LOWNDES COUNTY, Ga. — Walmart may be the first company to use Georgia’s recently passed tort reform legislation to successfully appeal for a new trial after a judgement gets awarded in a case.
In 2020, a woman in Lowndes County slipped and fell at a local Walmart.
The woman, Ruby Medders, sued the retail giant in 2022, eventually winning compensation for damages.
A jury awarded Medders about $975,000, with a judge reducing the amount slightly for Medders also being partially at fault.
On Thursday, the Georgia Court of Appeals reversed a trial court’s judgment and remanded it back to a lower court for a new trial.
In the short term, that means Medders’ $926,000 verdict award is gone.
Medders’ medical history was cited by the court in its order.
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“Medders brought this action against Wal-Mart for injuries she allegedly sustained to her knee and ankle after a slip-and-fall incident during a November 2020 visit to a Valdosta Wal-Mart store,” the court said.
At a January 2026 jury trial, Medders is said to have had some pre-existing knee issues, but the court cites Medders when she said her knee pain got worse after the fall at the Valdosta Walmart and eventually needed surgery.
“Wal-Mart, on the other hand, maintained that Medders’ injury was pre-existing and that the fall did not necessitate Medders’ subsequent surgeries,” the court record says.
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Medders focused on the economics of the court battle during her latest hearings, the court wrote, which is where Walmart tried to draw the line.
“We agree with Wal-Mart that portions of closing argument made by Medders’ counsel concerning noneconomic damages were improper and harmful; consequently, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand this matter for a new trial,” Judge John “Trea” Pipkin wrote.
Pipkin said Walmart cited Georgia’s 2025 tort reform legislation when contesting the case.
“Medders’ argument was improper because it was not rationally related to evidence of her alleged noneconomic damages,” Pipkin said in his order, citing the law passed at the behest of Gov. Brian Kemp.
As Channel 2 Action News reported when the legislation was taken up, the goal for the tort reforms were to lower costs for Georgians.
Part of the tort reform legislation focused on what was called “phantom damages” in certain legal cases.
A phantom damage is when a plaintiff can take on extra monetary awards by recovering artificial amounts through on-paper costs in civil litigation.
Pipkin said Walmart objected to Medders’ use of so-called phantom numbers and moved for a mistrial or a curative instruction.
Both of those requests were denied. Medders’ attorney’s closing argument returned to calculating noneconomic damages in compensatory requests.
Walmart’s appeal won, in part, because Judge Pipkin said that had another court followed the law when it came to remedial actions, the case would required Medders’ take remedial action with the case.
Walmart said they were pleased with the ruling putting the case back at trial for a potentially different verdict.
Medders’ attorney is now considering appealing the case to the Georgia Supreme Court.
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