DILLARD, Judge.
Ronald D. Albertson, individually and on behalf of his minor daughter, Linsey Albertson (collectively "Albertson"), appeals the trial court's grant of summary judgment to the City of Jesup ("the City"). Albertson argues that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment against his claims that the City was negligent in its placement and maintenance of a stop-sign, which also constituted a nuisance. Specifically, he contends that this resulted in his failure to see the sign and to stop, which led to a subsequent collision with another vehicle. For the reasons noted infra, we affirm the trial court's grant of summary judgment to the City.
Viewed in the light most favorable to Albertson,
Albertson became aware of the stop-sign only after the collision, when he noticed that it was obscured by foliage and placed an estimated ten-feet from the roadside in what he described as a concrete "bucket."
At the outset, we note that summary judgment is appropriate when "the moving party can show that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law."
1. Negligence. Albertson first argues that the trial court erred in holding sua sponte that his claim was one for professional negligence, requiring expert testimony. Instead, Albertson contends that the placement of the stop-sign and the maintenance of the surrounding foliage are questions of simple negligence and, accordingly, that the grant of summary judgment was improper. Though for different reasons, we affirm the trial court's grant of summary judgment.
The trial court disposed of Albertson's negligence claim by holding that it was one for professional negligence and that Albertson lacked the requisite expert testimony to create a genuine issue of material fact on this issue. And although there may be some merit to the trial court's holding,
On appeal, the City again argues, inter aha, that it is entitled to sovereign immunity on Albertson's negligence claim; and Albertson has made no attempt to address or in any way rebut this argument, even though he had the burden of doing so as the party who would benefit from any waiver of sovereign immunity.
Here, Albertson claimed that the City was negligent in its maintenance of the foliage surrounding the stop-sign and in its failure to replace the sign to its permanent location after it appeared to have been moved, leading to an obstructed view and his failure to see the sign on the afternoon in question. It is, however, well established in our case law that the City has not waived sovereign immunity as to these allegations.
2. Nuisance. Albertson next argues that the trial court erred in holding that there was no evidence that the City had knowledge of any defect in the maintenance of the stop-sign in question and, accordingly, that the grant of summary judgment was improper. We disagree.
First, we note that Albertson failed to cite any supporting authority for this enumeration of error in his brief, as is required by the rules of this Court.
And in order to hold the City liable for maintaining a nuisance, Albertson must show the following:
But here, Albertson's sole evidence that the City was aware of a problem regarding the visibility of the subject stop-sign came from narratives contained within police reports for two previous accidents at the intersection. However, when Albertson questioned the then-city manager regarding the prior accidents, he testified that he was unaware of any complaints regarding foliage; that other than the police reports introduced into evidence, he knew of no other accidents that would call the visibility of the stop-sign at the intersection into question; and that he passed through the same intersection multiple times each week without incident. And while Albertson argues that the police reports prove that the City was on notice as to problems with the visibility of the subject stop-sign, these reports were inadmissible hearsay.
Judgment affirmed.
SMITH, P.J., and MIKELL, J., concur.