State and Local Government Litigation
Bondurant has deep experience representing governmental entities, people, and businesses conducting business with governments in high-stakes matters. Matters involve statutory and constitutional interpretation, challenges to legislative or administrative actions, election law, and affirmative litigation to recover public funds. We regularly advise and represent public and private clients in procurement disputes, Open Records and Open Meetings Act matters, First Amendment cases, redevelopment issues, tax disputes, and government ethics and campaign finance matters.
We also represent Georgia cities in annexation-related disputes and provide litigation and compliance counsel to municipal governments. We have also defended quiet title claims concerning the ownership of high-profile public properties. Our work has included constitutional challenges to legislation affecting local governments, recovery of unpaid rights-of-way fees, and defense of COVID-era mask ordinances. We have successfully represented municipalities in disputes over multi-million-dollar development projects, public property ownership, and secession efforts.
Representative Work
Argued and won constitutional challenges to Georgia legislation affecting the rights of local governments and local property owners.
Recovered years of unpaid rights-of-way fees for the City of Peachtree Corners in litigation against a multi-billion-dollar telecom provider.
Successfully represented a healthcare provider against a multi-decade-long local government effort to tax it, saving the healthcare system over $160 million, including at the Georgia Court of Appeals and Georgia Supreme Court.
Successfully defended the City of Atlanta against Governor Kemp’s challenge to the City’s COVID-era Mask Ordinance.
Successfully defended the City of Atlanta against First Amendment challenges to its public comment policy.
Defended the City of Atlanta in multiple venues against the Buckhead City Committee’s secession efforts.
Successfully defended the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) at the Georgia Supreme Court, preserving a favorable liability standard from the Georgia Court of Appeals for MARTA and other Georgia transit providers.
Preserved a $250 million food and beverage concessions contract at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport through an administrative protest, appeal, and multiple rounds of litigation.
Upheld Athens-Clarke County’s COVID ordinances requiring masks and limiting bar hours.
Helped the City of Brookhaven secure a unanimous state arbitration ruling allowing a 27-acre annexation to proceed, paving the way for a major mixed-use development.
Successfully represented a local elected utility commission in intergovernmental litigation.
Represented Gwinnett County, Athens-Clarke County, and the City of Brookhaven in class litigation seeking franchise fees from streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, and DirecTV, on behalf of all Georgia local governments.
Represented members of the Municipal Gas Association of Georgia in disputes over service territory before the Georgia Public Service Commission and in Georgia courts.
