ATLANTA – November 6, 2020 – Hall Booth Smith, P.C. (HBS) has named six new partners as the firm elevates leaders and recognizes their outstanding service to clients. Joining the firm's partnership ranks are Abe Varner, J. Felicia LeRay, and Paul Trainor in Atlanta; Hank Pittman and J.D. Dean in Tifton; and Spencer Craig Gill in Charleston. Abe Varner's practice focuses on the defense of large hospital systems and healthcare

Written by: Phillip E. Friduss, Esq. This past Monday, in a per curiam decision (Justice Barrett not participating; Justice Alito concurring to suggest cert should not have been granted, but otherwise concurring with the judgment; and, Justice Thomas, dissenting without written opinion) the Supreme Court reversed and remanded a Fifth Circuit conditions of confinement qualified immunity grant of summary judgment. Taylor v. Rijas,.  Docket No. 19-1261. Short on analysis,

Written by: Phillip E. Friduss, Esq. Last week, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Lange v. California, Docket No. 20-18, where the issue has been coined in two different, but similar ways: Whether the pursuit of a person whom a police officer has probable cause to believe has committed a misdemeanor categorically qualifies as an exigent circumstance sufficient to allow the officer to enter a home without a warrant;

Written by: Jacquelyn S. Clarke, Esq. and Michael V. Profit, Esq. “Plain, palpable, and undisputed”: that phrase’s appearance in both briefs to the court supporting or opposing, or court orders on, motions for summary judgment underscores the challenge faced by the moving party. Without a settled factual basis, supported by law, summary judgment cannot be granted. Premises liability cases by their very nature are challenging on summary judgment because

Written by: Phillip E. Friduss, Esq. Excellent WSJ article below on qualified immunity by Jess Bravin and Brent Kendall. Well-rounded, and evenhanded. Hard to find that out there. Do note the quotation in the final sentence re de facto non-liability for police entities – it is not necessarily true. As a statement of law, it is absolutely not true. As a statement of reality, at least the quote has a

Written by: Phillip E. Friduss, Esq. Thus is the title of Adam Liptak’s New York Times coverage of the Ohio inmate transfer case, Williams v Wilson case we reported on last week. The piece begins: “The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused a request from the Trump administration to block a trial judge’s ruling that had ordered federal prison officials to take steps to protect more than 800 older or medically

Written by: Phillip E. Friduss, Esq. Ready, set, stop. Of the 13 qualified immunity cases discussed at last Friday's Conference, the Supreme Court continued 10 of them, and this morning denied cert to the other 3. We all want to read Reuters May 8th offering, For Cops Who Kill, Special Supreme Court Protection, a sharp-edged report on qualified immunity with updated statistics. The statistics belie the notion that qualified immunity

Written by: Phillip E. Friduss, Esq. The United States Supreme Court has given the State of Texas until Friday to respond to inmate suit over current jail health conditions, specifically with respect to handling of COVID-19 issues.  The case is in large part on behalf of the older prisoners.  The District Court granted inmates relief, but the 5th Circuit reversed, citing the all-too familiar concept that corrections health officials’

Written by: Phillip E. Friduss, Esq. Our Supreme Court Justices are about to sit down to an unprecedented feast of qualified immunity.  That feast will be served during its May 15 conference, where the Court will consider thirteen different qualified immunity cert petitions, several of which that have been specifically rescheduled to that date.  We will have a much better feel on May 18, when the Justices are likely

Written by: Phillip E. Friduss, Esq. This column originally appeared in the June 2017 issue of the Georgia's Cities newspaper. After suffering from brain freeze and writer’s block just days before my deadline, and on the verge of writing some mundane offering on the differences between ministerial and discretionary acts—Boom! Just when I think I’ve heard it all, something new just crash lands into my inbox; a case about a