Georgia Affirms, Remands In High Profile Malpractice Case

The Georgia Supreme Court’s decision in the Alston & Bird malpractice litigation is linked here.   

The plaintiffs had sued the law firm after settling the case they had brought against their brother. Thus, the firm was a single defendant in the litigation

    We granted certiorari on the question of whether subsection (b) applies in single-defendant cases and also on the question of whether an expenses-of-litigation award under OCGA § 13-6-11 is subject to apportionment. Although we reverse the Court of Appeals on the latter question and hold that such expenses are not categorically excluded from apportionment, we conclude that the Court of Appeals was correct on the scope of application of the apportionment directed by subsection (b): it applies only in cases “brought against more than one person,” not in single-defendant lawsuits like this one. Thus, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings regarding the trial court’s apportionment of the expenses-of-litigation award.   

(Mike Frisch)