Legal Blog
Georgia Court of Appeals Overturns Massive $54M Verdict Against Avis for Crash Following Employee’s Theft of Vehicle
In a recent pair of companion cases, Avis Rent A Car System v. Johnson, 352 Ga.App. 858 (2019) and Avis Rent A Car System v. Smith, 353 Ga.App. 24 (2019), the Georgia Court of Appeals reversed massive jury verdicts totaling $54M on the grounds that an Avis employee’s theft of a rental vehicle cut off Avis’s liability for the employee’s subsequent crash that injured the bystander plaintiffs.
No Pre-Suit Notice Required to Sue Cities for Intentional Acts
In an historic decision, the Court unanimously held that the ante litem (pre-suit) notice required for bringing suit against a municipality applies only to allegations of negligence, not to intentional acts.
Georgia Supreme Court Holds Lead Paint Excluded by Absolute Pollution Exclusion
The Smith case was a big win for Georgia insurers and further fortified that the plain language of the policy controls policy coverage.
Burden on The Insured/Plaintiff to Prove the at-Fault Driver Was an Uninsured Motorist
The solution-and liability insurers should take note-is for the plaintiff to obtain discovery “from the insurer regarding its efforts to contact its insured and its lack of success in securing cooperation.”
Georgia Supreme Court Weighs in on Discovery Dispute Over Reasonableness of Plaintiff's Medical Bills
On a very basic level, this case is merely a reaffirmation of the broad scope of discovery entitled to litigants but it should also help the defense side of the bar access the records of medical financing companies like ML Healthcare.