In June 2023, the Georgia Court of Appeals held in North American Senior Benefits, LLC v. Wimmer that an employee non-solicitation covenant must contain an express geographic limitation to be enforceable. On September 4,...more
In a win for Georgia employers seeking to enforce restrictive covenants, the Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that restrictive covenants are not required to contain an express geographic limitation to be enforceable under the...more
Jimmy Buffett once eloquently said that “without geography, you’re nowhere.” But how does that insight apply to restrictive covenants that lack explicit geographic limitations in Georgia? While Jimmy never got to find out,...more
Last summer, as discussed in this blog, the Georgia Court of Appeals issued a decision in N. Amer. Senior Benefits, LLC v. Wimmer that presented potential challenges for employers seeking to enforce employee non-solicitation...more
In litigation underlying Satcher v. Columbia County, 2024 WL 3802370 (Ga. Aug. 13, 2024), property owners sued the County related to damage caused by their privately-owned 48-inch pipe that had been used as part of the...more
The Georgia Supreme Court on Monday issued a ruling that expands the scope of who is responsible for producing public records under the state’s Open Records Act. The court also allowed for records requests to be sent to...more
The Georgia Court of Appeals has affirmed Georgia Power Company’s “grandfather” rights to provide electric service to a manufacturing/warehouse facility that had been expanded and renovated over the years, but not...more
The Supreme Court of Georgia issued an opinion reversing the Superior Court of Fulton County’s 2022 ruling that Sections 4 and 11 of the Georgia LIFE Act (the Act) were void ab initio....more
On September 6, 2023, the Georgia Supreme Court reaffirmed that Georgia courts must first determine whether a restrictive covenant is enforceable under Georgia law before applying a foreign choice-of-law provision....more
Historically, Georgia courts have declined to apply another state’s law to determine whether to enforce restrictive covenants against a Georgia employee, regardless of whether the agreement stated that another state’s law...more
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every aspect of our lives, and the legal system is no exception. Court hearings went from being in-person to virtual, and court dockets swelled as cases were postponed. In 2023, the legal...more
The Georgia Supreme Court recently decided important premises liability questions and found landowners liable for injuries to persons on their property caused by third-party criminal assailants....more
Effective July 1, 2023, Georgia House Bill 916 (2022), the “Superior and State Court Appellate Practice Act,” will repeal and replace Georgia’s complex notice of appeal and certiorari review statutes (former O.C.G.A. §§ 5-3-1...more
In early March, Georgia's Access to Medical Cannabis Commission finally adopted rules governing the state's low-THC oil industry. As businesses navigate this new landscape, legal questions will inevitably pop up. And...more
A $250,000 cap in punitive damages is constitutional, the Georgia Supreme Court has confirmed, upholding the trial court’s decision to substantially reduce a $50 million verdict to $250,000. Taylor v. Devereux Found., Inc.,...more
There may be no area of the law where it is more important to have legal counsel than in the United States cannabis industry. The cannabis industry has developed within the context of conflicting and evolving federal and...more
In 2012, the Georgia Supreme Court stated, in a third-party coverage matter, “an insurer cannot both deny a claim outright and attempt to reserve the right to assert a different defense in the future.” Hoover v. Maxum Indem....more
Increasingly, the phrase “good cause” is being used by courts to decide whether a deposition or other judicial proceeding should be conducted remotely or in person. Depending on the jurisdiction and the precise nature of the...more
On Nov. 23, the Supreme Court of Georgia reinstated the state’s ban on abortions after the detection of a fetal heartbeat. The Supreme Court of Georgia issued a one-page order granting the State of Georgia’s Emergency...more
Ruling on the State of Georgia’s November 18, 2022 Emergency Petition for Supersedeas, this past Wednesday (November 23, 2022) the Georgia Supreme Court enjoined the lower court’s decision thereby reinstating the prohibitions...more
A recent insurance coverage decision from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia highlights the difficulties of court interpretation of insurance policies and serves as a warning for contractors...more
On October 25, 2022, the Supreme Court of Georgia answered a certified question from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals concerning Georgia’s insurable interest statute, OCGA § 33-24-3 (1995)....more
On February 15, 2022, the Georgia Supreme Court held that the sale of one’s trade name in a keyword advertising service is not the theft of another’s trade name. In Edible IP, LLC v. Google, LLC, 313 Ga. 305, 2022 Ga. Lexis...more
The Supreme Court of Georgia recently issued a decision on whether the Apex Doctrine - a theory under which high-ranking corporate executives and government officials may not be compelled to sit for depositions if they lack...more
On June 1, 2022, the Georgia Supreme Court issued a ruling that has the potential to significantly impact discovery in Georgia courts. In Gen. Motors, LLC v. Buchanan, No. S21G1147, 2022 WL 1750716 (Ga. June 1, 2022), the...more