ELLINGTON, Chief Judge. These consolidated cases concern a trust created in 1959 by Judge Harley Langdale, Sr. ("Judge Langdale"). The plaintiffs, who are beneficiaries under the trust or their legal representatives, filed suit in the Superior Court of Lowndes County, claiming, inter alia, that the trustees breached their fiduciary duties in administering the trust and in distributing the trust corpus, which was comprised of stock held in The Langdale Company ("TLC"). The parties filed cross-...
ADAMS, Judge. At issue in all three of these appeals is the interpretation of a commercial automobile insurance policy, and the appeals have been consolidated for our consideration. All three appeals also involve either the granting or denying of motions for summary judgment. Summary judgment is proper when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. OCGA 9-11-56(c). We review a grant or denial of summary judgment de novo and...
ADAMS, Judge. In this lease dispute, Dr. Celio O. Burrowes (Burrowes) and his professional corporation Celio Burrowes, M.D., P.C. (Burrowes, P.C.) appeal from the trial court's dismissal of their complaint against Tenet Healthsystem GB, Inc., d/b/a Atlanta Medical Center (AMC) and Tenet Healthcare Corporation (Tenet), based on res judicata and lack of standing. 1 Finding no error, we affirm. In the trial court's order of September 19, 2011, 2 denying Burrowes and Burrowes, P.C.'s emergency...
MILLER, Presiding Judge. In this premises liability action, plaintiff Sylvia Tyree appeals the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of defendants Westin Peachtree, Inc. and Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (hereinafter "Westin"). Tyree was injured while exiting the Westin hotel when an automatic revolving door allegedly lurched forward, striking her and causing her to fall. Tyree contends that the trial court erred in ruling, as a matter of law, that (1) Westin did not...
ADAMS, Judge. Jimmy and Marilyn Barrett appeal the trial court's order granting partial summary judgment to Melanie Willis Britt and William Stacey Britt on the Barretts' claims for breach of contract, waste and conversion in connection with their purchase of real property formerly owned by the Britts. The Barretts' complaint asserted that the Britts improperly removed certain property, equipment and/or fixtures from the property at issue. Because we find that material issues of fact remain...
BRANCH, Judge. Craig and Lisa Walters brought this slip-and-fall action against The Kroger Company. During discovery, the trial court struck Kroger's answer on the ground that Kroger had spoliated evidence and acted in bad faith, thereby precluding Kroger from introducing evidence at trial to contest its negligence. The case went to trial on causation, damages, and attorney fees. Walters, age 48 at the time of the fall, was able to show the fall caused a severe spine injury that required...
PHIPPS, Presiding Judge. Douglas Asphalt Company, Joel Spivey, and Kyle Spivey (collectively, Douglas Asphalt), as assignees of Applied Technical Services, Inc. (ATS), filed a complaint for indemnity and contribution against the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) seeking payment of damages a jury awarded Douglas Asphalt in a separate lawsuit filed by Douglas Asphalt against ATS. GDOT moved to dismiss on the ground of sovereign immunity. The trial court granted the motion, and Douglas...
MILLER, Presiding Judge. Mike Layer sued Clipper Petroleum, Inc. to recover unpaid commissions and cash advances under a supply contract and two related contracts providing for the sale and delivery of petroleum products to a gas station. 1 Layer raised claims for breach of contract, quantum merit, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, punitive damages and attorney fees under OCGA 13-6-11. Clipper Petroleum denied liability for Layer's claims and counterclaimed for...
Miller, Presiding Judge. Jonathan and Mary Katheryne Isbell sued Credit Nation Lending Service, LLC ("CNLS") and Credit Nation Auto Sales, LLC, d/b/a Synergy Motor Company, d/b/a Kellee Kars, Inc., d/b/a Kellee Kars Isuzu, d/b/a KKL Services ("CNAS") (collectively, "Credit Nation"), raising claims of fraud, breach of oral contract, and violations of the Georgia Fair Business Practices Act ("FBPA") (OCGA 10-1-390 et seq.) and the federal Truth in Lending Act ("TILA") (15 USC 1601 et seq.)...
BRANCH, Judge. Between 2000 and 2010, Scott A. Beale and Roderick O'Shea were business partners, with each man owning 50% of FlightWorks, Inc. This dispute arises out of the ultimately successful efforts of O'Shea to purchase Beale's ownership interest in the company. As a result of that transaction and the events leading up to it, Beale asserted claims against O'Shea for fraud, breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary duty. 1 The parties filed-cross motions for summary judgment, with O'...
RAY, Judge. Earnest Reddick, a truck driver, filed suit against Jesse Vernon Smith d/b/a Smith Auto Diesel Repair in connection with repairs Smith performed on Reddick's 1999 Freightliner truck. After a jury trial, the jury awarded Reddick $200,000 in damages. Smith appeals, and in several enumerations of error, he asserts that the trial court erred in denying his motion for new trial, or in the alternative, motion for remittitur, on the grounds that the verdict was excessive and that the...
MILLER, Presiding Judge. Georgia Trust Bank sued Virgil E. Lovell to recover the principal and interest due on a promissory note (the "Note"), along with contractual and statutory attorney fees and expenses Georgia Trust filed a motion for summary judgment. Lovell responded, contending that Georgia Trust failed to work with him on the loan pursuant to the parties' oral agreement. Lovell also filed a motion to compel the production of documents in support of his affirmative defenses of estoppel...
BARNES, Presiding Judge. American Management Services East LLC and American Management Services LLC (collectively "Pinnacle") appeal from the order of the trial court lifting the restriction in an earlier injunction that had prohibited Fort Belvoir Residential Communities (hereinafter "FBRC") from removing Pinnacle as the property manager at the Fort Belvoir facility. 1 On appeal, Pinnacle contends that the trial court deprived it of its due process rights by denying it a meaningful...
McFADDEN, Judge. These related appeals arise from a mistrial in a medical malpractice case. The defendant hospital challenges the trial court's declaration of a mistrial and denial of its motion to set aside the mistrial and enter judgment in its favor. But the hospital acquiesced in the court's decision to declare a mistrial. More fundamentally, there was no verdict upon which to enter a such a judgment. The defendant doctor and his medical practice challenge a jury charge and the grant of a...
RAY, Judge. The parents of Shaquille Johnson sued Price Paul Omondi, M.D., and Southwest Emergency Physicians, P.C. (collectively "Omondi"), for professional malpractice after their son, Shaquille Johnson, died following treatment by Omondi in the emergency department at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital. Sheldon Johnson and Thelma Johnson, individually as Shaquille's surviving parents, and Thelma Johnson, as administratrix of his estate (collectively "the Johnsons"), appeal from the trial court'...
ELLINGTON, Chief Judge. In this action, the estate and heirs of Gwyneth Williams (collectively, "the appellees") seek to recover damages from the owners of a lagoon where Williams was allegedly killed by a large alligator. The State Court of Chatham County denied in part the motion for summary judgment filed by the joint owners of the lagoon, The Landings Association, Inc. ("the association") and The Landings Club, Inc. ("the club") (collectively, "the owners"). In an earlier appeal, we...
McFADDEN, Judge. An administrative law judge denied workers' compensation claims that were based on injuries sustained by two employees who were in a motor vehicle accident while on their way to work. The appellate division of the State Board of Workers' Compensation and the superior court both affirmed the ALJ's decision. In Case No. A12A1292, interested party The Medical Center, Inc., which provided medical care to both employees, appeals from the superior court order; and in Case No....
McFADDEN, Judge. Joan and John Hendley sued Glenn Evans, M.D. and his employer, Valdosta Medical Clinic, P.C. (the defendants), for medical malpractice. The Hendleys contend that Joan Hendley suffered a vessel collapse during a medical procedure performed by Dr. Evans. They contend that Joan Hendley sustained brain damage and other physical injuries as a result of acts and omissions of Dr. Evans and of hospital personnel who were working under Dr. Evans's supervision at the time of the...
DOYLE, Presiding Judge. Frank Parker slipped while grocery shopping in a local Food Depot and filed the instant personal injury lawsuit against All American Quality Foods, which operated the store. Parker appeals the trial court's grant of summary judgment to the store, and we reverse for the reasons that follow. Summary judgment is proper when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. OCGA 9-11-56(c). A de novo standard of review...
MILLER, Presiding Judge. Maxum Indemnity Company filed an action against its insured, Jose Alfredo Jimenez, and a claimant, Gill Plumbing Company, seeking a declaratory judgment that its commercial general liability ("CGL") policy did not afford coverage for liability associated with Jimenez's negligent pipe installation on a construction project that resulted in property damage to a dormitory at Georgia Southern University. The parties filed cross motions for summary judgment on the coverage...
