Sherman v. Development Auth. of Fulton Cnty.

Hay v. Dev. Auth. of Walton County, 239 Ga. App. 804 1999, overruled, to the extent that the Hay Court held that the Georgia Civil Practices Act, O.C.G.A. § 9-11-24, does not apply to bond validation proceedings.

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This appeal arises from a revenue bond validation proceeding in which the State of Georgia petitioned the Fulton County Superior Court for a judgment approving the issuance of certain taxable revenue bonds by the Development Authority of Fulton County “DAFC” and validating both the bonds and related bond security documents. John Sherman, a resident of Fulton County, attempted to make himself a party to the proceeding by filing a document entitled “Notice of Becoming Party to Bond Validation Petition Proceeding,” and shortly thereafter he filed objections to the validation petition. DAFC filed a motion to strike Sherman’s pleadings on the grounds that he had failed to follow the statutory procedure for intervening in a civil action. The trial court granted that motion and also entered an order validating the bond issuance. Sherman now appeals from both the order striking his pleadings and the order validating the issuance of the bonds. With respect to the striking of his pleadings, Sherman argues that the court below erred in finding that Georgia’s Civil Practice Act “CPA” applies to bond validation proceedings and thereby dictates the procedure by which a private citizen may become a party to such an action. Sherman also challenges the bond validation order on a number of grounds.

We agree with the trial court that the intervention procedure contained in the CPA applies to bond validation proceedings. Given Sherman’s failure to follow that procedure, therefore, we affirm the order of the trial court striking his pleadings. Moreover, because he was not properly a party to the proceedings below, Sherman has no standing to appeal the bond validation order. Accordingly, we decline to address Sherman’s attempted appeal of that order.

Sherman v. Development Auth. of Fulton Cnty.

Hay v. Dev. Auth. of Walton County, 239 Ga. App. 804 1999, overruled, to the extent that the Hay Court held that the Georgia Civil Practices Act, O.C.G.A. § 9-11-24, does not apply to bond validation proceedings.

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