Law Commons^™

Premises Liability And Apportionment Following Martin V. Six Flags Over Georgia Ii, L.P., Madeline E. Mcneeley, Jed D. Manton

Mercer Law Review

A nineteen-year-old boy's innocent trip to an amusement park ended in a brutal beating and permanent brain damage. The boy's efforts to hold accountable those responsible for the tragedy ultimately resulted in much-needed clarification of Georgia's law regarding negligent security and apportionment of fault. It is now clear that a landlord can be held responsible for damages caused by criminal activity even when the damages occur beyond the four corners of the landlord's property. Likewise, Martin elucidates that errors in a jury's apportionment verdict can be retried without disturbing the verdict as to liability and damages.

Administrative Law, Jennifer B. Alewine, Courtney E. Ferrell, Allison W. Pryor

Mercer Law Review

This Article surveys cases from the Georgia Supreme Court and the Georgia Court of Appeals from June 1, 2016 through May 31, 2017 in which principles of administrative law were a central focus of the case. The Article first discusses the exhaustion of administrative remedies, followed by decisions by state administrative agencies, then on to scope of authority, statutory construction, a review of administrative decisions, and concludes with a brief review of enactments from the 2017 regular session of the Georgia General Assembly.

Commercial Transportation, Stephen G. Lowry, Madeline E. Mcneeley, Kristy S. Davies, Yvonne S. Godfrey

Mercer Law Review

Commercial transportation involves all of the significant forms of passenger and property transportation across the United States. This Article covers five major areas: (1) trucking; (2) aviation; (3) limousines, taxis, rideshare services, and commercial transit; (4) autonomous vehicles; and (5) railroads. This Article surveys significant judicial and legislative developments in Georgia commercial transportation law during the period from the beginning of the 2012 regular session of the 151st Georgia General Assembly through May 31, 2017.

Each of the areas covered are subject to heavy federal regulation. Much of this Article discusses Georgia's interaction with federal regulations and laws pertaining to …

Construction Law, Frank O. Brown Jr.

Mercer Law Review

This Article focuses on noteworthy opinions by Georgia appellate courts between June 1, 2016 and May 31, 2017 that are relevant to the practice of construction law.

Criminal Law, Bernadette C. Crucilla

Mercer Law Review

The adversarial nature between prosecutors and those charged with crimes makes criminal law, in particular, be in a constant state of transformation. Thus, as in prior years, this year's survey of criminal law will include only a few of the most significant cases and statutory amendments. Due to this constant evolution, it is simply not practical to attempt to make note of every single legal development. Therefore, the discussion this period has been limited to the changes that will have the widest application or interest to criminal law practitioners from June 1, 2016 through May 31, 2017.

Domestic Relations, Barry B. Mcgough, Elinor H. Hitt, Abigail M. Herrmann

Mercer Law Review

This Article addresses significant case law during the survey period from June 1, 2016 through May 31, 2017.

Evidence, John E. Hall Jr., W. Scott Henwood, L. Witt Carmon Ii

Mercer Law Review

Following the adjustments to Georgia's Evidence Code on January 1, 2013, Georgia courts have developed significant case law interpreting various changes from the old code. This year's survey period marks the fourth year since the landmark alterations to the Georgia Evidence Code, Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.) Title 24 took effect. Addressed in this year's Article are cases spanning from June 1, 2016 to May 31, 2017. Specifically, this Article addresses the following: (1) Significant developments regarding the admissibility of evidence ascertained by or maintained through technology; (2) Special rules of admissibility tied to crimes of sexual misconduct or …

Insurance, Bradley S. Wolff, Maren R. Cave, Stephen M. Schatz

Mercer Law Review

During this survey period, the Georgia state and federal courts decided questions of first impression related to uninsured motorist (UM) coverage holding that, although umbrella policies are no longer required to provide UM coverage, the statutory notice requirements must be strictly followed before such coverage can be dropped in a renewal and that the "vertical exhaustion requirements" contained in excess policies do not violate the UM statute. Another first impression decision involved the correct interpretation of the statute providing for pre-suit offers in motor vehicle injury cases and whether timely payment may be a condition of acceptance. Other cases decided …

Labor And Employment Law, W. Melvin Haas Iii, W. Jonathan Martin Ii, Alyssa K. Peters, Patricia-Anne Upson

Mercer Law Review

This Article surveys revisions to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.) and decisions interpreting Georgia law from June 1, 2016 to May 31, 2017, that affect labor and employment relations for Georgia employers.

Legal Ethics, Patrick Emery Longan

Mercer Law Review

This survey covers the period from June 1, 2016 to May 31, 2017.1 The Article discusses attorney discipline, ineffective assistance of counsel, legal malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty, disqualification, judicial ethics, several miscellaneous cases involving legal ethics, opinions of the Formal Advisory Opinion Board, and amendments to the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct.

Local Government Law, Ken E. Jarrard

Mercer Law Review

During the survey period, the Georgia Supreme Court and the Georgia Court of Appeals examined the applicability of statutory ante litem notice in the context of whistleblower actions against municipalities, while the Georgia Court of Appeals reaffirmed strict compliance in assessing the sufficiency of ante litem notice presented to departments of the state under the Georgia Tort Claims Act (GTCA).

Product Liability, Franklin P. Brannen Jr., P. Michael Freed, Kristen S. Cawley, Marcus Strong

Mercer Law Review

This Article surveys developments in Georgia product liability law between June 1, 2015 and May 31, 2017. It covers noteworthy cases decided during this period by the Georgia Supreme Court, Georgia Court of Appeals, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and the United States district courts located in Georgia.

Real Property, Linda S. Finley

Mercer Law Review

This Article reviews notable real property issues arising from the decisions of the appellate courts of Georgia as well as legislation enacted by the Georgia General Assembly. Real property law is often thought of as stodgy, particularly with the roots of the practice arising from English common law. However, real property law is ever-changing and often touches on a myriad of issues necessitating the need for the topics reviewed in this Article. This Article provides the practitioner, student, or layperson with a guide to those court decisions entered and legislation enacted during the survey period.

Torts, Christopher R. Breault, Christopher B. Newbern, Brian C. Mickelsen

Mercer Law Review

This Article surveys recent developments in Georgia tort law between June 1, 2016 and May 31, 2017.

Trial Practice And Procedure, Brandon L. Peak, Tedra L. Cannella, Robert H. Snyder, David T. Rohwedder, Joseph M. Colwell, Christopher B. Mcdaniel, Rory A. Weeks, Ramsey B. Prather

Mercer Law Review

This Article addresses several significant opinions and legislation of interest to the Georgia civil trial practitioner issued during the June 1, 2016 to May 31, 2017 survey period.

Wills, Trusts, Guardianships, And Fiduciary Administration, Mary F. Radford

Mercer Law Review

This Article describes selected cases and significant legislation from June 1, 2016 to May 31, 2017 that pertain to Georgia fiduciary law and estate planning.

Workers' Compensation, H. Michael Bagley, J. Benson Ward

Mercer Law Review

The 2016-2017 survey period was relatively quiet for workers' compensation developments, but the workers' compensation system was nonetheless impacted by appellate decisions during this period. Such decisions involve issues ranging from statutes of limitations to willful misconduct, including two decisions from the Georgia Supreme Court reversing cases featured in last year's survey.

Zoning And Land Use Law, Newton M. Galloway, Steven L. Jones

Mercer Law Review

This year and volume, the sixty-ninth, mark the phoenix flight of the Zoning and Land Use Law survey. The survey last appeared in the sixty-first volume of the Mercer Law Review, just as the Great Recession was taking its toll on real estate development. The Great Recession shifted development activity away from constructing new buildings to protecting the value of investment in existing structures from the ravages of the landslide of foreclosures. At the height of the Great Recession, there was virtually no demand for new residential or commercial construction, and new construction and development ground to a halt. …

Business Associations, Edward P. Bonapfel, E. Bowen Reichert Shoemaker

Mercer Law Review

This Article surveys notable cases in the areas of corporate, limited-liability company (LLC), partnership, agency, and joint-venture law decided between June 1, 2016 and May 31, 2017 by the Georgia Supreme Court, the Georgia Court of Appeals, and the United States district courts in Georgia.

Bankruptcy, John T. Laney Iii, Nicholas J. Garcia

Mercer Law Review

This Article is a review of select bankruptcy opinions issued in 2016 by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. The selected bankruptcy opinions surveyed and summarized by the Authors involve the following bankruptcy topics: Stale Debt Collection, the Dischargeability of Debts, Exemptions, Contempt, Judicial Estoppel, and the Rules of Procedure. During 2016, the Eleventh Circuit addressed some "exceptionally important" issues arising in consumer bankruptcy cases and created a circuit split requiring resolution by the United States Supreme Court.

Class Actions, Thomas M. Byrne, Stacey Mcgavin Mohr

Mercer Law Review

The past year saw a mix of results in class-action litigation in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. with both plaintiffs and defendants notching victories in class certification controversies. Of significance to class-action practice was the court's first foray into applying the challenging new Article III standing decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins. The court also continued to address arbitration issues arising in putative class actions, while the prospects for curbing the availability of arbitration as an alternative to class litigation appeared to fade with the changing political …

Electronic Discovery, K. Alex Khoury

Mercer Law Review

At the end of 2015, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were amended to reform the discovery process with three main goals in mind: (1) promoting cooperation between the parties, (2) emphasizing proportionality in discovery, and (3) encouraging active case management by the courts. This Article will examine how the courts in the Eleventh Circuit interpreted and applied the new rules in 2016 and consider whether the new rules are having their desired effect on E-Discovery practice.

Employment Discrimination, Peter Reed Corbin, John E. Duvall

Mercer Law Review

The field of Employment Discrimination continued to be alive and well during the 2016 survey period. Although the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit continued its recent trend of issuing the vast majority of its employment discrimination cases as unpublished opinions (often per curiam opinions affirming a summary judgment for the employer), the court of appeals rendered far more published opinions during the survey period than has recently been its practice. The Eleventh Circuit issued six published Title VII opinions, and fifteen published employment discrimination opinions overall. For instance, in Villarreal v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., …

Environmental Law, Travis M. Trimble

Mercer Law Review

In 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit addressed, for the second time, whether the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) acted arbitrarily when it issued Nationwide Permit 21 (NWP 21), which authorizes dredge and fill activities by surface mining operations and applies differing standards to grandfathered operations and new operations. The court held that the Corps did not, and it upheld the permit. Also, the Eleventh Circuit held that the National Park Service did not act improperly under the Wilderness Act when it reduced the number of acres it considered to be eligible for designation as …

Evidence, W. Randall Bassett, Val Leppert, Stephen A. Mccullers

Mercer Law Review

The 2016 term of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit included important precedential opinions on a number of evidence topics. For example, in four cases the court considered what evidence constitutes "testimonial out-of-court statements" that are precluded by the Sixth Amendment's Confrontation Clause unless the declarant is unavailable and the defendant has a prior opportunity for cross-examination. The court also considered the interplay between a defendant's Sixth Amendment right to an effective cross-examination and the district court's authority to limit the scope of cross-examination.

The court issued two published opinions of importance regarding the Fifth Amendment …

Federal Income Taxation, Robert Beard, Gregory S. Lucas

Mercer Law Review

In 2016, federal courts in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit handed down several notable opinions on federal tax issues. This Article surveys four of those opinions involving the collection of foreign taxes pursuant to a tax treaty, the characterization of income from the sale of real estate as capital gains, and self-employment taxes on deferred compensation.

Labor And Employment Law, W. Jonathan Martin Ii, F. Damon Kitchen, Gary R. Wheeler, Patricia-Anne Upson

Mercer Law Review

This Article surveys the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit precedent from January 1, 2016 to December 21, 2016.1 This Article will focus on case law concerning laws enforced by the United States Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board. The following is a discussion of those opinions.

Trial Practice And Procedure, John O'Shea Sullivan, Ashby K. Fox, Tala Amirfazli

Mercer Law Review

The 2016 survey period yielded noteworthy decisions relating to federal trial practice and procedure in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit,I several of which involved issues of first impression. This Article analyzes recent developments in the Eleventh Circuit, including significant rulings in the areas of statutory interpretation and class actions.

The End Of Low-Value Consumer Class Action Lawsuits?: The Federal Circuit Split On The Ascertainability Requirement For Class Certification, Kyle Harris Timmons

Mercer Law Review

This Comment seeks to address the growing circuit split on the ascertainability requirement of class action lawsuits. The split centers around what Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure' explicitly states are the requirements for class certification and what some courts have read into Rule 23. Under the high standard, creating a plan or proposing a method with which to identify purported class members is not enough to satisfy the ascertainability requirement. Instead, a class must show that evidentiary means exist and are readily obtainable to support the proposed method of identifying the case. Conversely, under the low …

Employer Beware: Changing The Landscape Of Employment Discrimination Claims At The Summary Judgment Stage, Matthew Bottoms

Mercer Law Review

In Quigg v. Thomas County School District, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit changed the summary judgment framework for mixed-motive employment discrimination cases. The ruling in Quigg will affect both employers and employees and will lead to more mixed-motive discrimination claims reaching the jury, rather than being dismissed through summary judgment. The newly-adopted framework takes the burden-shifting standard out of summary judgment, and many commentators consider it a much more plaintiff-friendly framework. Under the new framework, in order to survive a motion for summary judgment on a mixed-motive discrimination claim, all the plaintiff must do …