The Georgia court of Appeals has tossed out a half-dozen suits related to the collapse of a deck at a Forest Park rental house during a party, ruling that the plaintiffs did not show that the landlord should have known about a rotted board that gave way.

Court filings said the deck was about seven feet above the ground when it gave way during a barbecue in March 2011. According to a news report, at least four people were hospitalized among the eight to 10 who were on the deck when it collapsed.

The attorney for the landlord, Atlanta solo L. Bruce Hedrick, declined to discuss the ruling.