Sen. David Perdue sued by Georgia Tech for Cell Phone Flap
Summary Review
A lawsuit was filed against Sen. David Perdue of Georgia after he was video recorded grabbing a student’s phone (Sullivan, 2018) . The victim , in this case, Nathan Alan Knauf who happens to be in Georgia Tech. However, a fellow student in the same institution is the one that filed the case. Knauf is demanding a jury trial, attorneys’ fees, and damages compensation from Perdue. The incident happened as Perdue was campaigning for Brian Kemp in Georgia Tech’s campus. Brian Kemp is the Republican’s nominee for governor and also the secretary of state for Georgia. The documents obtained from the court reveal that Senator Perdue committed battery without issuing any warning by seizing Knauf’s phone. The video of the actual happenings went viral across all social media platforms immediately it was posted on 13th October.
Analysis of Legal Concepts
In this case, the plaintiff is the Georgia Tech student that is filing the lawsuit against the senator whereas Perdue is the defendant. What makes this a civil case is that no matter how this case ends, none of the parties will be sent to jail. To add to this, there are now bonds of bail monies for civil cases. This is why all Knauf can demand is compensation and a jury hearing. The court’s work, in this case, is to determine whether the plaintiff’s allegations are valid and whether he actually deserves to get what he is asking for in return as compensation for the actions of the senator. The court also has the power to drop this case. Also, for civil cases, the plaintiff is not entitled to free representation. This is why the plaintiff in this situation is asking for compensation for attorney fees.
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Former Law Partner to be Paid $4.8 Million by Michael Avenatti
Summary Review
On the 21 st of October 2018, Avenatti was hit with a $4.85 million judgment. Newport Beach, who happens to be Avenatti law partner, had earlier sued him for failing to pay a debt he owed them (Sidner, 2018) . This order from the judge was triggered by a previously agreed settlement whose terms dictated that Avenatti was to pay $4.85 million to the firm in two installments. In the event that any one of the two payments was to be missed, Avenatti would be tasked with paying $10 million to the firm. Avenatti LLP found itself in the mess it was supposed to avoid. Having missed the first payment, the firm got itself in default hence putting the company’s boss in a financial fix.
Analysis of Legal Concepts
In this case, Avenatti was found guilty of having not honored his debt. However, he was not detained or jailed. This is just but among the key concepts of civil based cases. The central idea of civil cases, that totally differentiates them from criminal cases, is the fact that the guilty party is required to pay a fee. There are no detention-related consequences that come with being found guilty. For the plaintiff, he is supposed to pay a filing fee prior to the listening of the case. If this is not possible, then the plaintiff can be allowed to proceed in forma pauperis. Secondly, if the court finds the defendant guilty, he is liable to deal with the consequences dictated by the court. If not, the consequences are bound to be harsher.
References
Sidner, S. (2018, October 23). Michael Avenatti is ordered to pay $4.8 million to former law partner . Retrieved October 23, 2018, from CNN: https://edition.cnn.com/2018/10/22/politics/avenatti-court-order/index.html
Sullivan, K. (2018, October 23). Georgia Tech student sues Sen. David Perdue after cell phone flap . Retrieved October 23, 2018, from CNN: https://edition.cnn.com/2018/10/22/politics/georgia-tech-student-lawsuit-cell-phone-senator-perdue/index.html
