Georgia Injury Lawyer Blog

Good Georgia Lawyer loves representing working class Georgia families who have been ripped off, mistreated, deceived, defrauded, and wronged probably more then anything else we do.

Just this week, a Georgia family was able to obtain compensation for their injuries against a very large, national corporation whose employees had committed fraud, negligence, and unfair and deceptive practices against their family causing them personal injury and property loss.

Said the mother of this Georgia family:

"Words couldn't even express the gratitude I have for Julie Oinonen. She worked hard on my case and truly cared for me and my family. All her hard work paid off. The first lawyer I had spoken with (before I hired Julie) told me I was looking at a winning of maybe four grand max. But the law firm of Williams Oinonen LLC was able to obtain my family well over six figures. They are lawyers you can trust and get the job done quickly and effectively!"

Good Georgia Lawyer prides itself on not being a big settlement mill that sells our clients down the river by settling cases for pennies on the dollar. We are very selective with the cases we choose, work hard to maximize our clients' award, and aggressively prepare every single case for trial. There is no better feeling then successfully obtaining justice for our clients.

Yesterday, the Department of Justice and four states filed a multibillion-dollar fraud suit against EMC, the Education Management Corporation, known as the nation's second-largest for-profit college company. The states joining in the suit are California, Florida, Illinois and Indiana. The suit filed that EMC was not eligible for the $11 billion in state and federal financial aid it obtained from the United States government from 2003 through 2011.

The CEO of EMC was previously the head of the University of Phoenix, which has settled suits in the past related to very similar behavior.

While the civil lawsuit is one of many charging the ever growing for profit college industry, the case is the first where the U.S. government agreed to intervene on the whistle-blowers' claims that they consistently violated federal law by paying recruiters based on how many students it enrolled. The lawsuit alleged that each year, the for profit company falsely certified that it complied with the law, making it eligible to receive student financial aid.

The complaint alleged that EMC had a "boiler-room style sales culture" where admissions recruiters were told to use high-pressure sales tactics and exaggerated claims about career placement to increase student enrollment, regardless of a prospective students' qualifications. Recruiters were urged to enroll even those who were unable to write coherent English, who appeared to be on drugs or who applied to an online program but had no computer.

Under Georgia law, § 13-5-5, fraud makes a contract voidable and thus a student could sue for rescind the contract, to put herself back in the position she was prior to the contract. In this particular case, the "whistleblowers" are likely not students who have been hurt but former employees who may know of inside information on the company's fraudulent activity. This type of case is called a "False Claims," "Whistleblower," or "Qui Tam" lawsuit. It is based on a federal law (31 U.S.C. §§ 3729-3733) that imposes liability on persons or corporations who defraud the government.

The law includes a "qui tam" provision that allows people to "blow the whistle". Persons filing under the Act stand to receive a portion (usually about 15-25 percent) of any recovered damages. The government has recovered nearly billions of dollars as a result of these actions.

Good Georgia Lawyer has represented former students who have been exploited and mistreated by for profit colleges. For more information on whistleblower lawsuits, read our former article which explains whistleblower law further. If you have a potential whistleblower case, please contact Williams Oinonen LLC for more information.

Good Georgia Lawyer is sometimes asked by our business owners: "Can I sue for both fraud and breach of contract?" The answer is: "Yes you can!"

We have discussed this issue in a previous article, but we'll offer further reasoning: It has been well established for decades in Georgia law that the Plaintiff can plead alternative theories of both breach of contract and fraud and is entitled to pursue inconsistent remedies until judgment. See Estate of Sam Farkas, Inc. v. Clark, 238 Ga. App. 115, 517 S.E. 2d 826 (1999) (referring to both causes of action); Carpenter v. Curtis, 196 Ga. App. 234, 236, 395 S. E. 2d 653 (1990) physical precedent) ("Affirmance of the contract by the defrauded party does not necessarily deprive him of the right to sue for damages for fraud, as the right to affirm and the right to fraud damages coexist.")

Under O.C.G.A. § 13-5-5, fraud renders contracts voidable at the election of the injured party. Fraud ordinarily gives injured party option either to rescind contract so induced, or, by affirming contract, to claim damages as compensation. Barfield v. Farkas, 40 Ga. App. 559, 150 S.E. 600 (1929); Nalley & Co. v. Moore, 51 Ga. App. 718, 181 S.E. 429 (1935); Brown v. Ragsdale Motor Co., 65 Ga. App. 727, 16 S.E.2d 176 (1941).

What are the essential elements to show fraud? To prove fraud and deceit, you have to show: (1) that defendant made representations; (2) that at time defendant knew were false (or had what law regards as equivalent of knowledge); (3) that defendant made the representations with intention and purpose of deceiving plaintiff; (4) that plaintiff relied upon such representations; and (5) that plaintiff sustained alleged loss and damage as proximate result of the representations having been made. McBurney v. Woodward, 84 Ga. App. 807, 67 S.E.2d 398 (1951).

For more information on resolving a business contract or dispute, contact Williams Oinonen LLC.

How do I get out of a contract? This is never an easy question. Many times we are asked: can I get out of (rescind) my contract? So today we would like to briefly discuss contract rescission is Georgia.

In Georgia, contract rescission has been held to be the complete abrogation (abolishment or cancellation) of a contract. The circumstances which allow parties to rescind a contract, generally, involve three (3) situations:

1. Both parties agree to rescind the contract, known as "mutual assent";

2. The contract is rescinded because of fraud; or

3. A party (you) may be allowed to rescind a contract because the opposite party failed to perform in accordance with the contract terms.

If you are able to rescind your contract, it will be rescinded "at law" or "in equity." Rescission "at law" applies to situations involving fraud, while rescission "in equity" involves the power of a court of equity to "undo" a contract.

We are often confronted with situations where a person wants to undo a contract because of fraud. If your claim is that someone fraudulently induced you to enter a contract, you have the option to either affirm the contract or sue in breach of contract. What is important for you to know is that in these types of cases Georgia courts require the defrauded party, you, to act with "promptness." That means:

1. When you discover that you have been defrauded, you must act promptly to "restore or offer to restore to the other party (the party that you allege defrauded you] whatever he has received by virtue of the contract if it is of any value"; and

2. Upon discovery of the facts--that you have been a victim of fraud--at once announce your purpose to rescind the contract, and adhere to it.

Again, once you discover that you have been defrauded and take the position that you do not want to adhere to the contract, you should not waiver from that position. If you do waiver, and your action is interpreted as "affirming" the contract, despite the fact that you are claiming fraud, you will significantly impair your ability to rescind the contract at a later point. Once you lose or waive your right to rescind a contract, you most likely will not be able to revive that right.

In addition, if you do not act promptly upon discovering the alleged fraudulent conduct, but instead proceed with fulfilling certain obligations of the contract, or act in a manner inconsistent with your previous repudiation of the contract, a Georgia court may find that complaining about fraud during litigation is: too late.

There are more issues involved in contract rescission, especially those involving claims of fraud. And the issues are complex. You need a good lawyer who understands the law and its nuances and how to apply that law to the facts of your case, in order to maximize your position both at trial and the negotiating table.

We recommend that you contact a good lawyer, immediately, once you realize or think you have been defrauded with respect to a contract.

Continue reading "Contract Law And Disputes In Georgia: How to Get Out of A Contract" »