From Milton Tragedy to Statewide Impact: Supreme Court Weighs Municipal Liability

Joshua Chang was home from college in Milton, Georgia, when his car crashed into a concrete planter on the shoulder of Batesville Road. 

His parents sued the City of Milton for wrongful death and won.

The Fulton County State Court found the city liable for negligence and nuisance and awarded the family more than $32 million in damages. After the Georgia Court of Appeals sided with the trial court, the Georgia Supreme Court decided to get involved.

The Georgia Supreme Court heard arguments in October regarding the case, and the court’s decision could impact cities across Georgia.

The Georgia Supreme Court cited three issues that it was particularly concerned with: the ministerial duty of a city, whether the placement of a planter is a defect, and whether municipal immunity can be waived in these circumstances.

Georgia cities have “sovereign immunity,” meaning they are shielded against civil liability with some exceptions. One of those exceptions is failure to perform its “ministerial duty,” which is following normal laws and procedures. Immunity is also waived if the city has insurance to cover the injury. 

According to Capital Beat, the City of Milton’s insurance only covers $2 million in damages.

During the hearing in October, an attorney for the city, Harold Melton, argued that the city cannot be found negligent in its duties just because a car lost control and hit a planter.

“It is perfectly permissible to place features, items on a shoulder, that must be circumnavigated,” Melton said.

Naveen Ramachandrappa, a lawyer for the parents, argues that the planter was in a dangerous position and the City of Milton had a responsibility to remove the planter.

“For more than a hundred years, the well-established rule in this state is that a municipal corporation is bound to keep its streets and sidewalks in a reasonably safe condition,” Ramachandrappa said. 

Back in January, the Georgia Municipal Association filed an amicus brief asking the Georgia Supreme Court to review and reverse lower court decisions that they say could impose “significant burdens” on cities across Georgia.

“If upheld, municipalities across Georgia could be forced to remove or relocate countless objects from public rights-of-way, from planters and benches to traffic control boxes and monuments, even if they’ve never been deemed hazardous,” a press release from GMA said.

The Georgia Supreme Court is expected to make a decision by the end of March.