Sommers Oil Co. v. Georgia Dep't of Agriculture

The Department of Agriculture was immune from suit, under both the inspection and licensing exceptions to the Georgia Tort Claims Act, in an alleged pump-rigging scheme, since the essence of the claim was that pumps at the offending stations were improperly inspected.

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Sommers Oil Company brought suit against the Georgia Department of Agriculture “DOA” alleging that the DOA had negligently supervised one of its fuel calibration inspectors, who had colluded with certain fuel station owners in a pump-rigging scheme. Specifically, Sommers alleged that these stations, which were located along a corridor of I-95, deliberately calibrated their fuel pumps to dispense less gas than customers actually paid for, and that they avoided detection because the inspector would notify the stations of supposedly unannounced inspection dates so that the pumps could be properly calibrated on those dates. Sommers was both a fuel supplier and a station operator, and alleged it was damaged by this pump-rigging scheme because it was never paid for the fuel it supplied to the stations based on this falsified information and because it was forced to close one of its own stations because of the unfair competition resulting from the cheating. The DOA subsequently filed a motion to dismiss on the basis of sovereign immunity, arguing among other things, that Sommers’ claims were barred by the inspection and licensing exceptions set forth in the Georgia Tort Claims Act GTCA. The trial court granted the motion, and Sommers appeals.

The GTCA provides a limited wavier of sovereign immunity for suits against the State and its employees, and also sets forth certain exceptions from that waiver. OCGA § § 50-21-21 et seq. Subsections 8 and 9 of OCGA § 50-21-24 provide exceptions for “inspection powers or functions” and “licensing powers or functions” respectively. The trial court found that Sommers’ claims fell under those exceptions, and thus the Department was immune from suit for those claims. On appeal, Sommers argues that its claim is not barred by either the inspection or licensing exception, because those exceptions do not apply to a claim for negligent supervision.

Sommers Oil Co. v. Georgia Dep't of Agriculture

The Department of Agriculture was immune from suit, under both the inspection and licensing exceptions to the Georgia Tort Claims Act, in an alleged pump-rigging scheme, since the essence of the claim was that pumps at the offending stations were improperly inspected.

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