If you believe that the trial court made a substantial error in a ruling on your case, the appeals process offers a chance to seek reversal. The appellate process is intricate and requires an attorney with specialized knowledge and a passion for appellate brief writing.

Julie Liberman represents clients on appeal of all types of civil cases in Georgia, with emphasis on real estate matters. She is a tireless advocate for her appellate clients, committed to superior legal reasoning, creative or novel argumentation, and impeccable brief writing.

Georgia Appeals Process

An appeal to the Georgia Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court of Georgia will not afford an opportunity to raise evidence, facts or testimony that was not previously raised or introduced at the trial court level. Nor is it the venue for complaining about any perceived oversight by trial counsel. An appeal will not be valid only because you think the verdict was unfair. Instead, the Georgia appellant must only raise legal errors made by the trial court judge.

Appellate attorney Julie Liberman will help you identify such errors that have merit to pursue and will provide an honest assessment whether the case is eligible for appeal.

Our Civil Appeals Services

  • Analysis of the merits of an appeal to the Georgia Court of Appeals
    • This is the first step in any appellate matter. Julie will discuss the background of your case, the trial court ruling that you seek to appeal, and the potential claims of error by the trial court you seek to have reversed.
    • If your opponent has filed the notice of appeal and you seek affirmance, the process is much the same. The briefing work Julie performs will not, however, simply rehash or restate the arguments briefed previously, but will provide a fresh take on the issues, whether through citing new case law or reframing the logical flow of the arguments.
    • We will also discuss important procedural and practical matters such as timely filing a notice of appeal, the legal sufficiency of the notice, procuring the transcript of the lower court proceeding, sending the record to the appellate court, appellate court costs, and the flat fee for briefing.
  • Briefing at the Georgia Court of Appeals
  • Oral argument
  • Early preventive strategies, such as consultation with trial counsel during trial preparation in anticipation of an appeal, and after trial, to evaluate the merits of an appeal
  • Direct appeals – appeals from final judgments
  • Discretionary appeals – appeals which require an application made to the appellate court
  • Certificates of immediate review and application for interlocutory appeal

A Few Cases Julie Liberman Has Won On Appeal

Simms v. Stewart, 369 Ga. App. 373, 893 S.E.2d 780 (2023). In this case concerning a dispute over a residential property deeded as a gift to our client, we were hired to appeal a verdict granting the property to the opponent. Julie prevailed on the appeal, arguing that the trial was fundamentally unfair as the jury was not advised that the grant of the property fell under gift law; the Court of Appeals agreed and granted the client a new trial.

Houston v. James, 358 Ga. App. 510, 855 S.E.2d 714 (2021). This matter involved a challenge to a grant of summary judgment on a claim of title by adverse possession. Julie successfully obtained a reversal of summary judgment. The court’s opinion clarifies that to prevail on adverse possession, the claimant must enter upon the land claiming in good faith the right to do so and cannot have reason to believe another has valid title; to enter upon the land without any honest claim of right to do so is but a trespass.

City Heights Condo. Association, Inc. v. Bombara, et al., 337 Ga. App. 679; 788 S.E.2d 563 (2016). Atlanta condominium unit owners filed suit against a condominium association in connection with mold damage in their unit. The association charged the unit owners with the association’s litigation fees and expenses, as an assessment under the “common expense” provision of the declaration of covenants. That provision stated, in essence, that any common expenses caused by the conduct of a unit owner could be charged to the unit owner. Yet using this provision to charge litigation defense costs was unprecedented. Julie prevailed in arguing on behalf of the unit owners that the association was not entitled to use that provision to charge its litigation expenses to the unit owners.

Marino v. Clary Lakes Homeowners Ass’n, Inc., 322 Ga. App. 839 (2013); Atlanta area homeowners were sued by their homeowners association concerning a restrictive covenant prohibiting them from using their garage for storage. Julie successfully argued on appeal that, because the association did not achieve 2/3 of the vote of the community when adopting the restriction, it could not enforce the restriction against homeowners who did not vote for the restriction or consent to it in writing.

Marino v. Clary Lakes Homeowners Ass’n, Inc., 331 Ga. App. 204, 770 SE2d 289 (2015). Upon a second appeal of the Marino case, Julie prevailed in a dispute over attorney fees owed to the homeowners.

Ellington v. Gallery Condominium Ass’n, Inc., 313 Ga. App. 424 (2011). Julie Liberman successfully represented a condominium association in a suit to recover unpaid condominium assessments, including utility charges. Upon the condominium owner’s appeal, she attained affirmance of the trial court’s order on behalf of the association, establishing precedent that utilities are part of a condominium’s assessments.

Schedule a Consultation with Appellate Attorney Julie Liberman Today

Contact Julie A. Liberman, LLC for more information about legal representation in a Georgia civil appeal. Based in the Atlanta area, Julie is an experienced attorney handling cases throughout metropolitan Atlanta and the State of Georgia.