Venue Changes
Category RSS FeedVenue options broaden for Georgia State Tort Claims cases
When younger lawyers ask me for advice on their cases, among my first questions are, “What is the venue?” and “Who is the judge?” Often the response is, “Uh, I’ll get back to you.”
Facts and law are vitally important. But the identity of the decision makers – judge and jury – are crucial too. While … Continue Reading
Does venue matter any more?
For years both lawyers and insurance claims professionals assumed that a plaintiff could not win a substantial verdict in certain suburban Atlanta counties, notably Cobb and Gwinnett. Until the past couple of years, I felt the same way.
Last week, there was a verdict for $1,937,500 in Cobb County. The plaintiff was an assistant attorney general who … Continue Reading
Court awards attorneys fees of $1.4 million where client got $183,000
$1.4 million for lawyer whose client got $183,000????
Continue reading…
Buyers’ regrets on Senate Bill 3
When the Georgia General Assembly passed Senate Bill 3 — the "tort reform" conglomeration — in February 2005, most of the legislators hadn’t even read the entire bill, most of its provisions were not discussed in any detail, and hardly anyone understood it. To say it had a lot of poor draftsmanship is an understatement. … Continue Reading
So what happens after resident defendant gets out?
Senate Bill 3 amended 9-10-31 to bring back a “vanishing venue” rule as follows:
(d) If all defendants who reside in the county in which an action is pending are discharged from liability before or upon the return of a verdict by the jury or the court hearing the case without a jury, a nonresident defendant … Continue Reading
Georgia tort reform – vanishing venue and forum non conveniens
The new Georgia tort reform legislation (SB 3) brings back the old rule of “vanishing venue” in which a case could go all the way through trial and then be sent back to the court of another county if no defendant residing in the forum county was held liable. The new law also adopts … Continue Reading
