Chang v. City of Milton: $35M Verdict and Georgia Supreme Court Ruling

The case of Chang v. City of Milton began with a fatal 2016 crash on Batesville Road, produced a $35 million wrongful death verdict against the City of Milton in June 2023, and was vacated by the Georgia Supreme Court on March 12, 2026. The Supreme Court held that a city’s ministerial duty to keep roads safe reaches only the lanes of travel, not the shoulder or the broader right-of-way, and sent the case back to the Georgia Court of Appeals to reconsider the remaining claims. The judgment is not final. As of mid-2026, the appeals court is weighing whether any surviving theory can still sustain part of what a jury awarded Joshua Chang’s parents.

The 2016 Crash on Batesville Road

Joshua Chang was 21, a Yale senior double-majoring in mechanical engineering and economics, and driving home to Canton, Georgia, for Thanksgiving break on the evening of November 19, 2016.¹ His car left the paved lanes of Batesville Road in Milton, slid more than 60 feet, and struck a concrete planter roughly six feet off the edge of the asphalt.² He died from the impact.

The planter itself was substantial: a large commercial or agricultural tire filled with dirt, encased in stone and concrete, seven to eight feet across, sitting near the entrance to the Little River Farms event venue.³ It had been installed in 1992, well before Milton incorporated as a city in 2006, and no complaint or prior accident had been recorded at the location in the intervening 24 years.⁴

Forensic evidence introduced at trial showed Chang had swerved to avoid an animal in the road. He was not speeding, was not on his phone, and had no drugs or alcohol in his system.³

The $35 Million Verdict

Chang’s parents, John Chang and Rebecca Zhu, sued the City of Milton in Fulton County State Court in 2018. Their theory was that keeping roads free of hazards is a ministerial duty, meaning a non-discretionary obligation imposed by law, and that Milton’s failure to remove the planter waived the sovereign immunity that ordinarily protects cities from lawsuits.⁵

Trial ran from June 12 to June 15, 2023.⁶ Some of the most damaging testimony came from Milton’s own witnesses. The city’s expert, Wayne Smith, acknowledged the planter served no purpose and that city ordinances required its removal. Sara Leaders, the city’s designated representative, testified about Milton’s maintenance responsibilities for “clear zones” along the shoulders. Plaintiffs also pointed to city road-repair work performed at the same location in 2012, and to city surveys and repair plans that documented the planter, to show that Milton knew or should have known about it.⁵

The jury assigned 93% of the fault to Milton and 7% to Chang, and returned a verdict of roughly $35 million, reduced by the comparative fault percentage to about $32.5 million.³ On September 16, 2024, the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment, holding that a “road” under Georgia law includes its shoulders and sides, that Milton’s failure to remove the planter breached a ministerial duty and waived immunity, and that the city’s $2 million insurance limit did not cap damages when immunity was waived through that ministerial breach.⁵

Why the Exposure Grew Past the Insurance Cap

Milton’s insurance policy with the Georgia Interlocal Risk Management Agency (GIRMA) gave the insurer sole authority over both the legal defense and any settlement decisions. City officials and the city attorney had no role in either.⁷

Before trial, the Chang family made seven settlement offers ranging from $1.75 million to $10 million. GIRMA rejected all of them, including at least one within the $2 million policy limit.⁸⁹ When the city itself demanded that GIRMA make a settlement proposal, GIRMA refused.⁷ Mayor Peyton Jamison later said the defense “was taken out of our hands.”

The Court of Appeals ruled that pre-judgment interest was required, and post-judgment interest accrued at 11% under Georgia law. Milton’s total exposure climbed to roughly $35 million and grew by about $10,000 a day.⁸ The $32.5 million base judgment came to roughly 85% of the city’s annual budget.² Milton’s FY 2025 budget stated the city was conducting “a detailed analysis” of its financial position and remained “committed to prudent financial management” as it navigated the potential impact.¹⁰

The Georgia Supreme Court’s March 2026 Ruling

GIRMA retained former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold Melton and Troutman Pepper on December 4, 2024, to petition the Georgia Supreme Court for certiorari.⁷ Fifty-eight Georgia municipalities filed a joint amicus brief, joined by the Georgia Municipal Association, Georgia Power, the International Municipal Lawyers Association, the Georgia Electric Membership Corporation, and the cities of Johns Creek, Atlanta, and Peachtree Corners.¹¹ The Court heard oral arguments on October 21, 2025.

On March 12, 2026, the Court issued its opinion in City of Milton v. Chang, S25G0476, vacating the Court of Appeals decision and remanding the case.¹² The core holding drew a sharp line between the paved travel lanes and everything else. A municipality’s ministerial duty to keep streets and sidewalks safe applies only to “the parts of the street or sidewalk intended for such travel — that is, in the lanes of travel,” and “does not extend to keeping property outside the lanes of travel safe for traversal in case of an accident or emergency.”¹³

Because the planter sat more than six feet off the paved road, Milton’s sovereign immunity was not waived under the ministerial duty statute. The Court also clarified that Georgia’s road-defect statute, OCGA § 32-4-93(a), does not by itself waive sovereign immunity. A plaintiff must point to a separate source of waiver.¹³

The ruling was not unanimous. At least one justice dissented, taking the view that sovereign immunity was properly waived under the ministerial duty provision as to the negligence claim.¹³

What the Ruling Means for Georgia Cities

By confining the ministerial duty to actual travel lanes, the Supreme Court gave cities clearer protection against claims involving objects placed in the broader right-of-way, including planters, benches, utility boxes, and monuments. That was the outcome sought by the coalition of 58 municipalities and the Georgia Municipal Association, which had argued the Court of Appeals decision would have forced cities to remove or relocate any object within a right-of-way regardless of whether it had ever been considered hazardous.¹¹

Where the Case Stands Now

The Supreme Court did not resolve everything. It expressly left the nuisance theory of liability for the Court of Appeals to reconsider on remand, along with any waiver of immunity tied to the city’s insurance policy.¹⁴ As of mid-2026, the appeals court is weighing those remaining claims under the Supreme Court’s narrowed standard. The $35 million judgment is in limbo, and one or more of the surviving theories could still sustain all or part of what the jury awarded.¹²

1
Yale Daily News. Joshua Chang ’17 Passes Away
2
Georgia Cities. Tragic Accident Brings Municipal Tort Liability to the Forefront
3
CityBiz. Harris Lowry Manton Obtains $35M Jury Verdict Against City of Milton for Wrongful Death of a Driver
4
Appen Media. Sandy Springs Asks Supreme Court to Reverse Milton’s $35M Judgement
5
FindLaw. City of Milton v. Chang
6
ALM. Chang v. City of Milton Trial Order
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City of Milton. Chang et al. v. City of Milton Questions and Answers
8
Appen Media. Milton City Attorney Lists Consequences if Wrongful Death Ruling Stands
9
Milton Families First. GIRMA
10
University of Georgia Carl Vinson Institute of Government. City of Milton FY2025 Budget Report
11
Georgia Cities. Milton’s Legal Battle Gains Support From GMA and Dozens of Cities
12
Appen Media. Georgia Supreme Court Sends Milton Right-of-Way Suit Back to Appeals
13
FindLaw. City of Milton v. Chang, S25G0476
14
Georgia Cities. Georgia Supreme Court Restores Clarity for Municipal Liability Standards