Georgia Appellate Developments Archives

Feb 1, 2018

Does a Self-Serving and Uncorroborated Affidavit Have Any Use? “Yes,” Says the Eleventh Circuit.

Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure allows a court to dispose of a case as a matter of law when no genuine issue of material fact exists. Can an affidavit from a party create a genuine issue of material fact even if it is “self-serving and uncorroborated”? In United States v. Stein, Case No. 16-10914 (decided January 31, 2018), the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit answered “yes.” The case involved an IRS tax assessment against Mrs. Stein. The government alleged that Ms. Stein owed outstanding taxes, penalties, and interest for a number of… Read more

Sep 27, 2017

Please Call Back: When is a Voice Mail from a Debt Collector Harassing?

An individual received a voice mail message from a debt collection company. The message stated the name of the company and that the call was from a debt collector, and asked that individual to call back at a particular number. She filed a lawsuit alleging that the voice mail was a harassing communication that violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”). In Hart v. Credit Control, LLC, Case No. 16-17126 (decided September 22, 2017), the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit addressed two issues about the application of the FDCPA to that voice mail message. First,… Read more

Sep 25, 2017

Judicial Estoppel Won’t Automatically Preclude a Lawsuit Omitted from Bankruptcy Schedules

Courts regularly apply the equitable doctrine of judicial estoppel to justify the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a person that had filed for bankruptcy. The doctrine generally has worked as follows. A party files for bankruptcy. As a part of that process, the debtor must identify his assets. Those assets could include a potential lawsuit (an automobile accident claim, a discrimination claim). However, the bankrupt party fails to include that potential claim on his list of assets. The party completes the bankruptcy process. The party then files a lawsuit asserting the claim that he failed to identify in his… Read more

Sep 8, 2017

Price Fixing Claim Against Insurers Survives Dismissal

In Quality Auto Painting Center of Roselle, Inc. v. State Farm Indemnity Co., Case No. 15-14160 (decided September 7, 2017), the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed the dismissal of a price fixing claim against auto insurers brought by repair shops. The appeal arose out of a collection of cases consolidated in a multi-district proceeding. The plaintiffs were automobile body shops. The defendants were writers of automobile insurance. The auto body shops challenged the conduct of the auto insurers in reimbursing body shops for insured repairs. Among other challenges, the auto body shops contended that the… Read more

Aug 29, 2017

How Long Will a Civil Appeal in the Eleventh Circuit Typically Take?

Judge Grants Motion Striking Inequitable Conduct Defense

There are 13 federal appellate courts called the U.S. Courts of Appeal that sit below the U.S. Supreme Court. These courts hear appeals from 94 federal trial courts, which are called the U.S. District Courts. According to statistics from the Administrative Office of the United States Courts published in its Judicial Business 2016 report for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016, total filings in all the U.S. Courts of Appeals climbed 15% in the last fiscal year to 60,357. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals was established by Congress in 1981 and has jurisdiction over federal cases originating in… Read more

Jul 6, 2017

The Georgia Court of Appeals Looks at Litigation Funding

In recent years, an industry has developed in which businesses advance monies to plaintiffs with pending lawsuits in exchange for a share of the recovery. The business only recovers money if the plaintiff makes a recovery. If the lawsuit fails, the business making the advance receives nothing. In the Cherokee Funding, LLC v. Ruth, Case No. A17A0132 (decided June 27, 2017), the Georgia Court of Appeals looked at how those businesses fit into Georgia’s statutory schemes regulating certain lending activities. The Georgia Court of Appeals concluded that this type of litigation funding did not fit within two sets of Georgia… Read more

Jul 3, 2017

Georgia Declines to Recognize a Claim for Negligent Destruction of Evidence

An individual is injured in an automobile accident. He wants to file a products liability suit against the manufacturer of the tires on his car. However, his insurance company has disposed of the car and the tires. Can the injured person sue his insurance company for having negligently destroyed important evidence? The Georgia Court of Appeals answered “no” in Phillips v. Owners Ins. Co., Case No. A17A0251 (decided June 29, 2017). Shortly after his auto accident, Mr. Phillips settled his claim for vehicle damage with his own insurance company, Owners Insurance Company. Mr. Phillips’ attorney had sent a letter to… Read more

Mar 6, 2017

The Georgia Supreme Court Nears the End of Its December Term

The Georgia Supreme Court has readjusted its terms of court. One of those adjustments includes adding a December term that will end this year on March 31. As the Court approaches the end of that term, it issued a number of decisions on March 6. Those opinions included the following: Coon v. Medical Ctr., Inc. (Case No. 16G0695). The Court reaffirmed an overlooked aspect of Georgia’s choice of law rules. Applying those rules, a court may conclude that the claim is governed by the law of another state. However, if the matters at issue are controlled by the common law… Read more

Dec 8, 2016

The Georgia Court of Appeals Changes its Rules

Effective January 1, 2017, the Georgia Court of Appeals has made a number of changes to its rules. For practitioners, the most significant change is to the limitations on the length of briefs. Instead of limits of 30 pages in civil cases and 50 pages in criminal cases for the opening briefs of the appellant and the appellee, the Court will have word limits of 8400 words in civil cases and 14,000 words in criminal cases. This works out to 280 words per page. That may overstate the number of words that will fit on a page when prepared in… Read more