FOURTH DIVISION DILLARD, P. J., MERCIER and PINSON, JJ. NOTICE: Motions for reconsideration must be physically received in our clerk’s office within ten days of the date of decision to be deemed timely filed. https://www.gaappeals.us/rules March 2, 2022 In the Court of Appeals of Georgia A21A1601. THE COTTO LAW GROUP, LLC v. BENEVIDEZ. PINSON, Judge. An employee abruptly resigned from her position as an associate at a law firm and blocked its access to her firm email account, the firm’s fax line, and client files kept in an online Dropbox account. The firm sued her, and the trial court entered a default judgment in its favor after the employee failed to file a timely answer. But the trial court declined to award any damages after a bench trial on that issue, finding that the firm had failed to carry its burden to prove any damages. The firm appealed, contending that the trial court erred by (1) applying the wrong legal standard to its claims for actual damages and declining to award even nominal damages; (2) failing to recognize that the default judgment “conclusively established” the employee’s liability for punitive damages and attorney fees; and (3) denying the firm’s right to present closing argument at trial. We affirm the trial court’s judgment except with respect to the attorney fees. The trial court applied the correct legal standard and did not clearly err in finding that the firm failed to establish its actual damages with reasonable certainty. The court also did not err in failing to award nominal or punitive damages. And the court did not commit reversible error by forgoing closing argument. But because the entry of a default judgment required the trial court to award the firm its reasonable attorney fees, the judgment must be reversed to the extent the court failed to make such an award, and the case must be remanded for a determination of the proper amount of the fee award. Background The relevant facts, which are either undisputed or deemed admitted by virtue of the default judgment, see OCGA § 9-11-55 (a),1 are as follows. The Cotto Law Group is a Duluth law firm specializing in immigration and personal injury law. In 2017, Vanessa Benevidez was hired as an associate attorney to handle the firm’s 1 Under this Code section, an entry of default judgment generally has the effect of deeming “every item and paragraph of the complaint” to be “supported by proper evidence.” See Division 2 below. 2 personal injury matters. While at Cotto, Benevidez established an account for the firm with Dropbox, an online file-sharing network, to maintain client files. She also arranged for the installation of a fax line for communicating with insurers in these personal injury matters. In January 2019, Benevidez and Mayra Lazano, a paralegal who worked closely with Benevidez, resigned from their employment with the firm by emailing the firm’s principal, Isaac Cotto, notifying him of their immediate resignation.2 On Benevidez’s departure, the firm no longer had access to its …
Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals