MILTON, Ga. — Milton officials say a wrongful death judgment of $32.5 million against the city sets a dangerous precedent for cities and towns across Georgia, and now they are appealing to the state Supreme Court to overturn the ruling.
It all stems from a November 2016 crash that killed 21-year-old Joshua Chang, a senior at Yale, who was driving home during his Thanksgiving break. His family’s attorneys say he swerved off the road, likely to avoid hitting an animal, and crashed into a concrete decorative planter along Batesville Road.
The planter, which has since been removed, was built decades ago — before Milton was incorporated — and stood a few feet off the side of the road. City officials say it had never before been involved in an accident.
The Chang family’s attorneys say Chang was driving under the road’s posted 45 mile-per-hour speed limit and would have had time to stop if the planter were removed. “It’s a death trap,” attorney Chris Simon told Channel 2 Action News last year after the verdict.
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In June 2023, a jury ruled in favor of the family and ordered Milton to pay $32.5 million in damages, saying the city was 93 percent at fault. Then, in September of this year, the state Court of Appeals upheld the judgment.
“Not only is it devastating to Milton, it’s devastating to all the cities in the state of Georgia,” said Milton Mayor Peyton Jamison. “If this ruling stands, taxpayers are going to be on the hook for this all across the state of Georgia.”
As the city appeals to the state Supreme Court, more than 40 cities and towns in Georgia have filed amicus briefs — or legal letters of support — urging the state’s high court to hear the case.
Adam Hollingsworth, president of Milton Families First, said the case gives cities the burdensome task of figuring out what fixed objects to remove from their rights of way.
“If this decision were to stand, every property owner and every city across the state of Georgia is at risk,” he said. “Every flagpole, every mailbox, every tree is suddenly declared a hazardous liability by the court.”
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Hollingsworth said the award underscores the need for the legislature to limit the amount of compensation in lawsuits. “Because if our civil justice system allows these kinds of multimillion dollar verdicts, property owners, small business owners, cities, taxpayers, we’re all going to be paying, and that’s not right,” he said.
Governor Brian Kemp has said he plans to make tort reform a priority in the 2025 legislative session.
“In this case, a personal injury lawyer wove an emotional narrative inconsistent with the facts,” Hollingsworth said. “Lawyers take home lots of money and the taxpayers of Milton lose.”
Channel 2 Action News reporter Bryan Mims called attorneys for the Chang family. Chris Simon, a member of the legal team, said attorneys would not comment until “the appeals process has run its course.”
Last year, Simon told Channel 2 Action News that the city should have inspectors in place to evaluate its 70 miles of roadway for other dangers. “I guarantee you that across this huge state, there are other situations like this where something got built, and it’s almost a danger hiding in plain sight,” he said at the time.
Milton City Manager Steve Krokoff, who attended the trial, called the judgment “shocking.”
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“The roadway is clearly the responsibility of the municipality,” he said. “What’s off the roadway is not.”
Mayor Jamison said this jury verdict could create severe hardships for municipalities. “If a judgment like this occurred to a small rural town, I don’t know how they would pay,” he said. “It’s absolutely devastating.”
As the city appeals to the state Supreme Court, the initial judgment is accruing interest at a rate of about $10,000 a day.
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