The Court of Appeals of Georgia has denied a defendant's application for interlocutory appeal in Baratian v. Strickland, Case No. A26I0187, leaving undisturbed a State Court of Gwinnett County ruling in favor of the plaintiff. The decision, announced by North Atlanta Injury Law PC, finalizes a service dispute that could have ended the case before any consideration of the merits. The matter was subsequently resolved on undisclosed terms.
The case stemmed from an August 2023 rear-end collision in Gwinnett County. The defendant was cited at the scene. Instead of contesting liability, his defense centered on whether he had been served quickly enough. He moved for summary judgment and then sought interlocutory review from the Court of Appeals.
Under Georgia law, when a defendant raises a service defense after the statute of limitation has expired, the plaintiff must demonstrate she exercised the "greatest possible diligence" in perfecting service. This demanding standard often defeats otherwise meritorious claims. Following a March 2026 hearing, the State Court of Gwinnett County rejected the motion, finding that "Plaintiff's evidence demonstrates that Plaintiff exercised the greatest possible diligence, such that service after expiration of the limitations period relates back to the timely filing of Plaintiff's complaint." The Court of Appeals denied the defendant's application on May 6, 2026.
The defense did not dispute that its client caused the impact; it focused on the calendar. "Their defense was focused on the calendar," said Travis J. Little, principal attorney at North Atlanta Injury Law. "Our answer to that was a record of exactly what we did, every business day, until service was perfected — and the court found it sufficient."
Service was complicated because the defendant had recently moved into a subdivided residence near an out-of-state university, where he had been living just weeks when suit was filed. Asked directly for his address so he could be served, he provided a street number without the unit designation, and certified mail came back with a postal notice indicating no authorized recipient was available. The firm ran two authorized methods of service concurrently — statutory service through the Georgia Secretary of State under the Nonresident Motorist Act, and personal service through the sheriff's office in the county where the defendant was living — and documented work on service every business day from the date of filing until service was confirmed.
This ruling matters because it underscores the critical importance of thorough documentation in service disputes. A single gap in the record could have allowed the defendant to escape liability despite being at fault. The appellate court's denial leaves intact a precedent that rewards diligent plaintiffs and their counsel. For personal injury practitioners, the case serves as a reminder that procedural precision can be as decisive as the facts of a collision.
North Atlanta Injury Law PC is a personal injury firm based in Milton, Georgia, representing individuals and families in automobile and trucking collisions, premises liability, product liability, nursing home negligence, and wrongful death matters throughout the state.
