The National Trial Lawyers
  • Home
    • Meet Our Team
    • Contact Us
    • Mission & Goals
    • FAQ
  • Webinars
  • News
  • Membership Directory
    • Top 100 Map – Civil Plaintiff
    • Top 100 Map – Criminal Defense
    • Top 40 Under 40 Map – Civil Plaintiff
    • Top 40 Under 40 Map – Criminal Defense
  • Top 100
    • Civil Plaintiff Officers / Executive Committee
    • Criminal Defense Officers / Executive Committee
    • Benefits
    • About
    • Top 100 President’s Message
    • Diplomat
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Top 100 Badge
    • Media
  • Top 40
    • Civil Plaintiff Officers / Executive Committee
    • Criminal Defense Officers / Executive Committee
    • Top 40 Under 40 Trial Academy Bootcamp
    • Benefits
    • About
    • Top 40 President’s Message
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Top 40 Badge
    • Media
  • Specialty Assoc
    • About
    • Shop
    • Officers
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Media
  • Nominate
    • Top 100
    • Top 40
    • Specialty Association
    • Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame
    • Trial Lawyer of the Year
    • Trial Team of the Year
    • America’s Most Influential Trial Lawyer
    • America’s Most Influential Law Firm
    • Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Shop
  • Magazine
    • A-List
  • Education and Networking Agenda
    • Trial Lawyers Summit
      • Summit Sponsors
    • Top 40 Under 40 Trial Academy Boot Camp
    • Mass Torts Made Perfect
    • The Lanier Master Class 5.0 Trial Academy 2021
    • Webinars
  • Hall of Fame
    • Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame

Mississippi Law Firm Wins Right to Run Ads Targeting Nursing Home

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Eleanor Smith

imgres-13

The Georgia Supreme Court has vacated an injunction that restrained a Mississippi law firm from advertising about deficiencies at a Stephens County, Georgia, nursing home in an attempt to solicit clients.

The court ruled that the trial court erred in halitng the advertising by McHugh Fuller Law Group of Hattiesburg. PruittHealth had filed a complaint for injunctive relief under the Georgia Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act (UDTPA) and petitioned for a temporary restraining order after McHugh Fuller ran a full-page advertisement in a Northeast Georgia local newspaper, the Toccoa Record.

Deficiencies in care

The firm’s ad, published on April 17, 2014, discussed that Heritage Healthcare, owned by PruittHealth, had been cited by the government for “deficiencies” in the care of residents, simultaneously inviting those suspecting abuse or neglect of a loved one at the facility to call McHugh Fuller. PruittHealth argued the government citation referenced in the firm’s advertisement related to an outdated 2012 survey report, and that a more recent report had found the deficiencies had been resolved. Agreeing, the trial court entered a temporary restraining order against McHugh Fuller the same day the PruittHealth complaint was filed.

McHugh Fuller counter-argued by presenting testimony from an Emory University law school ethics professor, who testified the ad was neither false nor deceptive. Despite the evidence presented by the firm, the trial court concluded the ad was deceptive and therefore violative of the UDTPA.

When McHugh Fuller appealed, the firm specifically requested that the clerk “omit nothing from the record, while PruittHealth asked the court only to include the items submitted through the injunction date, excluding the verified answer, motions and supporting exhibits the firm had filed with the trial court after that date.

The trial court determined the record should include only the materials before the court at the time of the final order, which was issued on the same day as the complaint was filed. Disagreeing, Justice Carol Hunstein, writing for the Georgia Supreme Court, said:

“Here, while McHugh Fuller clearly had notice of the interlocutory hearing, it had no notice that the trial court intended at that hearing to consider the merits of permanent injunctive relief. Our Appellate Practice Act requires the appellant to specify in the notice of appeal ‘those portions of the record to be omitted from the record on appeal.’ Thus, it is the appellant that is charged with the duty to designate the appellate record. Once such designation has been made, the appellee is permitted to designate for inclusion any materials the appellant has requested be omitted.”

Aside from the advertisement controversy, McHugh Fuller, which also has a location in Charleston, West Virginia, was surrounded by a heated public contention in 2011, when ABC News reported that partner Michael Fuller purchased a Learjet from Segal Law Firm of Charleston. The Segal Firm, which received more than $1 million for the business aircraft, is owned by West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Robin Davis’ husband, Scott Segal. Interestingly, one of McHugh Fuller’s 2014 clients received a $40 million jury verdict, which was upheld by Davis, who wrote the majority opinion.

The Georgia Supreme Court opinion can be found here. The case is McHugh Fuller Law Group, PLLC v. PruittHealth-Toccoa, LLC.

Posted in Blog, Business Law, Marketing

Comments are closed.

News Categories

Subscribe to Blog and VFJ via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog, the Voice for Justice and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Read about other Top Jury Verdicts

Pharmaceutical Giant Johnson & Johnson is Preparing $3.9B for Talc Settlements

Pharmaceutical Giant Johnson & Johnson is Preparing $3.9B for Talc Settlements

Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson has set aside $3.9 billion for talc-related litigation, according to a regulatory [Read More...]
Alaska Airlines Will Pay $3.19M Following the Death of a Passenger

Alaska Airlines Will Pay $3.19M Following the Death of a Passenger

Seattle-based Alaska Airlines has been ordered to pay more than $3 million to the family of a passenger of reduced mobility w[Read More...]
No thumbnail available

Keith Givens on the Trial Lawyers Summit and Lanier Trial Academy

https://vimeo.com/515910581 Michelle Swanner, Executive Director of The National Trial Lawyers, interviews Keith Givens[Read More...]
A $220M Settlement Reached in National Milk Producers' Herd Retirement Program

A $220M Settlement Reached in National Milk Producers' Herd Retirement Program

ST. LOUIS, Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A $220 million settlement has been reached in a class-action law[Read More...]
Mountaire Farms Proposes a $65M Settlement for Contaminating the Millsboro-Area Groundwater and Air

Mountaire Farms Proposes a $65M Settlement for Contaminating the Millsboro-Area Groundwater and Air

It’s a lawsuit that’s been years in the making, but the class-action suit against Mountaire Farms may be approach[Read More...]

#LegalNews

@@TheNTLtop100

Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

Attorney information and content provided on this website is provided for the benefit of members of The National Trial Lawyers and as a public service by Legal Associations Management, Inc. The website and all data are the property of Legal Associations Management, Inc. Data, including without limitation attorney information and content, on the site may not be mined, sold, or used commercially for any purpose without the explicit written consent of Legal Associations Management, Inc. This site may not be accessed by any automated program for extracting data for any use. By accessing and using the site you agree that you will not develop, support or use software, devices, scripts, robots, or any other means or processes (including crawlers, browser plug-ins and add-ons, or any other technology) to scrape data or otherwise copy profiles and other data. Unauthorized use or attempted unauthorized use of this system may subject you to both civil and criminal penalties.