Former Chief Justice Harold Melton predicted premises liability would be a hot topic in Georgia’s legal landscape in 2024. Now, he has a case adjacent to the issue, pending before the Georgia Court of Appeals in a dispute his client’s briefs argue is part of Macon-Bibb County’s “misdirected campaign to blame business owners for rising crime.”

Melton and a team of Troutman Pepper and Caplan Cobb attorneys represent a Section 8 housing community in central Georgia fighting a public nuisance complaint that “required Appellants to ‘immediately surrender complete control’ of the Property.” The townhome complex now argues this violated its rights to due process and that it could only be held liable for third-party criminal activities if it failed to take security measures to prevent them.

A headshot of David Cooke. David Cooke of Gautreaux Law (Photo: John Disney/ALM)