Georgia's Biggest Appellate Rulings Of 2021 So Far

In an article published on July 6, 2021, in Law360, Partner Rick Sager shares insight on some of the most consequential appellate rulings of 2021 in Georgia. 

"Georgia appeals courts have upended decades of precedent on how attorneys can appeal trial rulings, freed employers and landowners from liability in high-dollar personal injury cases, and refused to narrow the window for high-ranking corporate executives to be deposed, in their most significant rulings of the year to date," the article states.

Sager specifically provides insight on Georgia's June 21 opinion, which limited litigation under Georgia street gang law. Some Georgia trial courts were allowing premises liability plaintiffs to pursue triple damages under the statute, so the ruling is a clarification in favor of defendants, he says. Georgia trial courts were seeing "quite a few" cases seeking remedy under the act for premises liability claims, and the rulings had until now been inconsistent. 

Sager provides further insight on Georgia's May 6 ruling, allowing "the deposition of General Motors CEO Mary Barra in a product liability suit, saying she could be made to testify about GM's safety programs and incentives for staff to report potential problems. The company has appealed the ruling, which came in a case over a fatal crash in a Chevy Trailblazer." 

"There may be times when a CEO deposition is appropriate, and the trial court is in the best position to judge that," he says. "It is a significant opinion, for sure, and not one that CEOs are going to be real happy to hear about."

To read the full article, subscribers may click here.