District Owners Ass'n Inc. v. Amec Envtl. & Infrastructure Inc.

The trial court did not err in dismissing the defendant's third-party claim for apportionment, as O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33 abrogated such actions under the common law.

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Richard Corbett filed a premises-liability action against District Owners Association, Inc. “DOA”, alleging that DOA is liable for the injuries that he sustained on its property when he jumped off a wall that concealed a 33-foot drop between the sidewalk and a parking deck. Thereafter, DOA filed a third-party complaint against AMEC Environmental & Infrastructure, Inc.; Carl Walker, Inc.; Vratsinas Construction Company; and C.W. Matthews Contracting Company, Inc. collectively “third-party defendants”, as the designers and builders of the wall and parking deck, claiming that the third-party defendants are liable to DOA under theories of common-law indemnification and common-law apportionment. The third-party defendants filed motions to dismiss DOA’s claims, which the trial court granted. DOA now appeals, arguing that the trial court erred in dismissing its common-law indemnification and apportionment claims on the ground that such claims are barred by OCGA § 51-12-33. For the reasons set forth infra, we affirm.

The record shows that on January 18, 2010, Richard Corbett was jogging through the Atlantic Station area of Atlanta on a street that ran between a grocery store and the parking deck of a department store. Adjacent to the sidewalk, upon which Corbett was jogging, was a concrete wall approximately 37 inches in height. From Corbett’s vantage point as he jogged along the sidewalk, the ground on the other side of the wall appeared to be only three feet or so lower than the top of the wall, and thus, Corbett assumed that if he jumped over the wall, he could continue his jog through the parking deck on the other side. But as Corbett jumped over the wall, he realized, much to his horror, that the drop off was over 30 feet. Consequently, Corbett fell and suffered serious injuries.

District Owners Ass'n Inc. v. Amec Envtl. & Infrastructure Inc.

The trial court did not err in dismissing the defendant's third-party claim for apportionment, as O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33 abrogated such actions under the common law.

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