Appeals

Dismissal in Georgia Appeal Regarding Municipal Ante Litem Notice

Sun Choy and Jake Daly successfully handled a case in which the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a case against FMG’s client, the City of Albany, based on inadequate ante litem (pre-suit)…

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The case arose out of an automobile accident involving Devin Goode and an employee of the City who was driving a City-owned truck within the course and scope of his job duties when the accident occurred. All together, Goode’s attorney sent five letters to various officials of the City, but only one was sent to the required person within the statutory six-month period. The City argued that this one letter did not satisfy the statutory requirements for ante litem notice because it did not adequately describe the extent of Goode’s injuries. The statute requires a claimant to describe the extent of the injury, and the case law has interpreted this as requiring a description of the nature, character, and particulars of the injury. Goode’s notice, however, said only that he was “seriously injured.” The trial court found that this was not an adequate description.

The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s judgment. It first rejected Goode’s argument that he was not required to be more specific about his injuries in his ante litem notice because the extent of his injuries was unknown within the statutory six-month period. The Court of Appeals relied on the purpose of requiring ante litem notice, which is to allow cities time to investigate a claim and to determine whether the claim should be settled without litigation. Knowing only that Goode was “seriously injured” did not allow the City to assess his claim.

Next, the Court of Appeals rejected Goode’s argument that the four untimely letters his attorney sent should be considered as merely supplementing the one timely letter. The Court of Appeals held that a letter that is not sent to the required person within the statutory six-month period cannot be considered simply because it supplements a notice that was timely and was sent to the required person but that otherwise does not comply with the statute. In other words, a claimant may satisfy the statutory requirements for ante litem notice through multiple writings, but each writing must be sent to the required person within the statutory six-month period.

FMG attorneys illustrated the importance of examining ante litem notices in cases against governmental entities for any deficiencies, which could result in the dismissal of all claims.

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