mernst@sgrlaw.com Archives

Mar 9, 2020

Coronavirus: Can Georgia Government Officials Order An Individual Quarantined for Public Health Reasons?

At the end of February 2020, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp issued an executive order establishing a Coronavirus Task Force, comprised of subject-matter experts from the private and public sectors, to assess Georgia’s procedures for preventing, identifying, and addressing cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19). A few days later, in early March 2020, Governor Kemp confirmed that there were two confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Fulton County, Georgia. These cases involve two individuals who reside in the same household, one of which recently returned from Italy. In a press conference held on March 9, 2020, Governor Kemp stated there were six confirmed… Read more

Feb 7, 2019

Automatic Stay of Federal Judgments Extended to 30 days

Rule 62 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure[1] addresses a stay of proceedings to enforce a judgment. Amendments to Rule 62 became effective on December 1, 2018. The amendments reorganize the Rule somewhat, clear up some confusing timing issues, and replace the term “supersedeas bond” with “bond or other security.” As to timing, amended Rule 62(a) extends the automatic stay of judgment enforcement from 14 days to 30 days following entry of judgment. According to the Advisory Committee, this change from 14 to 30 days resolves an “apparent gap” between the expiration of the automatic stay after judgment and… Read more

Dec 7, 2017

“We Have a Deal” Email Established an Enforceable Settlement, and “Standard” Release Was Not a Material Term of the Settlement

In Scheinmann v. Dykstra, 2017 WL 1422972 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 21, 2017), a New York federal court considered the issues of whether a series of emails was sufficient to establish an enforceable settlement agreement between the parties, and whether a “standard” release was part of the deal. In this lawsuit against a former Mets baseball player, Lenny Dykstra, brought by his social media manager, the federal court held that emails constituted an enforceable settlement, even without a formal settlement agreement and even though one of the parties expected a “standard” release to be part of the settlement. On March 13, 2017,… Read more

Sep 27, 2017

Service by Mail Under the Hague Service Convention

By Marcia M. Ernst[1] The United States Supreme Court recently ruled in Water Splash, Inc. v. Menon[2] that Article 10(a) of the Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters[3] (“Hague Service Convention”) does not prohibit service of process by mail. The Hague Service Convention is an international treaty signed by 72 countries, including the U.S.[4] It establishes a uniform mechanism for serving judicial documents on parties in other member countries and streamlines the service process so the documents reach recipients in a timely manner.[5] The Water Splash decision resolved a long-standing split… Read more

Aug 29, 2017

How Long Will a Civil Appeal in the Eleventh Circuit Typically Take?

Judge Grants Motion Striking Inequitable Conduct Defense

There are 13 federal appellate courts called the U.S. Courts of Appeal that sit below the U.S. Supreme Court. These courts hear appeals from 94 federal trial courts, which are called the U.S. District Courts. According to statistics from the Administrative Office of the United States Courts published in its Judicial Business 2016 report for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016, total filings in all the U.S. Courts of Appeals climbed 15% in the last fiscal year to 60,357. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals was established by Congress in 1981 and has jurisdiction over federal cases originating in… Read more

Jul 31, 2017

Commercial Litigation Versus Other Civil Litigation, and Emerging Commercial Litigation Trends

Introducing the Smith, Gambrell & Russell’s Litigation Blog The litigation attorneys of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP are proud to announce the launch of the firm’s Litigation Blog, which covers trending news and hot topics in the area of commercial litigation. The firm’s litigators have handled commercial disputes and trials for decades, and we are excited to share our experience, insight and thought leadership on a wide range of timely litigation issues that impact businesses. To kick things off, the first post on the Litigation Blog offers an overview of commercial litigation versus other types of civil litigation, and emerging commercial… Read more