East Point joins amicus brief in Chang v. City of Milton before Georgia Supreme Court

East Point — The City Council on July 21 approved a resolution authorizing the city to participate in an amicus brief supporting the City of Milton in an appeal now before the Georgia Supreme Court in the case styled Milton v. Chang.

The question centers on municipal immunity and local government liability for obstacles in rights-of-way; proponents said the underlying award in the case could create outsized financial exposure for municipalities.

"We should participate because the amount of money that the person was awarded could possibly put cities into bankruptcy," Councilman Butler said during debate. Butler described the case as involving a person injured or killed after encountering an obstacle in a right-of-way and said municipalities have an interest in limiting open-ended liability.

Councilwoman Martin Rogers said East Point had previously voted to support Milton and that the action on July 21 continued that support. A city attorney explained that an amicus brief would signal agreement with arguments advanced by Milton and be filed in advance of the court's deadline; council members said the brief had to be filed before the next regular council meeting.

Council voted to authorize participation in the amicus brief; the meeting transcript records the chair declaring the motion passed but does not include a roll-call tally in the audio record. No expense estimate for filing the brief or outside counsel was discussed on the record, and the transcript does not show whether East Point will contribute financially to the brief or simply join in support.