court incorrectly considered the quality of the construction work before awarding the homeowner damages. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: August 25, 2023, Case #: A23A0734, Categories: Damages, Negligence, Contract
J. Rickman finds that the trial court properly refused to rule in favor of the developer in a materialman's lien action brought by the subcontractor. The subcontractor complied with the statutory notice requirements to enforce the lien against the developer's property and was not also required to file a notice of commencement of action after filing a proof of claim in the contractor's bankruptcy case. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: August 25, 2023, Case #: A23A0782, Categories: Civil Procedure, Contract
J. Rickman finds that the trial court properly adopted and incorporated the arbitrator's determination of financial, contempt, custody, litigation expenses and attorney fees issues in a child custody modification dispute between parents. The father agreed to the consent final order of modification and did not seek to set it aside, therefore he cannot reopen the judgment in the appeals court. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: August 17, 2023, Case #: A23A0695, Categories: Arbitration, Civil Procedure, Family Law
[Consolidated.] J. Rickman finds that the juvenile court improperly ordered the Department of Family and Children Services to pay rent to the child's foster mother as a sanction for failing to make reasonable efforts to effectuate the child's permanency plan. The juvenile court entered its order 15 days after the child turned 18 and therefore lacked jurisdiction over her dependency case. Vacated.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: August 4, 2023, Case #: A23A0968, Categories: Family Law, Jurisdiction, Juvenile Law
J. Rickman finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of child molestation. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's conviction. The trial court correctly admitted defendant's prior child molestation and statutory rape conviction into evidence. Testimony from a detective concerning his experience with children lying about being assaulted was not a direct comment on the victim's testimony and therefore did not constitute improper bolstering. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: August 4, 2023, Case #: A23A1154, Categories: Sex Offender, Child Victims
J. Rickman finds that the trial court improperly granted the state's pre-trial motion to exclude evidence related to child molestation charges brought against the lead investigator in the instant case. Defendant is charged with child molestation offenses. The trial court failed to analyze whether the prejudice of admitting the evidence substantially outweighed any probative value. Vacated.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: June 28, 2023, Case #: A23A0333, Categories: Sex Offender, Child Victims
J. Rickman finds that the trial court improperly ruled in favor of the county in an injunctive relief action brought by the couple. The action arose after the county issued a letter demanding the couple remove a gate impeding access to a portion of a road which was condemned by the government. The trial court incorrectly found that the action was barred by the doctrine of sovereign immunity. The county's ownership interest in the disputed property had ended. The couple's claims that the county threatened to remove or damage the gate to the property created an inverse condemnation claim and sovereign immunity was therefore waived. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: June 26, 2023, Case #: A23A0193, Categories: Property, Restraining Order
J. Rickman finds that the trial court improperly ruled in favor of the sellers in a breach of contract action arising from the sale of a nightclub and event center. The buyer sought to repudiate the asset purchase agreement between the parties based on fraud after a sexual assault that occurred inside the club was livestreamed, resulting in national media attention and a lawsuit against the buyer. The evidence did not support the jury's breach of contract verdict because the buyer performed its obligations under the agreement by paying money owed to the sellers. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: June 22, 2023, Case #: A23A0460, Categories: Contract
J. Rickman finds that the trial court properly denied defendant's general demurrer and plea in bar to a charge for methamphetamine possession. The trial court correctly found that the accusation against defendant included all the necessary elements even in the absence of an express mens rea element. The accusation charged defendant with unlawfully possessing meth in violation of the statute by tracking the language of the statute. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: June 22, 2023, Case #: A23A0559, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Drug Offender
J. Rickman finds that the trial court improperly entered a stalking 12-month protective order against the paternal grandmother after she made a comment about wanting to run away with the grandchild and sought to obtain the father's release from prison on child molestation and incest offenses. The evidence did not show a pattern of harassing and intimidating behavior by the grandmother. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: June 1, 2023, Case #: A23A0150, Categories: Restraining Order
J. Rickman finds that the trial court improperly ruled in favor of the companies in a negligence action brought by the couple arising from injuries the husband suffered when a dead tree on the companies' property fell on him while he was installing a fence. Questions of fact exist as to the husband's actual and subjective knowledge of the risk involved with working on the fence after the customers agreed to have it built several feet away from the tree. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: May 30, 2023, Case #: A23A0287, Categories: Negligence
[Consolidated.] J. Rickman finds that the trial court properly dismissed the client's legal malpractice claims arising from advice that the client file for bankruptcy and properly found in favor of the attorney. The claim was barred by the statute of limitations. However, the trial court improperly denied the law firm's motion to dismiss the client's claims for breach of contract. The claim was duplicative of the legal malpractice claim. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: May 24, 2023, Case #: A23A0410, Categories: Legal Malpractice, Contract
[Consolidated.] J. Rickman finds that the trial court correctly ruled that the property owner is not entitled to damages, injunctive relief or attorney fees in an action against the neighbor to enforce an express easement that runs through the neighbor's property. The trial court also correctly refused to find that the easement was abandoned. The property owner provided implied consent to the relocation of the easement. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: May 16, 2023, Case #: A23A0505, Categories: Property