Law Commons^™

Georgia Local Government Law: A Reflection On Thirty Surveys, R. Perry Sentell Jr.

Mercer Law Review

Pulling a survey chain is demanding work. Pulling a survey chain for thirty years manifests (at best) perseverance. Pulling a survey chain, for thirty years, around the boundaries of "Local Government Law" approaches the Sisyphean.' Such obstinacy demands a marking of the occasion-a staking of the claim that sheer persistence counts for something. If continuity contributes order, then "Local Government Law" deserves distinction. Presumably, it numbers among the most "orderly" of presentations appearing in these annual "Georgia Survey" issues.

Alas, the presumption falters. Rather, review reveals, each year's installment goes its own way, both in organization and in substance. Few …

Business Associations, Paul A. Quirós, Lynn Schutte Scott

Mercer Law Review

This Article analyzes cases in the areas of corporate, partnership, securities, and banking law decided during the survey period by the Georgia Court of Appeals, the Georgia Supreme Court, the United States district courts in Georgia and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Additionally, the Article highlights certain enactments by the Georgia General Assembly revising the Georgia Corporate Code.

Change In Condition And New Accident: The Difference Between The Two, Elements Of Each, And Burdens Of Proof, Michael F. Antonowich

Mercer Law Review

This Article is designed as a survey of the law on the theories of new accident and change in condition. It will compare and contrast these two theories, which compromise one of the most often litigated areas of workers' compensation law. The respective burdens of proof are placed on the employee/claimant and the employer/insurer when either alleges a change in condition, either for the better or for the worse. These burdens are addressed both as to accidents occurring before and after July 1, 1992. Also addressed are the circumstances and attendant outcomes when more than one employer or insurance company …

Construction Law, Brian J. Morrissey

Mercer Law Review

As the construction industry moved through its recession, a number of issues eventually percolated their way through the appellate courts. Not surprisingly, once projects began going under, many of these cases focused on novel theories seeking to impose liability against "deep pockets."

The most significant event during the survey period was the development of a unique approach to impose liability against the government for the insolvency of sureties presented on public works projects, and the abrupt reversal of the adoption of this theory by the Georgia Supreme Court.

Also during the survey period, there were a number of attempts to …

Commercial Law, James C. Marshall

Mercer Law Review

Georgia legislation concerning perfection of security interests, federal bankruptcy amendments, and a decision by the United States Supreme Court were the most significant developments in Georgia commercial law during the survey period.

Domestic Relations, Barry B. Mcgough

Mercer Law Review

Of the forty-six cases decided during the survey year, fifteen are digested in this Article. Two custody cases are of special importance, one dealing with application of federal law and the other with joint custody. The remaining cases address smaller points across a familiar judicial landscape. This Article also highlights amendments to the child support guidelines.

Criminal Law, Frank C. Mills Iii

Mercer Law Review

This year's legislatively enacted criminal discovery law will be the most influential change in criminal law in many years. Only slightly less significant is the Georgia constitutional enactment of a true life-without- parole sentence. Both changes will vastly increase the cost of the criminal justice system to the taxpayer. The latter will probably increase the cost of crime to the criminal. These legislative events dwarf any changes by the courts.

Nevertheless, there are many cases of substantial note in the survey period for this year. The procedure and proper charge to the jury for an abandonment trial was changed. Apparently …

Evidence, Marc T. Treadwell

Mercer Law Review

Previous survey articles have discussed the need for precise objections to preserve an issue for appeal. Sometimes, however, even the most precise objection may not be sufficient. In Garner v. Victory Express, Inc., plaintiff objected to defendant's counsel's comment during closing argument on the lack of any evidence indicating that defendant was unsafe or careless. Apparently, defense counsel was referring to the absence of evidence of prior negligence on the part of defendant's driver. The trial court overruled this objection. Plaintiff argued that because he was precluded from proving defendant's negligence by his prior driving record or from proving …

Local Government Law, R. Perry Sentell Jr.

Mercer Law Review

In a year when attention focused upon the propriety of actions taken in high places, local governments naturally came in for their share of scrutiny. For both municipalities and counties, the pace was fervid. Their actions were the actions of interest to courts, legislatures, and people. This survey records the highlights of that preoccupation as it was manifested in law-the law of local government.

Insurance, Maximilian A. Pock

Mercer Law Review

The current survey year has again yielded a rich harvest of insurance cases. Georgia appellate courts have handed down more than ninety decisions. Several are cases of first impression in Georgia, while many others have applied or adapted traditional doctrine to a novel factual matrix. These cases merit exegesis and discussion in varying degrees of specificity. Although arising in an insurance integument, the remaining cases concern general substantive law, narrow administrative or technical questions, or pervasive evidentiary and procedural issues. They are better discussed under another title or heading.

Perhaps one impressionistic and general observation is in order. The new …

Legal Ethics, Jack L. Sammons

Mercer Law Review

The dominant event during this surveyed period' is not an event at all. It is instead a struggle so pervasive that its lurking presence is felt behind every important case and Formal Advisory Opinion ("FAO") decided this year. This struggle is between the two primary functions that the Georgia appellate courts perform in this area of law: the normal judicial function and the regulation of the legal profession. This second function is a legislative and an interpretative one. Appellate courts in Georgia perform the interpretive function in both an advisory capacity through FAO's and in a judicial capacity through case …

Real Property, T. Daniel Brannan, Stephen M. Lamastra, William J. Sheppard

Mercer Law Review

This Article surveys case law and legislative developments in the Georgia law of real property for the period June 1, 1993 to May 31, 1994. An overwhelming majority of cases decided by the Georgia appellate courts during the survey period reaffirmed established principles of real property law, albeit sometimes in unusual factual settings. The Georgia legislature was, however, actively creating new statutes and refining old ones. This article is intended to provide the practitioner with a convenient guide to both judicial and legislative activities during the survey period.

Wills, Trusts, And Administration Of Estates, James C. Rehberg

Mercer Law Review

The usual volume of cases involving issues of fiduciary law reached the appellate courts of Georgia during this past survey period. While the number of such cases was not large, they were noteworthy. Also, the 1994 session of the Georgia General Assembly was not particularly active in the area covered by this Article. The few bills which were enacted will be summarized in Part III.

Torts, Cynthia Trimboli Adams, Charles R. Adams Iii

Mercer Law Review

Who can be wise, amazed, temperate and furious, Loyal and neutral, in a moment? No man.
—William Shakespeare, Macbeth, act 2, sc. 3 (Signet Classic ed., Signet Books 1963) (1606).

Macbeth may have feigned this plight as he covered up his foul murder of King Duncan, but it precisely describes the survey writer's dilemma. Some of the legal theories advanced in survey period cases were as arcane as the contents of the witches' cauldron. Some of the holdings were as unsettling as Banquo's ghost at the feast? And, as always, the accumulation of cases was as inexorable as Birnam Wood's …

Georgia Local Government Law: Court Resolution Of County Government Disagreements, Paul Vignos

Mercer Law Review

County government regularly involves disagreements between county commissioners and other county officers. Solutions include arbitration, mediation, recalls, regular elections, and courtroom confrontations. Enough cases go through the courts to suggest a pattern of judicial resolution. In reviewing past decisions, one hopes to understand what the courts offer, how they work, why they decide as they do, and who they favor. At least, one hopes to reduce potential frustration over court battles that might be better resolved elsewhere.

Workers' Compensation, H. Michael Bagley, Daniel C. Kniffen, John G. Blackmon Jr.

Mercer Law Review

After the difficult debate surrounding workers' compensation legislation in 1992, few would have thought it possible that the Georgia Legislature would revisit the Workers' Compensation Act (the "Act")' any time soon. Yet, the 1994 General Assembly made a number of substantial changes to the Act, constituting by far the most significant development in workers' compensation law over the survey period. Important case law decisions affected the areas of exclusive remedy, the employment relationship, and heart attack claims.

Adopting Article Iv: Can Consumers Afford To Rely On The Banks' Good Faith?, Robert A. Fricks

Mercer Law Review

In 1990 the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws and the American Law Institute approved comprehensive changes to Articles 3 and 4 of the Uniform Commercial Code ("U.C.C."). These changes will greatly impact consumer transactions and alter the relationship between banks and their customers. As of December 1994, thirty-six states had adopted the revised Articles. While most states adopted them as written, some have made changes which provide the consumer with greater protection. The Georgia General Assembly will soon address the issue of whether to adopt the new Articles. At issue is whether the revisions warrant added consumer …