The City of Atlanta’s claims procedure resulted in a loss for some seeking reimbursement. Nonetheless, the city council voted in favor of over $4 million in bodily injury and personal property damage settlements this year.

The city council holds a full council meeting approximately twice a month. Their meeting minutes detail claims against the city, how the city council voted on each claim and the settlement amounts.

Quinton Washington, a civil litigation attorney and former judge, said that a successful settlement sometimes depends on adhering to procedures the city has established.

“If you don’t comply with the checklist, your claim can be denied,” Washington said. “And so, that means that the first thing you have to do is see how to file and appropriately file what’s called ante litem notice.”

Ante litem, which is a Latin term meaning before litigation, is the notice the City of Atlanta requires that a person or entity file before proceeding with a lawsuit.

Washington said that most large cities have sovereign immunity, and the ante litem process allows them to waive their immunity in some cases.

“Cities can’t necessarily be sued for or don’t have to be responsible for certain things because of the immunity that they have,” Washington said. “And so, to be able to get them to waive it, that’s where the whole ante litem process comes into place.”

In response to an open records request, the City of Atlanta Department of Law identified 169 ante litem notices in their possession in which settlements had received Atlanta City Council approval. These settlements were approved between Jan. 1, 2023, and Nov. 27, 2023.

Personal Experiences

City infrastructure allegedly caused damage to the vehicles of Georgia residents Ernest Duncan and Jerry Baker. They had different outcomes after filing claims.

Duncan said he filed a claim because his vehicle was damaged after running over…