Laosebikan v. Lakemont Community Ass'n

Res judicata barred the plaintiffs' claims regarding the merits of a prior state court judgment, which they did not appeal

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Acting pro se, Ajibola and Emma Laosebikan appeal from the superior court’s dismissal of their complaint against the Lakemont Community Assoc. Lakemont. For the following reasons, we affirm. OCGA § 9-11-12 b 6 provides that an action can be dismissed upon the merits where the complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Dismissal is appropriate only where a complaint shows with certainty that the plaintiff would not be entitled to relief under any state of facts that could be proven in support of his claim. . . . We review the dismissal de novo, construing the complaint’s allegations and all possible inferences therefrom in favor of the plaintiff. Citation and punctuation omitted. Northeast Ga. Cancer Care v. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Ga. , 297 Ga. App. 28, 29 676 SE2d 428 2009. The record reveals that Lakemont filed a complaint against the Laosebikans in the Magistrate Court of Fayette County claiming that they violated certain homeowners association covenants.1 The magistrate court ruled in favor of the Laosebikans. Lakemont then appealed to the state court, and following a bench trial, the court entered a judgment in Lakemont’s favor and awarded it damages in the amount of $11,250. The Laosebikans did not appeal the judgment.

Six and half months after the judgment, Lakemont filed a claim of lien against the Laosebikans’ property. The Laosebikans then filed a new action in the superior court seeking to cancel the lien claiming that Lakemont acted in bad faith in filing it. Lakemont moved to dismiss the complaint on the ground that the lien was properly filed after the final judgment in its favor, and on the ground that the Laosebikans cannot reargue the merits of the underlying claim because they did not appeal from the state court’s judgment. Following a hearing, the trial court summarily granted the motion to dismiss. The Laosebikans now appeal from that order.

Laosebikan v. Lakemont Community Ass'n

Res judicata barred the plaintiffs' claims regarding the merits of a prior state court judgment, which they did not appeal

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