Stephen Gerard Maloof, as administrator of the estate of his aunt, Lorraine Maloof, filed this wrongful death action against Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority “MARTA”. MARTA moved for summary judgment, contending that the two-year statute of limitation governing the wrongful death claim had expired. The trial court denied MARTA’s motion for summary judgment, finding that OCGA § 9-3-92 tolled the statute of limitation. We granted MARTA’s application for interlocutory appeal, and now reverse. Summary judgment is appropriate when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. In reviewing the grant or denial of a motion for summary judgment, we apply a de novo standard of review, and we view the evidence, and all reasonable conclusions and inferences drawn from it, in the light most favorable to the nonmovant.1 So viewed, the record shows that on April 13, 2005, Lorraine Maloof was riding in a MARTA para-transit van when it collided with a vehicle driven by William Cleveland. Lorraine fell out of her wheelchair and injured her knee. She died on August 23, 2005, allegedly as a result of her injuries. Maloof filed a wrongful death action on August 23, 2007, against MARTA and Cleveland. In the complaint, Maloof described himself as “the nephew of Lorraine Maloof, and her statutory next of kin.”2 MARTA moved to dismiss the complaint on the ground that Maloof lacked standing to sue for his aunt’s wrongful death. The trial court granted the motion, finding that OCGA § 51-4-2 a “does not encompass the maintenance of a wrongful death action by a nephew,” but noted, however, that under OCGA § 51-4-5 a, the administrator of Lorraine’s estate would be authorized to bring such an action on behalf of her next of kin. The estate remained without an administrator until March 2008, when Maloof was appointed to the position.3 Two months later, on May 15, 2008, Maloof refiled the wrongful death action in his capacity as administrator. MARTA subsequently moved for summary judgment, asserting that the two-year statute of limitation governing the action had expired. Maloof argued that under OCGA § 9-3-92, the limitation period was tolled until March 2008, when he became administrator of the estate. The trial court agreed and denied MARTA’s motion, finding that “the wrongful death action belongs to the estate, and that OCGA § 9-3-92 therefore applied to toll the running of the statute of limitation until such time as an administrator could be appointed to bring the cause of action.”
MARTA contends that the trial court erred in denying its motion for summary judgment on Maloof’s wrongful death action, arguing that the two-year statute of limitation prescribed in OCGA § 9-3-334 was not tolled by OCGA § 9-3-92, which applies to estate claims, not claims brought on behalf of the next of kin. We agree.
