The parties to this action are the daughters of Zelda C. Stapleton, who died on November 25, 2006. After their mother’s death, Cheryl Newman and Cathy Jones filed a complaint to set aside certain deeds and conveyances against their sisters, Cynthia Reeves and Cherie Thaxton, contending that Reeves and Thaxton had converted their mother’s real and personal property prior to her death through fraud, false pretenses, and undue influence. A jury found in favor of Newman and Jones, and an implied trust was placed on the disputed property for the benefit of all five of Stapleton’s daughters. Although the jury awarded punitive damages, the trial court struck the award but found that Reeves and Thaxton should be required to pay OCGA § 9-15-14 b attorney fees to Newman and Jones in the amount of $31,100. Reeves and Thaxton filed an appeal with the Court of Appeals regarding the propriety of the jury’s verdict,1 and Newman and Jones filed a cross-appeal, contending that the trial court erred by striking the jury’s award of punitive damages. On February 4, 2010, the Court of Appeals transferred both the appeal and the cross-appeal to this Court. The Court of Appeals reasoned that the imposition of an implied trust automatically required this matter to be considered an equity case within the jurisdiction of this Court. See 1983 Ga. Const. Art. VI, Sec. VI, Par. III 2. For the reasons set forth below, we disagree and return both cases to the Court of Appeals.
This Court has a duty to resolve any questions about its jurisdiction over any given case where doubt may exist. This duty is especially important when it impacts upon the Court’s constitutional grant of jurisdiction over equity cases, the definition of which has been the subject of confusion and frustration for the Georgia bar as well as both of Georgia’s appellate courts. The uncertainty surrounding equity jurisdiction, however, is not a recent occurrence, as it existed even when the distinction between law and equity was a great deal more pronounced than it is today. The concept of “equity” has been evolving for many years, and today much of what used to be considered substantive principles of equity have merged into our law to the extent that they no longer retain their uniquely equitable character. In order to keep pace with both the law’s absorption of certain equitable principles, as well as other developments in equity, this Court must continue to delineate as clearly as possible the scope of its jurisdiction over “equity cases.” Footnotes omitted. Redfearn v. Huntcliff Homes Assn. , 271 Ga. 745, 746-747 1 524 SE2d 464 1999.
