Mr. Warren N. Sams III | Attorney

Warren Sams earned his undergraduate degree from Yale University in 1986 and his law degree from the University of Virginia in 1989. He then clerked for the Honorable Neal B. Biggers, Jr. in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi. He has been practicing law in Georgia since 1990. Martindale-Hubbell has awarded him an AV rating, which is their highest rating for practicing attorneys.

Mr. Sams has extensive experience in construction law, injury and malpractice tort litigation, commercial litigation and employment disputes. He is admitted to practice in all Georgia courts, in Federal District Courts for the Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia, and in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. He has served as lead and co-counsel in trials, arbitrations, and mediations, both in and outside Georgia.

Construction Contracts and Claims

Mr. Sams has practiced construction law throughout his career. He has drafted many design contracts, construction contracts, and other related construction documents for owners, general contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers.

Mr. Sams has handled multi-million dollar disputes on hospitals and healthcare facilities, roadways, wastewater and sludge treatment facilities, shopping centers, apartment complexes, office buildings, and municipal facilities projects. He has represented owners, designers, general contractors, subcontractors, and fabricators/suppliers. Cases frequently include issues of delay, acceleration, defective design, defective construction, differing site conditions, and misrepresentation.

Examples of Mr. Sams’ construction law experience include:
- Representing a hospital in defense of multimillion claims asserted by a general contractor and subcontractor based on alleged errors and omissions in the design documents.
- Drafting and negotiating contracts for a municipality’s design and construction of an Olympic venue, a public safety building, and a civic center.
- Drafting form design-build and cost-plus construction agreements for an Ivy League university.
- Drafting design agreements and construction agreements for the construction of a hospital tower.
- Litigating fraud and breach of contract claims on behalf of a purchaser of an apartment complex.
- Representing a general contractor in its claim against a municipality for extra work arising out of the erection of 30,000+ streetlights, and defending against the subcontractor’s claims for extra work and delay.
- Representing a general contractor in pursuit of claims arising out of a sludge processing facility and in defense of claims arising out of a construction-related ductwork collapse.
- Representing owners in claims arising out of mold infestation due to defective construction.
- Representing a top fifty engineering firm in its suit against an owner for unpaid fees.
- Representing a medical college in its negotiations with a performance bond surety regarding the general contractor’s default on the project.

Negligence Causing Serious Injury or Death

Mr. Sams represents individuals who have been severely injured or who have lost a loved one due to the negligence of others.

Examples of Mr. Sams’ recent experience in this field include:
- Representing a truck driver who suffered critical and permanent injuries after being backed over by an asphalt distributor truck.
- Pursuing claims on behalf of a woman whose husband was killed by a negligent motorist.
- Representing a man who suffered permanent injuries after being hit head-on by a van for an overnight delivery service.
- Representing a teenager who suffered permanent brain injury when his car was hit by a negligent driver.
- Representing a teenage boy who was paralyzed when a tractor trailer ran a stop sign and hit his family’s vehicle.
- Representing mothers who were sterilized by doctors who confused them with other patients and failed to check the medical records before operating.

Commercial Litigation and Employment Disputes

Mr. Sams also represents a wide variety of businesses and individuals in commercial business disputes. Examples include:

- Representation of businesses in collection of accounts and contract balances in excess of $50,000.
- Representation of both landlords and tenants in commercial lease disputes.
- Representation of business owners in disputes arising out of the sale and purchase of businesses.
- Representation of college professors against private and public universities, and teachers against public and private schools, for breach of employment agreements and for civil rights violations.

Representative Cases

- Board of Regents v. Doe, 278 Ga. App. 878, 630 S.E.2d 85 (2006)(establishing Board of Regents’ contractual liability for employment contracts even where the Board has not voted to approve the contract)
Rockdale Health Sys. v. Holder, 280 Ga. App. 298 (2006)
- Bennett v. Builders II, Inc., 237 Ga. App. 756, 516 S.E.2d 808 (1999)(affirming construction arbitration award)
- Bennett v. Cotton, 244 Ga. App. 784, 536 S.E.2d 802 (2000)
Cargile v. Horton Homes, Inc. 56 F.3d 1391 (11th Cir. 1995)(employment discrimination)
- MNM 5 v. Anderson/6438 Northeast Partners, 215 Ga. App. 407; 451 S.E.2d 788 (1994)(commercial landlord tenant dispute)
- J. Lee Gregory, Inc. v. Scandanavian House, LP, 209 Ga. App. 285, 433 S.E.2d 687 (1993)(establishing Georgia’s acceptance of the “predominant thrust” under the U.C.C. test for mixed goods and services contracts).

Personal

Mr. Sams lettered twice on the varsity football team at Yale. He has served on the Association of Yale Alumni’s Board of Governors, where he was the Board’s legal affairs representative to the University, and he remains involved with alumni affairs. He and his wife have been married for over thirteen years and they have a son and daughter.