Dentist Near Milton, GA

In a game that saw over 850 yards of offense in the first half, Milton (Ga.) shut down Fairburn (Ga.) Langston Hughes after halftime and won the Georgia 5A state championship 56-35. It was the Eagles’ second straight title and 25th consecutive win.

Milton quarterback and Miami signee Luke Nickel finished 21-of-22 passing for 413 yards and four touchdowns. West Georgia signee TJ Lester led the team in receiving with 201 yards and three trips to the end zone.

Despite not receiving the opening kickoff, momentum crashed toward Milton in the first two minutes of the game. On its opening drive, Langston Hughes fumbled on a fake punt deep inside its own territory, leading to a Milton touchdown run by Lester.

All in the first quarter — Nickel launched a 70-yard touchdown pass for Milton; Langston Hughes ran it in from 70 yards out to make it 14-7; and Milton scored from midfield on a Nickel and Ethan Barbour connection through the air.

The madness did not slow in the second quarter. Just six seconds in, Hughes again made it a 7-point deficit with a 62-yard passing touchdown. A Milton fumble on the next drive led to Langston Hughes knotting the game at 21.

Milton and Hughes continued to trade blows through the second quarter until Nickel hit Georgia top-100 wide receiver signee CJ Wiley for a 23-yard touchdown with 3 seconds left in the half — giving the Eagles a 42-35 lead at the break.

The two squads combined for 864 yards in the first half, but the second half was an entirely different picture.

After accumulating 397 yards through the first two quarters, Langston Hughes was held to 54 yards in the second half by the Milton defense.

Milton scored once in both the third and fourth quarters.

The Eagles finished the season a perfect 15-0 while Langston Hughes fell to 13-2.

Milton, Langston Hughes were two of the most talented teams in America

Milton entered the game ranked No. 1 in the state of Georgia and No. 4 in the country, according to the On3 Massey Ratings.

The On3 Massey Ratings — which were officially used during the BCS era and have generated college high school sports team rankings since 1995 — rank sports teams by analyzing game outcomes, strength of schedule and margin of victory.

The Eagles had standout wins over Buford, American Heritage (Fla.), Blessed Trinity Catholic and Roswell in the regular season. To make it to the state championship game, Milton downed Woodstock, Dutchtown, Houston County and Lee County.

Signees among the senior class include WR CJ Wiley (Georgia), OT Brayden Jacobs (Clemson), QB Luke Nickel (Miami), TE Ethan Barbour (Georgia), TE Ryan Ghea (Auburn), CB Dylan Lewis (Tennessee), CB Tyler Redmond (Tennessee), DL Caleb Bell (Arkansas) and DL Caleb Ellis (Georgia Southern).

Langston Hughes was the No. 6 team in the Peach State and the No. 39 program in America coming into the final showdown of the season. The lone loss for the Panthers entering tonight was a 21-14 nailbiter against Douglas County on Sept. 6. Since then, Langston Hughes had been perfect.

ATLANTA — Georgia municipalities are throwing their weight behind Milton after the state Court of Appeals affirmed a September wrongful death verdict against the city.

The court verdict saddles the City of Milton with $35 million in damages.

Sister cities Sandy Springs and Alpharetta petitioned the Georgia Supreme Court to reverse the decision in the lawsuit the week of Nov. 18. More cities across the state are expected to submit amicus briefs, or letters of support, in the coming weeks.

The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the Sept. 16 Fulton County jury verdict citing Milton’s role in the death of a 21-year-old college student in November 2016.

Joshua Chang, a senior with a full-ride scholarship to Yale University, died after hitting a concrete planter along Batesville Road on his way home during Thanksgiving break.

Milton is ordered to pay the victim’s family $35 million with $10,000 in post-judgement interest accruing each day.

Following the appellate judgement, Milton officials said they were seeking reconsideration of the ruling or review from the Georgia Supreme Court.

According to court documents, the victim’s family made seven offers to settle the case, ranging from $1.75 million to $10 million just before the trial. Insurance attorneys rejected the offers.

Meanwhile, residents expressed their frustration at the city and its legal representation in September for failing to protect them from the outstanding liability.

News

Milton officials say the Georgia Interlocal Risk Management Agency was solely responsible for the decision whether to settle the claims.

The Georgia Municipal Association created the agency as a property and liability insurance fund for Georgia cities. The agency has 370 municipal members.

“Neither the city nor its legal team were given a role in settlement negotiations,” the city said in a statement. “What happened to Mr. Chang was certainly a tragedy, but we firmly believe the City of Milton should not be held liable … we will continue to pursue a reasonable outcome to protect the city and taxpayers from this unjust financial burden.”

Invoices obtained by Appen Media through the Open Records Act show Mayor Peyton Jamison, City Manager Krokoff and City Attorney Ken Jarrard discussed the case several times.

Speaking to Appen Media Nov. 19, Jamison said many Georgia cities have expressed solidarity with Milton, and he reiterated that the city was not consulted on whether to approve or deny settlement offers.

Based on the feedback received thus far, Jamison said he expects several cities to file amicus briefs to the Supreme Court, requesting reversal of the decision.

Adam Hollingworth, president of Milton Families First, raised questions about the Georgia Interlocal Risk Management Agency’s role as the city’s insurer at the Nov. 18 City Council meeting.

He questioned the efficacy of the insurance fund’s policy agreement with the city, saying “by no measure did GIRMA exercise its duty in ways that best protected Milton taxpayers.”

“The decisions made — from selecting underqualified legal counsel to rejecting reasonable settlement offers — have left the City of Milton and its citizens bearing an unconscionable financial burden,” Hollingworth wrote. “This case not only raises serious doubts about GIRMA’s ability to serve its members effectively but also highlights systemic issues that jeopardize public trust.”

The Georgia Municipal Association declined to comment specifically on Milton’s claim that it was not consulted during settlement discussions.

Latisha Gray, communications director at the GMA, said it would not be appropriate to provide details of case strategy publicly as the litigation is ongoing.

“It should be noted that the judgment in this current litigation is unprecedented in Georgia’s history for similar situations,” Gray wrote.

Gray pointed to a 2021 Court of Appeals judgement which affirmed that the City of Roswell had immunity in a case in which a car left the road and struck mailboxes within the right-of-way resulting in the deaths of two people in the vehicle.

“[The Milton] decision went the opposite way, and if upheld, sets a new precedent for cities across the state, and the potential consequences for other municipalities is real and is significant,” she said. “Legal precedent has been an accepted standard for many years, and it is common for litigation counsel to take into consideration and even rely upon recent decisions of a very similar nature in analyzing potential settlement offers and litigation strategy.”

In terms of what’s stopping this from happening in other Georgia cities, Gray said the court’s decision treats residents of municipalities differently than those in unincorporated areas.

She said when the courts decide to change course on immunity, municipal taxpayers have a significantly larger risk under the state’s tort law structure.

“These added burdens on municipalities absolutely can harm business and growth in municipalities across the state,” Gray said. “This is another example of why tort reform is needed in Georgia in order for the state to maintain its standing as the best place to do business.”

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has pledged to make tort reform a top priority during the 2025 legislative session.

While calls for tort reform typically come from business groups and conservative lawmakers, the issue is now expanding to include each city in the state.

The Sandy Springs resolution, asking the Georgia Supreme Court to hear and reverse the Court of Appeals’ September ruling, calls the decision “inconsistent with existing legal precedent.”

City Attorney Dan Lee, speaking during a Nov. 19 City Council meeting, said the appellate decision expands the definition of what a roadway is to include an area that would allow a driver to safely exit the paved road onto the right-of-way and return.

“Up until approximately four months ago, the law in Georgia was clear that a person leaving the paved part of the roadway striking an object was at fault,” Lee said. “Period, end of story.”

Mayor Rusty Paul asked Lee to explain how the decision can come into play for Sandy Springs residents or any Georgians living in incorporated areas.

Lee said Milton did not place the planter there. It was constructed in 1992, when the land was a part of unincorporated Fulton County.

“The decision, if allowed to stand, would be very troublesome to the taxpayers of Sandy Springs and many cities around Georgia,” Lee said. “Sandy Springs’ interest are in the overturning of this case and bringing the law back into order for good operation of municipal government.”

For Sandy Springs, which has issued 589 permits in the past two years to place items in the rights-of-way across the city, the decision could spell trouble.

“This law, as it stands now from the Court of Appeals, if the city has knowledge of the placement of the object … the city could be held liable for it,” Lee said. “The city had no authority to deny the permits.”

Lee turned his focus to the Milton case.

“In Milton, the city did not know of any nuisance value to this object, Lee said. “That and the expansion of the roadway is the part that scares us.”