We are thrilled to share a remarkable achievement in land use law with our esteemed client, Halpern Enterprises, Inc. In 2023, Hecht Walker Jordan, P.C. had the honor of representing Halpern in securing Vested Rights recognized by a Metro Atlanta County Commission, marking a significant milestone for both parties.

Initially faced with the challenge of navigating a moratorium imposed by Henry County on Halpern’s mixed-use development, which comprised commercial buildings and residential townhomes, our client sought our expertise to pursue an exception to this restriction. Led by our seasoned land use attorneys, Greg Hecht and Jon Jordan, the team at Hecht Walker Jordan embarked on a mission to advocate for Halpern’s entitlement to Vested Rights.

Collaborating closely with Halpern Enterprises, Inc., we highlighted the reliance placed on rezoning approvals and the extensive agreements entered into with third parties for property construction and development. Through persuasive arguments and meticulous preparation, we successfully demonstrated to the county commission that Halpern qualified for an exception to the moratorium, specifically through the Vested Rights provision.

The granting of the Vested Rights exception by the Henry County Commission was a testament to the effectiveness of our collaborative efforts and the strength of our case. With this pivotal decision, Halpern Enterprises, Inc. was empowered to proceed with its development and construction plans, ensuring continuity and progress for the project.

Principal Greg Hecht expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to work alongside Halpern’s team, emphasizing the importance of a unified approach in achieving success. “It was a great team effort with your client,” he remarked. “We were honored to be a team member with Halpern Enterprises, glad to work with a great County Commission to successfully protect the rights of the applicant through a vested rights exclusion to the moratorium on behalf of our client.”

This accomplishment stands as a highlight among our 2023 successes in land use and real estate litigation. Hecht Walker Jordan remains committed to delivering exceptional legal representation and achieving favorable outcomes for our clients, and we look forward to continued collaboration and success in the future.

#HechtWalkerJordan #LandUseLaw #RealEstateLitigation #VestedRights #SuccessStory #Teamwork #LegalExcellence

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In the 2024 edition, Hecht Walker Jordan, P.C. has received notable recognition, achieving Metro Atlanta Tier 1 status in Real Estate Litigation and Tier 3 in Personal Injury Litigation-Plaintiffs. This recognition underscores the firm’s commitment to providing top-tier legal services in multiple practice areas.

Best Lawyers in America employs a rigorous peer review process to determine its rankings, making this accolade a true testament to the firm’s professional capabilities. The acknowledgement of Hecht Walker Jordan, P.C. in both Real Estate Litigation and Personal Injury Litigation-Plaintiffs is a clear indication of the firm’s unique combination of quality law practice and extensive legal expertise.

More information about the methodology is available here.

Land Use/Zoning Litigators, like our firm, are having to implement new tactics in zoning litigation due to stalled legislation to override recent decisions by the Georgia Supreme Court extending State and local sovereign immunity to actions for injunctive relief and declaratory judgments. A primary rational for the doctrine of sovereign immunity is to protect taxpayer dollars.  However, the recent Georgia Supreme Court decisions held that sovereign immunity goes further to also prohibit non-monetary lawsuits in Georgia courts against State and county governments, or their department or agencies by citizens simply seeking judicial review of unconstitutional governmental action. The result is that property owners have extraordinarily limited review rights and property utilization rights.

In addition, it leaves individual local government officials such as County Commissioners, Mayors and City Councilpersons as the required subject of lawsuits in their individual capacities. In Ga. Dept. of Natural Resources v. Center for Sustainable Coast, 294 Ga. 593 (2014), the Georgia Supreme Court held that sovereign immunity barred lawsuits against the State, and its departments and agencies, including County governments, seeking injunctive relief against unconstitutional actions.  Two years later, the Georgia Supreme Court held that sovereign immunity even prohibited Georgia courts from deciding the constitutionality of State laws through a declaratory judgment action filed by an aggrieved citizen.  Olvera v. Univ. System of Ga. Bd. of Regents, 298 Ga. 425 (2016).  The harsh expanse of governmental sovereign immunity has left citizens wishing to protect their constitutional rights against State and local government action with virtually no other meaningful option but to file suit against lawmakers and public officials in their individual capacities.  For example, rather than file suit against a County entity to declare a county ordinance unconstitutional, such suit must now be brought against each commissioner in his/her individual capacity.

In both Sustainable Coast and Olvera, the Georgia Supreme Court explained that,

“Our decision today does not mean that citizens aggrieved by the unlawful conduct of public officers are without recourse.  It means only that they must seek relief against such officers in their individual capacities.” Olvera, 298, Ga. 425, 427 (2016).

Movement in the General Assembly to remedy this effect by drafting legislation to waive sovereign immunity for suits seeking only prospective non-monetary relief (i.e. declaratory judgments, injunctions) stalled in the 2017 session.  Such a waiver would permit an aggrieved citizen to seek judicial review of State and local governmental actions by seeking injunctions or declaratory relief against the governmental body itself or government officials in their official as opposed to individual capacities.  The most recent bill (HB 791) however was amended to protect only State governmental officials, leaving county officials exposed to continued civil lawsuits in their individual capacities, and even this bill failed to make it to a floor vote.

The Association of County Commissioners of Georgia and the Georgia Municipal Association need to work with the Georgia Legislature as well as builders, developers and commercial property owners to solve this problem.  Otherwise, property owners, developers, and builders seeking declaratory or injunctive relief from local land use and zoning ordinances and decisions will have no choice but to sue local government officials individually as a part of their litigation.  The present state of the law requires such tactics, which are unfortunate and could be solved with legislation allowing for meaningful judicial review of State and local government decisions and ordinances by waiving sovereign immunity for suits seeking non-monetary prospective relief.

The ability of courts to issue declaratory and/or injunctive relief against State and local government actions is particularly essential to protecting against unreasonable land use and zoning decisions.   For example, we had a potential client who wanted to build a senior living center which was desperately needed, and the County Commission admitted it was desperately needed, and otherwise consistent with the surrounding land uses.  The Conditional Use Permit required for operating the senior living center was denied simply because the district Commissioner wanted the center built in another Commissioner’s district and not in his own backyard.  Meaningful judicial review is also important to protect against overreaching land use and zoning ordinances which are becoming more and more restrictive and confiscatory, taking away owners’ property rights and stifling development in the community as a whole.  We have had many clients engage our services in need of gaining relief from overreaching overlay zoning ordinances imposing development standards that prevented otherwise permitted uses by making building and development on the properties too expensive and unfeasible.  Previously, Georgia courts could consider the constitutionality of abusive land use and zoning decisions and ordinances through Declaratory Judgment actions against the County or local entity itself.  Now, as a result of the recent case law interpretations of Georgia Sovereign Immunity protection, such declaratory judgment actions must be brought against local officials in their individual capacities.

Property owners, local officials and State legislators need to work together to resolve these problems to protect individual property owners’ rights without turning constitutional review of zoning decisions into much more personal individualized lawsuits.  The Georgia Municipal Association (“GMA”) and the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia (“ACCG”) could also play a critical role in promoting and accomplishing a positive and piece of legislation protecting both land owners and local officials alike.  Until then, our firm will have no choice but to seek relief for our clients from unconstitutional land use and zoning actions through lawsuits against the public officials individually instead of against the entity they serve.  Should you have a legal matter that relates to land use, zoning, variances, permitting or takings, we would be glad to look at these matters for you and examine your potential options.

For over 22 years, Children’s Rights, Inc. a non-profit national organization, has helped to protect hundreds of thousands of children in foster care or state supervision from abuse and neglect across the country. The organization has helped these children received medical and mental healthcare and decreased DFCS and Child Welfare Attorney caseloads in order to guarantee these children receive real oversight and protection. More information about the Children’s Rights Event may be found: https://childrensrights.org/atlanta

Hecht Walker, PC invites you to attend the luncheon on November 16, 2018, at the Cherokee Town Club. Tickets and donations for the event may be purchased here: https://www.eventbee.com/v/9176538542/event?eid=187860342#/tickets.

Additionally, Greg and Cheri Hecht along with Hecht Walker PC will match all contributions for this event, up to $10,000. Thank you! Please come out to support this worthy cause.

Date:

Friday, November 16, 2018

Time:

Reception 11:30am – NOON
Luncheon  NOON – 1:30 PM

Location:

Cherokee Town Club
155 West Paces Ferry Road NW
Atlanta, GA 30305

Ways to Register:

1. Purchase Tickets Online
2. Request and complete the RSVP Form from apezzulli@childrensrights.org

About Children’s Rights:

Protecting Kids. Providing Hope. Every day, children are harmed by America’s broken child welfare, juvenile justice, education, and healthcare systems. Through relentless strategic advocacy and legal action, we hold governments accountable for keeping kids safe and healthy. Children’s Rights has made a lasting impact, protecting hundreds of thousands of vulnerable children and – with your support – we are poised to help millions more.

Is that Business Opportunity too Good to Be True?

Many business opportunities can seem like the road to easy money, but reality doesn’t always match up to appearances. Whether it is a large business venture related to a skyscraper or new technology or a smaller deal related to flipping houses or other real estate projects. These types of opportunities may seem fairly easy with good profit margins and lots of potential, but it’s never that easy. These projects can often be a temperamental business, fluctuating with real estate markets, builder costs and underlying market pressures. This is why it is important to do a lot of research before diving into any business endeavor.

Sometimes opportunities will come with the research already built in. This happens when an acquaintance or expert approaches you with an opportunity and has all the data you need to know about it. This kind of opportunity can be troublesome because you don’t know where these facts are coming from. The person presenting this research to you could be paid to feed you misleading or false information. Always check to see if the information you are being given is on the level.

Another way schemers try to rope people into bad business opportunities is through conferences. This can be tricky because these conferences can often be genuine. However, charismatic presenters armed with success stories and testimonials can sometimes make appearances that lead people astray. Beware of promises of easy money, beware of promises of a “sure thing”, and try not to be swept up by the excitement. A room full of people enthusiastic about making a lot of money can easily affect anyone.

Being aware of the tactics, allure and excitement employed by schemers can help you avoid bad business investments. If you believe you have a claim against a dishonest partner, a person committing fraud, or think you are being taken advantage of in your business dealings, don’t be afraid to reach out Hecht Walker PC to pursue a remedy.

Helping Children’s Rights Expand Across the South

At the end of May, around 25 attorneys from the Hall Booth Smith gathered for a breakfast meeting. At that meeting they were shown a presentation by Children’s Rights senior staff attorney Christina Remlin, and our very own Greg Hecht.

This presentation outlined the efforts of Children’s Rights to make life better for children living in foster care. This cause is close to Hecht’s heart, considering he and his wife adopted twin girls almost ten years ago. Their daughters had gone through seven foster placements before finding their forever family. Now, Greg works to help child welfare in whatever way he can.

This has led Hecht to spearheading fundraising and awareness for Children’s Rights as the organization tries to expand beyond its New York origins. This led to Hecht connecting the organization with his friend John Hall—one of the partners at Hall Booth Smith.

After the presentation, the local defense firm not only made office space available to Children’s Rights, it also offered pro bono help. The Atlanta branch of the nonprofit will now call the headquarters for Hall Booth Smith its home.

This update was brought to you by the hard-working attorneys at Hecht Walker, P.C.—helping the business and the people of Georgia flourish.

How High Will My Fulton County Property Assessment Get?

Property assessments for 2018 are coming in, and many homeowners in Fulton County are in for a real shock. That’s because their property taxes are likely going up thanks to increased home values and a delay in tax increases.

Last year, county commissioners decided to freeze property taxes for Fulton County homes. This has caused a leap in assessment values as the system shifts from 2016 values to 2018 values. This has many homeowners seeing an average property value increase of around 26 percent. Such an increase in values has left many residents paying hundreds, even thousands, of dollars in extra taxes this year.

How Can You Fight These Increases?

Luckily, there are still options for people who find their property taxes suddenly shooting up. Georgia law says that homes must be appraised at their market value. This means that getting an independent appraisal and appealing your property assessment could help.

Learn even more about property tax issues by following the real estate attorneys at Hecht Walker, P.C. Helping individuals and businesses navigate the complex laws of Georgia.

Clayton County will pay the $1.5 million to about 345 current and former police and law enforcement officials for attending mandatory and unpaid roll calls. Greg Hecht reported that the roll calls would last about 15 minutes. Roll calls are important tasks for police officers, and they include look out alerts, training, information about crime trends, etc.  This settlement covers three years of roll calls, even though the practice dates back decades. Hecht explained that the settlement partially consisted lost wages as well as damages. The County Board of Commissioners Chairman Jeffrey E. Turner and the rest of the commission approved the settlement with no dispute, stating that they wanted to ensure all workers were paid equally and fairly.

Greg Hecht and our other attorneys at Hecht Walker, P.C. have represented several clients in employment disputes, including unpaid wage issues. Contact us today if you would like more information on employment law or if your business is interested in filing an employment lawsuit.

What Are the Three Kinds of Dispute Resolution for Businesses?

• Mediation: This type of resolution involves a neutral third-party, also known as a mediator. The mediator will work with both parties to reach some sort of mutually agreeable solution to the problem. This option is great for businesses that want a cheaper and faster resolution. However, it’s important to know that mediation doesn’t create a binding agreement, and either party could back out of the agreement at any time.
• Arbitration: This type of dispute resolution is sometimes seen in business contracts as the preferred resolution. Arbitration involves each party presenting proof and data to a neutral third party, which in this case is called an arbitrator. The arbitrator will then study this evidence and decide on the correct resolution for both parties. Arbitration can be binding, which means there is no appeal permitted for either side. Whatever the arbitrator chooses is the final decision.
• Litigation: Litigation can be considered as the most lengthy and complicated dispute resolution process, but it does have advantages over mediation and arbitration. Litigation will allow either party to summon witnesses, gather legal evidence, and cross-examine the other party. This is a great option if the business wants to seek monetary damages and believes the dispute needs to be put to an immediate stop in order to prevent any further harm. This resolution option should only be picked if one or both parties is completely unwilling to negotiate. Litigation can be expensive and take weeks, months or even longer to resolve.

The attorneys at Hecht Walker, P.C. can handle any sort of business litigation or other business disputes in the Atlanta area. Contact us today for a free consultation.