When deciding which lawyers to hire, you should be concerned with one thing: How can this law firm help me solve my problem? What OBJ can offer you is explained here, and what you see below are the fruits of the services that we are uniquely qualified to offer. These are real results from real cases. Please understand, though, that every case is unique. We cannot guarantee you a particular result in your case. These results are offered for purely illustrative purposes only.
Automobile and Trucking Collisions
–$1,000,000 settlement arising out of automobile collision in a very conservative North Georgia venue. OBJ achieved this million-dollar settlement less than one year after filing the complaint on its client’s behalf. Shortly after OBJ was retained in this case, the at-fault driver’s insurer claimed that only $100,000 in insurance applied to the collision and offered that amount in settlement. OBJ discovered an additional $1,000,000 in coverage, and the lawsuit ultimately settled for that amount. (January 2011)
–Policy-limits settlement of personal injury claim against a d.u.i. driver. The total recovery in this case exceeded the client’s medical bills by almost ten times. OBJ obtained a settlement of the client’s claim within 4 months of being hired. (August 2010)
–Policy-limits settlement of bodily injury claim of senior citizen who was struck while walking across a parking lot in Commerce, Georgia. Before one-year anniversary of the wreck, OBJ obtained on the client’s behalf full payment from the at-fault driver’s insurer, as well as full payment from the client’s uninsured motorist policy. The client obtained 1oo% recovery from all available insurance policies. (November 2009)
–Policy-limits settlement ($249,000) of personal injury claim against a d.u.i. driver. (2009)
–$550,000 settlement of trucking collision in which OBJ’s client suffered a broken knee. The total recovery in this case exceeded the client’s medical bills and lost wages by 5.5 times. (March 2006).
–$120,000 settlement of disabled veteran’s personal injury claim arising out of Gwinnett County car accident. Prior to OBJ’s involvement, the insurer offered only $20,000 in settlement. (March 2010)
–$150,000 settlement of bicycle-automobile collision that occurred in Virginia. The case settled for four times the client’s medical bills and lost wages. (March 2009)
Commercial Litigation/Business Disputes
–$512,741.00 jury trial verdict. In November 2009, OBJ represented a local medical practice in a jury trial against the practice’s former office manager and her husband. The office manager had admitted to stealing more than $500,000 from the practice, but her husband had denied any involvement. Utilizing lottery records, gambling records, and complex statistical testimony regarding the husband’s lottery winnings, OBJ obtained a complete victory for its client. The Hall County jury found the office manager’s husband liable for the theft (along with his wife), returned a verdict of 100% of the amount sought by the practice, and set aside a fraudulent transfer of land from the husband to his son. A newspaper article about the case can be viewed here.
– Successful defense of $9,000,000 commercial loan lawsuit. A large national lender sued OBJ’s clients for a judgment of over $9 million on several commercial loans. After a thorough and detailed investigation, OBJ asserted a successful counterclaim that the lender breached the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing in making one of the loans at issue. The case was pending for over two years, with OBJ defeating the bank’s efforts to have the court dismiss the client’s defenses and give the bank a final judgment. With a jury trial on looming on the issue of whether the bank breached the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, OBJ’s clients were able to settle with the bank on very favorable terms after a long and difficult negotiation.
– Commercial loan workout, $9,000,000 loan. OBJ’s client was in default on a loan with a total debt amount of over $9 million. OBJ worked with a large national lender to develop a forbearance agreement that gave OBJ’s client months of time to restructure and find a workable solution. (December 2010)
– Commercial loan arbitration workout and suit for fraudulent transfers – $2,700,000 loan. An arbitration proceeding was brought by a regional lender against OBJ’s clients to enforce a real estate development debt of approximately $2.7 million. The loan was badly “underwater” due to depressed real estate values. The bank also sued one of OBJ’s client in state court alleging fraudulent transfers of property to avoid the same debt. OBJ was able to move the entire matter to a mediation, where an innovative settlement structure was utilized that released the clients from the debt for a payment that was a small fraction of the debt while retaining their rights in the collateral with an incentive to maximize the sales price of the collateral. (June 2011)
– Successful defense of $7,000,000 lawsuit alleging fraudulent transfers. A large regional lender sued OBJ’s client for over $7,000,000 on defaulted commercial loans. The lender also claimed that the client fraudulently transferred property in violation of the Uniform Fraudulent Transfers Act. OBJ vigorously defended the claims for nearly two years, gathering hundreds of pages of documents in discovery and deposing corporate representatives from the bank to test the bank’s claims. After a protracted defense, OBJ moved the matter to a mediation at which the client was able to settle the lender’s claims on very favorable terms.
– Commercial loan workout, total package in excess of $700,000. OBJ’s client was in default on indebtedness of over $700,000, with that debt being tied to the client’s home through an alleged “dragnet” provision. The client had substantial equity in the home, which was in danger of being lost through a “cross default” and foreclosure. OBJ was able to locate and leverage language in the loan documents to defeat the “dragnet” provision. The client was then allowed to refinance the house and avoid foreclosure. The remaining indebtedness, which was badly “underwater” due to depressed collateral value, was subsequently settled by a deed in lieu of foreclosure and a single cash payment that was a small fraction of the total debt. (June 2011)
–Business Divorce – Release of over $500,000 of corporate debt. In late 2010, one partner in a medical supply business retained OBJ to help him resolve a serious dispute with his partner. The dispute involved at least four corporate entities, including one international operation. Each partner accused the other of mismanagement, and negotiations were at a total stalemate when OBJ became involved. OBJ “hit the ground running” and quickly worked with the opposing attorney to steer the dispute away from litigation. OBJ framed the settlement discussion around a totally new concept that served the needs of all parties, and within five months (the majority of which was spent waiting on bank approvals) OBJ successfully extracted its client from the situation and, in the process, obtained the client’s release from over $500,000 in personal guarantees on corporate debt.
–Dismissal of Lawsuit on Corporate Debt. In December 2009, OBJ obtained summary judgment on behalf of its client, a former president of a construction company, against a company who had provided supplies to the company. The supplier alleged in the lawsuit that OBJ’s client had personally guaranteed the company’s debt, and during the lawsuit, the supplier produced a personal guaranty agreement signed by the client. OBJ contended, however, that the personal guaranty could not be enforced under Georgia law. The judge of the State Court of Jackson County agreed with OBJ’s argument and granted judgment in favor of OBJ’s client, completely denying the supplier’s request for payment.
– Commercial loan workout, $4,800,000 loan. OBJ’s client was “on the hook” for a loan with a balance due of over $4.8 million and that balance was growing quickly because of a draconian interest rate. The loan had been sold from one lender to another, and the lenders had competing claims in litigation. OBJ worked aggressively to sort through the claims of competing lenders. Once the proper lender was determined, OBJ negotiated a highly beneficial resolution package in which the client was released from liability for consideration of less than half the loan balance. (December 2010).
– Commercial loan workout, $2,000,000 loan. OBJ’s client was a guarantor on a loan for a commercial office building. A regional lender in an aggressive collection mode presented the client with a set of unattractive options – essentially to write a big check or be sued. OBJ was able to negotiate a “friendly foreclosure” coupled with a new note that will give the client relief from the loan in an amount of less then 10% of the outstanding note balance.
–Business Divorce – Seven Figure Benefit to Client. In Spring 2009, a 50% owner of a highly successful transport provider retained OBJ in connection with an ongoing dispute with his business partner. After careful research and analysis of the business’s governance structure, OBJ counseled its client that the business partner could be terminated as an employee, which termination saved the business thousands of dollars of week. When the partner then started a competing business and attempted to take the client’s customers, OBJ responded aggressively, preparing a lawsuit for damages and for an injunction under the Georgia Deceptive Trade Practices Act. OBJ eventually obtained a settlement of all disputes between the client and his business partner that resulted in an approximately seven-figure net benefit to the client.
– LLC Asset Purchase, $2,000,000. OBJ’s client was attempting to purchase a medical supply company owned by a competitor. The client had received documentation that was inconsistent with the terms the parties had reached. OBJ was able to bring the deal back to its original terms and do so in a manner that preserved favorable tax treatment and compliance with a complex thicket of federal regulations.
– Dismissal of lawsuit seeking recovery on $150,000 personal guaranty and defense of $100,000 guaranty. A large national lender sued OBJ’s client in an effort to enforce a personal guaranty signed years earlier. OBJ moved aggressively and determined that the guarantee violated the Equal Credit Opportunities Act. After that defense was asserted, the lender dismissed the claim. OBJ’s client was saved from a judgment of $ 150,000. The remaining claims on a separate personal guaranty of a $100,000 were subsequently settled for a fraction of the amount of the debt, and the lawsuit against OBJ’s client was dismissed. (November 2010).
– Dismissal of $2,000,000 claim for attorneys’ fees. In case involving a $12,000,000 loan in default, a large national lender filed suit against OBJ’s clients seeking recovery of approximately $2,000,000 in attorneys’ fees under the terms of the loan documents. OBJ dug deep into not only the loan documents the lender filed, but also into other documents regarding the same loan that the bank had not placed before the Court. Seizing on a limitation in the documents, OBJ obtained dismissal of the attorneys’ fees claim. (2010).
– $2.2 million medical office loan default. (Summer 2011) In a case involving a default on a commercial loan on a medical office building, OBJ’s client faced a total liability of approaching $2.8 million, including attorneys’ fees. While the lender could have sued OBJ’s client for the entire balance, OBJ was able to negotiate a friendly foreclosure of a depressed piece of collateral. As part of the package, the client was released from a deficiency of between $400,000 and $800,000 for a fractional payment, financed on favorable terms over a number of years.
Personal Torts
–Confidential settlement of invasion of privacy case in which OBJ’s clients were subjected to illegal video surveillance while at work. Before settlement, OBJ defeated multiple motions for summary judgment in which the defendants argued that the entire case should be dismissed. (March 2006)
–Confidential settlement in highly disputed slander case involving false allegations of a former employee’s misconduct. The defendants attempted to have the case dismissed before trial, but OBJ defeated their efforts. The defendants settled the case instead of facing a jury. (July 2007)
–Confidential settlement of a products liability case arising out of contaminated food. OBJ represented the deceased person’s widow and recovered from various entitles who played a part in the defective product’s distribution.
–Confidential settlement in nursing home abuse case. (June 2005)
–Confidential settlement in false arrest case. (January 2006)
Probate/Real Estate Litigation
–Will Contest. In See v. Mitchell, a will construction case, OBJ represented the Samoyed Club of America Research Foundation (SCARF). SCARF had been named as both a specific beneficiary and residuary beneficiary in a last will and testament. The decedent’s family members contended that SCARF was not entitled to a portion of the residuary estate, but OBJ successfully argued in the trial court that it SCARF was. A family member then appealed the trial court’s decision, and on July 14, 2010, the Supreme Court upheld in all respects the trial court’s decision, thus assuring that SCARF would receive not only the specific bequest but also a portion of the residuary. A copy of the Court’s opinion can be viewed here.
–Challenge to Petition for Year’s Support. The heir of an estate hired OBJ after the Probate Court of Stephens County erroneously entered an award of year’s support in favor of the decedent’s spouse that deprived the estate of a six-figure interest in real estate and other assets. OBJ appealed the lower court’s decision to the Georgia Court of Appeals, and that court reversed the decision below. OBJ then had its client named administrator of the estate and aided its client in her inventory of the estate’s assets. OBJ and its client discovered several “missing” assets, and after years of litigation, OBJ recovered many of those assets, which the administrator then distributed to the estate’s heirs. You can read the opinion that the Georgia Court of Appeals entered in this case here. (May 2010)
– Will Contest. Ms. Malinda Young served as her mother’s primary caregiver before the mother’s death in June 2007. In exchange for that care, the mother left her entire estate to Ms. Young. After the mother’s death, however, Ms.Young’s siblings challenged the will and filed a lawsuit to cancel a real estate deed that their mother had signed in their sister’s favor before the mother’s death. Ms. Young hired OBJ to defend that lawsuit, and OBJ obtained a complete victory on its client’s behalf. The probate court eventually dismissed the brothers’ lawsuit, and the Georgia Supreme Court subsequently affirmed the dismissal. (January 2009).