Jones v. City of Willacoochee

The plaintiff failed to show that he timely presented a written ante litem notice of his negligence claim against the city of Willacoochee within the required 6-month period.

Thank you for sharing!

Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

This appeal arises out of the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to the City of Willacoochee on the negligence claim brought against it by Carlos D. Jones. Because Jones failed to show that he timely presented a written ante litem notice of his negligence claim to the City, we affirm.1 To prevail at summary judgment under OCGA § 9-11-56, the moving party must demonstrate that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the undisputed facts, viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, warrant judgment as a matter of law. A defendant may do this by showing the court that the documents, affidavits, depositions and other evidence in the record reveal that there is no evidence sufficient to create a jury issue on at least one essential element of plaintiff’s case. We review de novo a trial court’s grant of summary judgment. Citations and punctuation omitted. Duke Galish, LLC v. Manton , 291 Ga. App. 827, 827-828 662 SE2d 880 2008. See OCGA § 9-11-56 c. So viewed, the record reflects that on June 5, 2005, Jones brought this damages action against the City of Willacoochee for injuries allegedly caused by a City employee’s negligence in mowing grass along a public highway. The complaint, which was unverified, alleged that the mowing incident occurred on July 14, 2003. The complaint further alleged that in accordance with OCGA § 36-33-5, Jones provided written notice of his claim for monetary damages to the City within six months of the mowing incident. Attached to the complaint was the purported ante-litem notice addressed to the City and dated September 4, 2003.

The City filed a verified answer in which, among other things, it denied having been provided with a written ante litem notice from Jones within the required six month period. The City thereafter moved for summary judgment on that same ground and on several additional grounds.

Jones v. City of Willacoochee

The plaintiff failed to show that he timely presented a written ante litem notice of his negligence claim against the city of Willacoochee within the required 6-month period.

Share with Email

Thank you for sharing!

Trending Stories

More From ALM

Subscribe to Daily Report