Young v. Georgia Dept. of Nat. Resources

Prior to dismissing the suit for failure to comply with the anti-litem notice statute, the trial court must determine whether the plaintiffs adequately investigated their claim when their notice named the wrong target state entity.

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Maynard and Laura Young appeal from the trial court’s grant of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’s “DNR” and the Georgia Agricultural Exposition Authority’s “GAEA” motion to dismiss their personal injury suit based upon their failure to comply with the ante-litem notice statute, OCGA § 50-21-26. Based upon the Georgia Supreme Court’s decision in Cummings v. Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice , 282 Ga. 822 653 SE2d 729 2007, which was decided shortly before the trial court’s order was issued, we vacate the trial court’s order and remand this case to the trial court to employ the analysis outlined by the Supreme Court in Cummings . The issue in this case is whether the ante-litem notice provided by the Youngs sufficiently identified “the state government entity, the acts or omissions of which are asserted as the basis of the claim.” OCGA § 50-21-26 2 5 A. The record shows that the Youngs provided ante-litem notices to the Department of Administrative Services, Risk Management Division, as well as the Georgia National Fairground & Agricenter within the one-year time period required by OCGA § 50-21-26 a 1.

The ante-litem notices listed the place of the accident as the “Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter, Perry, Georgia.” The Youngs asserted that Mr. Young was injured “by the negligence of the State of Georgia and its contractors, subcontractors, and other agents.” They also claimed that “the State of Georgia was negligent in the design of the facility and in failing to provide adequate security, supervision, management and control of the animals being exhibited.” The notices were addressed to the Department of Administrative Services, Risk Management Division. The notices list that carbon copies were provided to the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter.

Young v. Georgia Dept. of Nat. Resources

Prior to dismissing the suit for failure to comply with the anti-litem notice statute, the trial court must determine whether the plaintiffs adequately investigated their claim when their notice named the wrong target state entity.

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