Georgia Power Co. v. Cazier

The plaintiffs were not authorized to bring a direct cause of action for a refund of overpaid sales tax to Georgia Power Company, since O.C.G.A. § 48-2-35 sets forth procedures for taxpayers to claim a refund of erroneously collected taxes from the Georgia Department of Revenue.

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Amy Cazier and other individuals filed a putative class action lawsuit against Georgia Power Company, alleging that it had improperly collected certain sales taxes and fees. Georgia Power filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim. The trial court, which has not yet certified the putative class, denied the motion, but issued a certificate of immediate review. This court granted Georgia Power’s application for interlocutory review, and Georgia Power filed a timely notice of appeal. Because the trial court erred in ruling that the appellees may bring a direct cause of action for a refund of allegedly overpaid sales taxes against a dealer such as Georgia Power, as set forth in the first two counts of the complaint, we reverse that portion of the trial court’s ruling. But as to the third count of the complaint which alleges improper calculation of municipal franchise fees, we affirm.

It is well established that a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted should not be sustained unless 1 the allegations of the complaint disclose with certainty that the claimant would not be entitled to relief under any state of provable facts asserted in support thereof; and 2 the movant establishes that the claimant could not possibly introduce evidence within the framework of the complaint sufficient to warrant a grant of the relief sought. In deciding a motion to dismiss, all pleadings are to be construed most favorably to the party who filed them, and all doubts regarding such pleadings must be resolved in the filing party’s favor.

Georgia Power Co. v. Cazier

The plaintiffs were not authorized to bring a direct cause of action for a refund of overpaid sales tax to Georgia Power Company, since O.C.G.A. § 48-2-35 sets forth procedures for taxpayers to claim a refund of erroneously collected taxes from the Georgia Department of Revenue.

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