06/17/2026
On behalf of our clients, Lee Blasingame and his two children, we are grateful for the diligent work of our unanimous Supreme Court in issuing a thorough and comprehensive opinion affirming the jury’s verdict and affirming Superior Court Judge Nancy Bills’s handling of this trial.
It’s important to emphasize that the Supreme Court did not issue a pro-plaintiff or a pro-defendant opinion—or take one party’s side over another.
Instead, the Supreme Court enforced everyone’s constitutional right to trial by jury—a right which is enjoyed by plaintiffs and defendants. And the Supreme Court respected the separation of powers and interpreted the General Assembly’s intent based on the plain text—not some imagined public policy.
We are blessed in Georgia to have a fair and impartial judiciary that decides cases—not based on politics, not based on personal preferences—but based on neutral and even-handed principles of law.
Finally, the Supreme Court also decided a number of important non-constitutional issues, including how to apply new Georgia Code Section 9-15-16. There too, the Supreme Court showed the proper deference and respect to the discretion of trial judges and the jury.
Plaintiff’s Team:
-Chance, Forlines, Carter, King (trial)
o Stephen Chance
o Lindsay Forlines
o Xavier Carter
o Andrew King
- Bondurant, Mixson & Elmore (appeal)
o Michael Terry
o Naveen Ramachandrappa
