Georgia Court of Appeals Affirms Judgement in Favor of GRSMB Client

Overview

Last year, GRSMB recently attained judgment in favor of a client and insurance company, in the amount of all litigation fees and expenses paid by the insurance company in the defense of their insured. The Georgia Court of Appeals now has affirmed that decision in favor of our client and their insurance company.

Case Summary

GRSMB lawyers represented a private learning institution and after filing the answer made a Rule 68 offer of settlement to the Plaintiff who then rejected the offer. After we prevailed for the client on summary judgment, we filed a motion to recoup the fees and expenses paid by the insurer for the defense, and the trial judge granted the motion, with the appellate court thereafter affirming the judgment.

This is the first reported Georgia appellate decision to discuss the good faith/bad faith determination that must be made by the trial judge on a defense Rule 68 motion to recoup litigation fees and expenses. Perhaps more importantly, this is the first appellate decision to affirm a Rule 68 judgment for the defense where the litigation costs were significantly more than the settlement offer made.