Finality of Judgments; Appellate Review

Question 1

Relief from Judgment: Collateral Attack

Answer 1

a. A judgment void on its face may be attacked in any court by any person.

Question 2

Relief from Judgment: Direct Attack

Answer 2

a. Motion for a New Trial
(1) Authority
(a) Comes from state constitution and statutory enactments pursuant to that constitutional provision.

(2) Grounds
(a) Weight of the evidence.
Example: Verdict of the jury is contrary to evidence and the principles of justice and equity.
(b) Procedural error.
Example: Illegal admission or withholding of evidence or error in jury charges.
(c) New trials can be granted if there is new evidence discovered within the time period for motion for new trial.

(3) Procedure
(a) Motion must be made within 30 days after entry of
judgment.

Question 3

Relief from Judgment: Motion to set aside judgment

Answer 3

(1) A motion to set aside a judgment may be based only upon:
(a) Lack of jurisdiction over the person or the subject matter;
(b) Fraud, accident, or mistake, or the acts of the
adverse party, unmixed with the negligence or fault of the movant; or
(c) A non-amendable defect that appears on the face of the record or pleadings.
1) Failure to state a claim is insufficient; the pleadings must affirmatively show that no claim exists.

(2) Can be asserted within 3 years.

(3) Unlike the Federal Rule, the Georgia rule does not include the following bases for setting aside a judgment:
(a) Newly discovered evidence; or
(b) Any other reason that justifies relief.

Question 4

Appellate Review

Answer 4

1. What is appealable?
   a. Final judgments.
   b. Interlocutory orders.
   c. Discretionary appeals.

Question 5

Preclusion law: Res Judicata

Answer 5

a. Definition: defense in a second action that says that this same claim between these same parties has already
been adjudicated and there has been a final judgment so the court will not hear it again.

b. The same rules set out in the Federal Civil Procedure outline apply in Georgia, with certain exceptions.

c. Motor Vehicle Cases
(1) A plaintiff may suffer both property damage and personal injury.
(a) Normal analysis: both the damage and the injury are part of the same claim for res judicata purposes and if one claim is brought and won and then the second is
brought, the defendant could claim res judicata.
(b) In Georgia:
The settlement of one of these two claims will not bar or otherwise affect the prosecution of the other claim. Thus, res judicata is essentially inapplicable to cases arising from motor vehicle accidents in which personal injury claims and property damage claims are brought separately.

Question 6

Preclusion Law: Collateral Estoppel

Answer 6

a. Mutual Collateral Estoppel
(1) Precludes the re-adjudication of an issue that has previously been litigated and adjudicated on the merits in another action between the same parties or their privies.
(2) Non-mutual collateral estoppel does not exist in
Georgia.
(a) The Supreme Court of Georgia has held that collateral estoppel requires identity of parties or their privies.