On September 24, 2019, the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Lokey, Mobley and Doyle’s client the City of Waco in a case involving a deficient ante litem notice, Pickens v. City of Waco. Mel Mobley handled the case and the appeal.  Before a party may bring suit against a municipality, the party must give the city advance notice, an ante litem notice, stating a specific monetary claim pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5 (e).  The notice at issue stated that the “value of the claim may exceed $300,000.00.”  The purpose of the ante notice requirement is to give the city the opportunity to investigate potential claims and avoid unnecessary litigation.  The Court of Appeals held that the notice did not state a specific demand, and so it failed to meet the ante litem notice requirements.  The Court of Appeals followed a 2018 case that Mel Mobley handled, Harrell v. City of Griffin, where the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the City of Griffin finding that an ante litem notice was deficient since it did not state a specific dollar amount of the claim.