CCED is pleased to announce that Donna N. Crawford has joined the firm in an Of Counsel position where she will continue to focus on estate and trust planning, corporate, business, and commercial real estate transactions. Donna has over twenty-five years experience advising business clients and their owners on corporate transactional matters, including formation, management, and the sale or succession to new ownership. Donna serves as outside general counsel for clients by handling all corporate legal matters and advising on a broad spectrum of business-related contracts. In addition to her corporate practice, Donna has extensive experience in all aspects of estate planning, including gift, estate, and generation-skipping tax planning. Donna received her B.A. summa cum laude from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. She attended the University of Georgia School of Law and graduated Cum Laude. While attending the University of Georgia, Donna received the Welborn Cody Scholarship and was a member of the Georgia Law Review. After law school, Donna spent several years at a large, multi-national law firm, originally headquartered in Atlanta, and then attended the University of Alabama School of Law and earned her LL.M. in Taxation, graduating Summa Cum Laude. Commenting on Donna’s addition to the team, CCED’s Managing Partner Rob Carlson said, “the firm is excited to have such an experienced, dedicated, and thoughtful attorney join our firm. We are fortunate that Donna has decided to carry forward her core transactional practice areas in the representation of our clients. We welcome her aboard.”

Attorneys Harmon Caldwell and Jeremy Moeser defended the firm’s client in a lawsuit brought by a plaintiff in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. In response to the allegations, the client asserted a counterclaim for abuse of process (using the legal process for an improper purpose). Ultimately, Mr. Caldwell and Mr. Moeser tried the case for nearly two weeks. The jury returned a verdict within an hour finding in favor of the firm’s client on both the plaintiff’s claim (the plaintiff’s claim was dismissed) and the client’s counterclaim. The jury awarded approximately $1.5 million, which included over $600,000 in punitive damages. The firm is not aware of a jury ever awarding a verdict of that size for an abuse of process claim in North Carolina.

CCED litigators Rob Carlson, Chris Wilkerson, and Lauren Miller obtained a rulingfrom the Georgia Court of Appeals affirming their nearly $7 million jury verdict onbehalf of their client, a minority shareholder in an Atlanta waste managementcompany, for breach of fiduciary duty. On appeal, the defendant argued that the trialcourt erred in refusing to exclude the testimony of CCED’s valuation expert. Writingfor the Court of Appeals, Judge John Pipkin rendered a lengthy but unpublishedopinion rejecting the defendant’s arguments and affirming the jury verdict in favor ofCCED’s client. Kitchens v. Foye, Georgia Court of Appeals, Case No. A23A0088. Link to Opinion

CCED is pleased to welcome Steve Hardy to the firm as Of Counsel to practice in the areas of shareholder and partnership litigation, contract disputes, commercial litigation, controversies involving intellectual property rights, estate and trust litigation, breach of fiduciary duty claims, and appellate advocacy. Steve received his B.A. magna cum laude in economics with minors in mathematics and philosophy from Brigham Young University in 1987 before attending the University of California Berkley Law School where he was an Associate Editor of the California Law Review. Steve brings with him a wealth of experience having worked at several large firms and as a sole practitioner over the course of his 30-year career as a litigator. CCED is proud to bring Steve onboard as its newest member of the team.

CCED is proud to announce Peter Rivner as our firm’s newest equity partner.  Peter has been a valuable member of the firm since 2013 and over the years consistently proven his strong work ethic, legal skills, teamwork, and dedication to the firm’s success.  Peter’s hard work and effective advocacy has helped grow the firm’s presence and solidify our reputation with clients and the legal community.  “Peter’s devotion to the firm and outstanding representation of our clients has been a tremendous asset to the firm” said managing partner, Rob Carlson.  “I am honored to have Peter advance to his new position as an equity partner and the integral role he will play in the firm’s family law and fiduciary litigation practice.”     Congratulations to Peter Rivner on a very well-deserved promotion! 

After a week-long trial in Fulton County Superior Court, CCED litigators Rob Carlson, Chris Wilkerson and Lauren Miller achieved a $7 million jury verdict on behalf of their client, a minority shareholder in an Atlanta waste management company, for breach of fiduciary duty.  The verdict rendered against the company’s majority shareholder ended a five-year battle that began as a Shareholder Inspection Demand proceeding brought in Gwinnett County Superior Court and ultimately led to the filing of the breach of fiduciary duty claims in Fulton County. The notable jury verdict awarded $5 million in punitive damages and over $1.9 million in compensatory damages, including more than $683,000 in attorney’s fees, marking the firm’s first in-person jury trial since the start of the pandemic with an extraordinary victory for CCED’s client. Link to Article

Rob Carlson and Lauren Miller obtained a ruling from the Georgia Court of Appeals affirming summary judgment in favor of their clients in a will contest filed by the testator’s two sons in May 2017. The Probate Court of DeKalb County granted summary judgment in favor of Rob and Lauren’s clients—two of the testator’s friends who received significant bequests under her will—that the evidence was insufficient to sustain an objection to the Will on grounds of undue influence, monomania, and lack of testamentary capacity.  Writing for the Court of Appeals, Chief Judge Brian M. Rickman rendered a detailed but unpublished opinion affirming the ruling obtained by Rob and Lauren in the trial court, with a special concurrence by Judge Christopher McFadden on the issue of monomania.  In re Estate of Valerie Adams Fleming, Georgia Court of Appeals, Case No. A21A1563.

Rob Carlson and Lauren Miller obtained a ruling denying summary judgment in the long-running case of Savoy v. Bowen et al. in the Superior Court of Coweta County, Georgia. On behalf of their client, Rob and Lauren filed suit in 2016 against their client’s sisters for breach of fiduciary duty, an accounting, compensatory and punitive damages, and attorney’s fees, along with various claims for equitable relief. In 2017, the trial court granted default judgment to Rob and Lauren’s client, a ruling affirmed by the Georgia Court of Appeals. Bowen v. Savoy, Case No. A18A1001. That ruling was later reversed by the Georgia Supreme Court on certiorari, which overturned the previously established precedent governing the standards for setting aside of default relied on by the trial court and Court of Appeals in their rulings. Bowen v. Savoy, 308 Ga. 204 (2020). Following the Supreme Court’s reversal, Rob and Lauren obtained the denial of the Defendants’ motion for summary judgment, which preserved all of their claims for adjudication by the jury.

On behalf of a high-profile client, Harry MacDougald and Christine Buckler obtained dismissal of a defamation case under Georgia’s Anti-SLAPP statute in the Superior Court of Fulton County. The case is presently on appeal. If the dismissal is upheld, the firm’s client will be entitled to an award of its attorney’s fees in defense of the claims brought against it. 

We are pleased to announce that five of the firm’s attorneys have been included in the 2022 Super Lawyers list for Georgia, and three have been recognized as 2022 Rising Stars.  Only 5 percent of lawyers in the State are named as Super Lawyers, and 2.5 percent are honored as Rising Stars (i.e., attorneys under 40 years old and/or have practiced less than 10 years).  Our 2022 Georgia Super Lawyers are:  Robert S. Carlson- Estate and Trust LitigationDonald B. DeLoach- Estate Planning and ProbateChristopher H. Elliott- Family LawJeremy M. Moeser- Estate and Trust LitigationCullen C. Wilkerson- Estate and Trust Litigation Our 2022 Georgia Rising Stars are: Christine Dial Buckler- Estate and Trust LitigationLauren J. Miller- Estate and Trust LitigationPeter Rivner- Family Law