Source: https://gandglegal.com/category/car-wrecks/
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 08:31:30+00:00

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The Georgia Supreme Court has ruled that an uninsured motorist lawsuit against a known defendant and an unknown defendant can be brought in the county where the accident occurred. Carpenter v. McMann et al., S17G1894 (8/2/18).
The Georgia Constitution says, generally, that lawsuits must be filed in the county in which the responsible party resides. But, it also says that if there are two or more responsible parties who reside in different counties, the lawsuit can be filed in either of the defendants’ “home” counties.
In Carpenter, one of the (alleged) responsible parties left the scene of the collision and was therefore unknown. Lawyers and the courts label these unknown parties as “John or Jane Does.” Under Georgia uninsured motorist law, a lawsuit against a John or Jane Doe can be brought in the county where the collision occurred. What is a little unusual in Carpenter is there was one known defendant and one unknown defendant.
The question before the Georgia Supreme Court was whether the lawsuit should have been filed in the county where the known defendant resided instead of where the collision occurred. Reading the Georgia constitution and relevant statutory provisions together, the Court found that the plain language of drafted by the Georgia legislature permitted the injured party to choose the county where the collision occurred (via the unknown driver) and not the county where the known driver resided.
If you’re hurt by a police officer involved in a high-speed pursuit or county employee negligently driving a government truck, you must follow a complicated set of procedures to recover for your injuries. This is because the government and/or its employees are protected under the doctrine of sovereign immunity. Not closely following these procedures will cause you to quickly lose your claim on a technicality.
The blog deals with the very first requirement, which is sending an ante litem notice. An ante litem notice is a letter sent to the government entity that describes the details of the incident, explains why the government entity is responsible, and states the injuries sustained. In theory, an ante litem notice is required to give the government entity an opportunity to timely investigate the allegations. With few exceptions, failure to timely send an ante litem notice to the correct entity ends a claim for injuries.
Generally, claims vary by the type of government entity: for example, counties, cities/municipalities, state entities, or federal entities. Below is a quick overview of some basic aspects of ante litem notice requirements.
With respect to a county entity (for example, a county sheriff’s office), an ante litem notice must be presented within 12 months of the injury. Each county is set up a little differently, but generally notice should go to the county attorney and county board of commissioners. With respect to a city or municipality, an ante litem notice must be presented within six months of the injury. Notice is normally sent to the mayor and the city attorney. Ante litem notices to the State of Georgia must be presented within twelve months after the injury. The notice must be delivered to the Risk Management Division of the Department of Administrative Services as well as the government office that is the basis for the claim. Finally, claims against the Federal Government and/or its employees requires submitting a Form 95 administrative claim to the responsible federal agency within two years of the injury.
Even though in our 20 plus years of practicing law we’ve personally never known a government agency take any action in response to an ante litem notice, Georgia courts strictly apply these rules and they must be carefully followed.
Limitation on Actions. To the extent allowed by law, Resident also agrees and understands that any legal action against Management or Owner must be instituted within one year of the date any claim or cause of action arises and that any action filed after one year from such date shall be time barred as a matter of law.
Focusing on the word any, the Court of Appeals ruled that any legal action included not only breach of contract claims but also personal injury claims. Thus, the lease trumped Georgia’s statute of limitations. The Court reasoned that parties should be free to enter into contracts without interference from the courts.
At Gomez & Golomb, we practice personal injury and real estate litigation. Thus, for us, Langley cuts both ways. It’s bad for our personal injury clients, but good for our real estate and corporate clients. From now on, in personal injury cases, we will be looking even more closely at applicable contracts for language that may limit injury claims. For our real estate and corporate clients, we will be advising them that Langley opens the door to include terms in their contracts that limit liability.
In a recent dispute over where a wrongful death lawsuit should be tried, the plaintiff made the winning argument against a commercial trucking company. Natasha Blakemore as Mother of Natroya Hulbert v. Dirt Movers, Inc. et al., A17A1540 (January 11, 2018). The plaintiff argued that the case should be tried in the county where the injury took place, while the trucking company argued it had the right to remove the case to the county where its office was located.
The two statutes at issue were O.C.G.A. §§ 40-1-117(b) and 14-2-510(b)(4). O.C.G.A. § 40-1-117(b) is part of the Georgia Motor Carrier Act, which are the statutes that govern commercial motor carriers. That statute says an injured party who sues a motor carrier can bring the case in the county where the injury occurred regardless of where the motor carrier is located. In contrast, O.C.G.A. § 14-2-510(b)(5), which governs corporations, says that, regardless of where the injuries occurred, a corporation is entitled to have the case adjudicated in the county where it maintains its principal place of business.
Here, Dirt Movers, Inc. argued that O.C.G.A. § 14-2-510(b)(5) should apply even if venue was proper under O.C.G.A. § 40-1-117(b). The Court of Appeals disagreed. Holding that if venue was proper under both O.C.G.A. §§ 40-1-117(b) and 14-2-510(b)(4), which was true here, the plaintiff was entitled to bring her lawsuit in the county where the injuries occurred.
Nice try by the trucking company, but the case will go forward in the county where the injuries occurred.

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