Specialties

• Mike Gorby literally wrote the book on Premises Liability in Georgia, Premises Liability in Georgia, Harrison Company, 1998. Since 1994, he has chaired the annual Premises Liability Seminar for the Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia. Mr. Gorby lectures frequently on legal topics, and is a sought-after mediator and arbitrator.


• Mike Gorby has been representing companies and individuals in high profile cases for more than 30 years. He has tried more than 100 cases around the country including cases that have received national media attention.


• Mike Gorby literally wrote the book on Premises Liability in Georgia, Premises Liability in Georgia, Harrison Company, 1998. Since 1994, he has chaired the annual Premises Liability Seminar for the Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia. Mr. Gorby lectures frequently on legal topics, and is a sought-after mediator and arbitrator.


• Mike Gorby represents both plaintiffs and defendants in complex commercial litigation, insurance coverage disputes, catastrophic personal injury and death cases, and employment litigation.

Education

• Mike Gorby received his B.A. from Georgia State University in 1971, and his law degree from the University of Georgia in 1974.

Work History

• Mike Gorby began his practice at a large, downtown Atlanta law firm. Some of Mr. Gorby’s clients have been with him for over two decades.


• Mr. Gorby’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation; interpretation of coverage under insurance policies; Premises Liability; professional negligence; wrongful death; catastrophic personal injury; employment discrimination; insurance law; toxic torts; environmental contamination litigation; products liability; litigation; and utility regulation.


• Mike Gorby has represented the Georgia Insolvency Pool for many years. The Pool is a statutorily created agency which functions under the direction of the State Insurance Commissioner. Mr. Gorby is often called upon to consult with this agency on a variety of business and coverage issues arising out of the insolvency or liquidation of national insurance companies.


• Mr. Gorby has published extensively. He literally wrote the book on Premises Liability in Georgia, Premises Liability in Georgia, Harrison Company, 1998. He has published numerous papers, and given many seminars. Since 1994, Mr. Gorby has chaired the annual Premises Liability Seminar for the Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, which is affiliated with the University of Georgia.


• Mr. Gorby is an arbitrator and mediator for the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Georgia.

Publications and Lectures

Thomson/West Publishing Company
Accessibility of Expert Testimony in Georgia

1994 to 2005
Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia Premises Liability Seminar Program Chairman

June 18, 2002
Insurance Law: Third-Party Coverage in Georgia

February 1999
Atlanta Bar Association
Premises Liability in Georgia

1998
Premises Liability in Georgia, Harrison Company

March 1998
Atlanta Bar Association seminar in Snow Mass, Colorado
Premises Liability in Georgia

July 25, 1995
National Business Institute, Inc. Seminar
Insurance Coverage Law in Georgia

March 11, 1994
Atlanta Bar Association seminar in Park City, Utah
Premises Liability in Georgia

Representative Cases Handled by Mike Gorby

Insurance Coverage
Mike Gorby served as lead trial counsel for a southern city that sued its insurance carrier to provide coverage for over $25-million in claims arising out of criminal sexual conduct by a police officer. The case was tried in federal court in Atlanta, Georgia, and the judge ruled that the insurance company was not only required to cover over $25-million in claims, but also the attorneys’ fees to litigate the case. The decision was upheld by the Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

On the other side of the coin, Mike Gorby was retained by an insurance carrier that denied coverage for environmental damages claimed to exceed $20-million. Mr. Gorby obtained summary judgment on behalf of the insurance carrier and the decision was upheld by the Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Premises Liability
Mike Gorby represented the target defendant in a nationally publicized case in which a gunman killed or wounded 18 people before turning the gun on himself. Mr. Gorby succeeded in obtaining a summary judgment on behalf of his client, a day-trading firm, which was upheld by the Georgia Supreme Court.

Mr. Gorby has also litigated Premises Liability cases on behalf of individuals. He and partner Mary Donne Peters obtained a jury verdict of $1.2 million in Ohio for injuries suffered by a truck driver at a steel company. Here in Georgia, Mr. Gorby and Ms. Peters obtained a $3.4 million jury verdict for a woman who was seriously injured in a dog attack, one of the largest verdicts of its type in the country. Finally, Mr. Gorby obtained a substantial confidential settlement on behalf of an attorney who was falsely arrested at a shopping mall.

Business/Consumer Fraud
Mike Gorby was selected by an international insurance and financial company to defend a mass action in Alabama which concerned allegations of business and consumer fraud. In all, Mr. Gorby served as lead counsel in 53 such cases. He tried one case to verdict in a plaintiff-oriented venue and subsequently convinced the trial court to reduce the award to ten percent of the verdict. All remaining cases settled shortly thereafter.

Utility Company Litigation
Mr. Gorby has been tapped to defend high-profile death and catastrophic injury cases for a Georgia utility company. Mr. Gorby obtained a defense verdict in favor of the utility company in a case in which the family of a college student alleged that their son died as a result of a carbon monoxide leak from a water heater. Mr. Gorby also defended a case in which the plaintiff sued the utility company claiming over $5-million in past, present and future medical expenses for care and treatment of burns from an explosion and fire. That case was settled shortly after Mr. Gorby obtained favorable procedural and evidentiary rulings from the trial court.

Special Counsel – Georgia Insolvency Pool
Mike Gorby has served as special counsel for the Georgia Insolvency Pool for many years. The Pool is an agency created under the laws of Georgia and is under the direction of the state Insurance Commissioner. Mr. Gorby is often called upon for business and coverage issues arising out of the insolvency and liquidation of insurance companies.

Environmental Litigation
In addition to his work relating to insurance coverage for environmental claims, Mike Gorby has defended companies that have been named as defendants in environmental damage cases. Mike recently obtained summary judgment on behalf of a corporate defendant who was accused of polluting the ground water.

Complex Commercial Litigation
Mike Gorby had handled a variety of complex commercial litigation matters around the country, including contract disputes, business fraud, employment matters, franchise litigation, dissolution of professional corporations, defense of breach of warranty claims, and over 60 truth-in-lending claims. Mr. Gorby has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in these matters.

Professional Negligence
Sometimes called the “lawyer’s lawyer,” Mike Gorby is often asked to represent lawyers accused of professional negligence. He has represented attorneys in civil litigation and before licensing boards. He also represents doctors, nurses and psychologists in court and before licensing agencies, obtaining dismissals for his clients in almost every case.

Catastrophic Injury and Death Cases on Behalf of Individuals
Mike Gorby has represented seriously injured people and families who have lost loved ones in cases involving Premises Liability and automobile and truck wrecks. He has obtained verdicts or confidential settlements totaling millions of dollars on behalf of dozens of such clients.


Professional and Community Involvement
Mr. Gorby is a member of the Atlanta and American (Member, Litigation Section) Bar Associations; State Bar of Georgia (Member, Insurance Law and Litigation Sections); Defense Research Institute (DRI) (Georgia Liaison, Professional Liability Committee); Georgia Defense Lawyers Association; and the Lawyers Club of Atlanta.

Mike Gorby served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army from 1968-1971. He is a volunteer instructor with the Dekalb County Special Education Project, and a long-time member of Holy Cross Catholic Church. He is actively involved in Atlanta Mental Health Organizations.

Contact Information

404-239-1150 ext. 101

Two Ravinia Drive
Suite 1500
Atlanta, GA 30346-2104