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The Stoddard Firm Blog

A Manufacturer May Be Liable for the Boat Explosion on Lake Lanier

During a Mother’s Day trip to Lake Lanier, the Coleman family’s boat exploded and went up in flames. Their dog was killed, and teenage brother and sister Gunner and Taylor had to be airlifted to Grady Memorial Hospital, along with one adult bystander. Parents Steve and Annie and youngest brother Ryder were also on the boat and injured in the blast, Annie severely enough to require hospital care as well. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources says that the explosion occurred at the gas...

Another Possible Gas Explosion in a Georgia Home Has Killed Two People

A couple in their 70’s living in Union County near Blairsville were killed in early May when their home exploded. They have since been identified as Peggy Wood and Ralph Norris Wood Jr. Mourning neighbors, some of them left with damage to their own homes as well, describe the Woods’ house as completely leveled. Because of the extent of the damage, the investigation into the cause of the explosion may take weeks, but officials say they are checking into the home’s gas tank. Unintentional ga...

Victims of Underage Pornography on Reddit May Now Be Able to Sue the Site and Win

An anonymous young woman has recently filed a potentially ground-breaking lawsuit against the self-proclaimed “front page of the internet,” Reddit. In her claim, she states that her ex-boyfriend has repeatedly posted images and videos of her engaged in sexual acts, taken when she was 16 and without her knowledge or consent, on various subreddits that allegedly encourage such content. She says she repeatedly reported the content to Reddit, which often took several days to respond, allowed the ...

Sex Trafficking Sting at Fayette County Hotels Ends in 21 Arrests, but Many May Be Victims

Over the course of two nights at the end of last month, undercover police officers responded to prostitution advertisements and set up meetings at two hotels in Fayette County, one in Peachtree City and one in Fayetteville, as part of a coordinated human trafficking sting. Of the 21 women and men arrested in the sting, however, only four are suspected of pimping. Of the rest, 16 are being held only on prostitution and drug possession charges, and one on charges of prostitution and identity...

New Legislation Could Make It Easier for Georgia Sex Trafficking Survivors to Win Compensation in Civil Court

Two important bills in Georgia’s fight against sex trafficking passed the State Senate on March 8th, the General Assembly’s crossover day. These bills will now advance to the House for further debate, and could well become law in the near future. The first, Senate Bill 33, explicitly protects sex trafficking survivors’ right to sue their traffickers for monetary compensation, plus legal costs. Under Bill 33, survivors would have until 10 years after the trafficking incident in question, or...

The FAA Is Searching for the Cause of the Fatal Gainesville Cessna Crash

A single-engine airplane carrying three adults crashed in Gainesville this February. There were no survivors. The FAA is currently investigating the cause and details of the crash, and has so far confirmed that the three bodies found in the wreckage match the three people expected to be on board. The plane had recently taken off from nearby Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport and was on its way to Daytona Beach, Florida. In addition to the deaths of the pilot and passengers, the crash displaced a ...

Owner May Be Liable for Fire that Killed Five in a DeKalb County Home

Early in January, a home caught fire in DeKalb County with five people inside. By the time emergency response crews arrived, the fire had progressed too far to allow a rescue. The remains of the victims, 27-year-old Quaniece Gregory and her four small children, were later found in their bedrooms. The family dog was reportedly also killed in the fire. A sixth resident —Gregory’s husband, Thomas Reese — was in Maryland for work at the time of the fire. In addition to the devastating loss of his...

Surviving Family of Frederick Rooks Can Sue Ricky “Silento” Hawk for His Shooting

The rapper known as Silento, given name Ricky Hawk, has been arrested and charged with the murder of his cousin, Frederick Rooks. Rooks was found early the morning of January 21st lying on the pavement of Deep Shoals Circle in DeKalb County, dead from multiple gunshot wounds to the face and leg. Neighbors heard the shots at around 3:30am, and security cameras captured portions of the incident. Neither Rooks nor Hawk lived on Deep Shoals Circle, but residents of a nearby home were familiar ...

Underage Trafficking Victims in Coweta County Have Strong Grounds to Pursue Human Trafficking Lawsuits

Over the past year or so, Coweta County has become a significant focus in Georgia’s fight against sex trafficking. By searching social media for prostitution ads and working closely with organizations like the Human Exploitation Investigations Group and Homeland Security’s Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Group, local law enforcement has been able to set up several stings at Coweta County hotels. In November of 2019, officers made 15 arrests, two of them for pimping, one for pander...

Man Shot at Gas Station Could Have a Case Against BP

A BP customer was hospitalized with several broken bones and a collapsed lung after an altercation outside a DeKalb County gas station on January 5th, near the corner of South Hairston Rd and Redan Rd. As the survivor describes the attack, he was approached by a young man who offered to sell him marijuana. After he declined, the man signaled to several others with gang signs, and more arrived in a black SUV. One of the men grabbed the survivor and slammed his head repeatedly against the wa...