Heartwood II LLC v. Jones

On appeal from a grant of summary judgment in this tax assessment dispute, Heartwood II, LLC Heartwood argues that the trial court erred when it ruled on the parties’ motions without a requested oral argument and when it ordered that plaintiff and appellee Taylor Jones receive a refund of his property taxes. We reverse on the first of these grounds. On appeal from a grant of a motion for summary judgment, we review the evidence de novo, viewing it in the light most favorable to the non-movant, to determine whether a genuine issue of fact remains and whether the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Rubin v. Cello Corp ., 235 Ga. App. 250 510 SE2d 541 1998.

So viewed, the record shows that after the Tax Commissioner of Fulton County issued executions for delinquent taxes on Jones’s property, Heartwood’s agent gave Jones written notice of its intention to purchase the executions. Jones then sued Heartwood, Fulton County and others to set aside the purchase. Heartwood filed a motion for summary judgment and made a timely request for oral argument.1 The argument came up in April 2004, but was postponed when Jones filed his own motions for summary judgment. Again, Heartwood timely requested oral argument. After further proceedings, including two more postponements, neither of which was at Heartwood’s request, the trial court granted summary judgment to Jones without holding an oral argument.