Phyllis Anderson filed suit against Jonathan and Juli Silver arising out of a contract between the parties for co-ownership of a dog that allegedly has a prize-winning pedigree. Discovery disputes arose, and, eventually, the court dismissed Anderson’s complaint for twice failing to comply with court orders compelling her to respond to the Silvers’ discovery requests. Anderson appeals. The appellate courts “will not reverse a trial court’s decision on discovery matters absent a clear abuse of discretion.” Citations and punctuation omitted. Ford Motor Co. v. Gibson , 283 Ga. 398, 401 1 659 SE2d 346 2008. See also Gropper v. STO Corp ., 276 Ga. App. 272, 275 1 623 SE2d 175 2005. We conclude there was one in this case.
The record shows that since 1969, Anderson has bred Norwegian Elkhound dogs under the trade name “Trolan Norwegian Elkhounds” and that in December 2005, a litter was produced that included a female who Anderson formally named “Trolan’s Stars and Stripes Forever” but informally named “Delilah.” That month the Silvers contacted Anderson about purchasing a female dog, and Anderson explained that she was intending to breed and show Delilah in the future. Eventually, the parties agreed to a co-ownership agreement that, in essence, would allow the Silvers to have the dog as a pet but still allow Anderson to breed and show the dog. On March 4, 2006, the parties entered into a one-page “Sales Contract” to document the agreement. The key language of the contract provides: Puppy to be co-owned by TROLAN and The Silver Family. Puppy to reside with Silvers except for show/breeding and expenses paid by Silvers. At the end of show and breeding career, puppy is to be spayed and TROLAN will sign off as owner. TROLAN retains show/breeding rights —sold at pet price to offset expenses. The Silvers acknowledge that they received a reduced price for the dog in exchange for the co-ownership agreement.
