Family Law

• Divorce
• Child Support
  Garnishment may also be used to collect money that is due in a divorce proceeding for either alimony or child support. Occasionally, the Department of Human Resources Child Support Recovery Department will assist in the collection of child support. Garnishment is an effective remedy in collecting money owed under divorce related matters as 50% of an individual’s disposable earnings is subject to garnishment in divorce actions (compare this to 25% of disposable earnings in all other collection matters). It is important to closely scrutinize the affidavit which is served with a filing of continuing garnishment in an divorce of child support action. The divorce decree should be attached to the garnishment or sufficiently referenced in the affidavit in support of garnishment so that it easily allows the garnishee to determine whether a divorce action is involved. The calculation of disposable earnings will be the same as is described above. Once garnishment of wages for child support or alimony is commenced, it does not terminated after 179 days. It is the garnishee’s responsibility to answer the garnishment at intervals of no more than 45 days until the support or alimony is completely paid.
• Child Custody and Visitation
  In Georgia, a psychological or mental injury is compensable so long as it is precipitated by a physical injury. However, employer/insurer's often have to defend against claims for mental injury which stem from relatively minor physical injuries. It is important to determine whether stressors other than the work accident have influenced or caused the mental injury. While it is inadvisable to ask the claimant whether he is experiencing difficulty at home, with friends or relatives, in the investigation of a claim, the interviewer should ask general questions about the claimant's family, hobbies, recreational activities, etc. It may be particularly effective to obtain open court documents regarding pending divorce, separation, child custody or criminal actions to which the claimant may be a party. Also, when interviewing witnesses and co-workers following an accident, it is important to discuss any difficulties that the claimant may be experiencing which may have been the subject of lunch or break conversations in order to develop a separate basis for claimed mental injuries.
• Spousal Support
  This hand out is designed to provide a quick-reference when responding to garnishment process served by judgment creditors seeking to collect money owed to them by employees. Georgia law provides that a judgment creditor is entitled to withhold up to 25% of the debtor’s disposable earnings or 50% of an individual’s disposable earnings if the underlying award is for alimony or child support. The most frequent type of garnishment used by creditors will be a summons of continuing garnishment. This will be discussed in detail below. In an nutshell, a continuing garnishment requires the employer, as garnishee, to withhold money from the employee’s disposable income and to submit an answer, paying the amounts withheld to the court every 45 days.

Criminal Law

• Criminal Defense
  Steven A. Westby graduated from Vanderbilt University (1976) before graduating from the Emory University School of Law (1980). He was a partner in the criminal defense firm of Fierer & Westby before joining the law firm of Neely & Player in 1986. In 1995, Mr. Westby became a founding partner at Hamilton, Westby, Antonowich & Anderson. His practice areas included workers’ compensation, insurance defense litigation and criminal defense.
• Theft

Employment Law

• Workers Compensation
  In a decision that will affect all Employers and Insurers throughout the State, the Georgia Supreme Court overturned decades of precedent and pumped new life into the willful misconduct defense to workers' compensation claims.
• Employment Litigation
  We are particularly proud of our representation of business owners, employers, insurers and third party administrators throughout the Southeast. From contract review to employment issues, to workers' compensation defense and commercial litigation matters, we provide "silk-stocking" service at a small firm cost. Our list of clients has increased substantially and continues to increase as a result of recommendations and referrals by our current clients.

Property Law

• Real Estate Litigation
  Our lawyers are experienced in providing litigation services and expert advice for civil claims involving areas of practice that are not specifically outlined in our other practice area descriptions. Examples include eminent domain, land use, boundary disputes, collection disputes, violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, contract claims and private nuisance claims.
• Eminent Domain
• Land Use and Zoning
• Property Damage
  We provide insurers, corporations and individuals with reasonably priced defenses for civil liability claims in all State and Federal Courts throughout Georgia and Alabama. We recognize the dynamic nature of the general liability landscape. Changes in technology, legislation and judicial decisions are constantly affecting issues related to liability and damages. Our skilled litigators are able to identify cases and defenses that shield our clients from liability for bodily injury, property damage and personal injury. We are proud of our record of successfully defending liability claims based on application of the doctrine of contributory negligence, assumption of the risk, the sudden emergency doctrine, and identification of intervening causes. We are also skilled advocates whose medical expertise allows us to effectively reduce damage claims and assist in identifying malingerers. We do not believe that you will find better legal representation or value in regard to your general liability needs.

Health Law

• Personal Injury
  What follows is a practical guide to representing subrogation lien holders and tips regarding maximizing subrogation lien recovery as the personal injury case goes to trial.
• Medical Malpractice
  In order to save the cost of participating in a third-party claim (particularly time intensive litigation such as products liability or medical malpractice) it is often advisable, depending on the facts of the case, to enter into a reimbursement agreement with the plaintiff and forego participation in the third-party litigation. This has an obvious savings of attorneys’ fees and expenses. Such an agreement also serves to manage the risk associated with subrogation recovery (such as the full compensation doctrine).
• Auto Accidents

Finance Law

• Foreclosure
• Debt Collection