Vinnie Worley Holcomb sued Dirone C. Norton in Norton’s home county of Cherokee for wilful trespass and intentional infliction of emotional distress, alleging that he unlawfully and intentionally carved out a road and knocked down trees on property she owns in Pickens County. Norton filed a counterclaim in three counts as follows: 1 action to quiet title, OCGA § 23-3-61; 2 condemnation of a private way;1 and 3 damages for wrongful obstruction. He also moved to transfer the case to Pickens County because the case involved title to land in that county. The trial court denied the motion to transfer and granted summary judgment in favor of Holcomb on her trespass claim and Norton’s counterclaim. Norton appeals these rulings. For reasons that follow, we affirm. On appeal from a grant of summary judgment, this court conducts a de novo review of the evidence viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmovant, to determine whether any question of material fact exists. Summary judgment is appropriate where the moving party can show that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.2 So viewed, the evidence shows that in 1996, Holcomb inherited 10.07 acres of land in Pickens County, which had been acquired by her father Ernest Worley in 1944 from Sion Bennett, and was bounded on its northerly side by Cove Mountain Road. In 2003, Norton purchased from U. S. Pipe Realty, Inc., 59.88 acres of land located south of and adjacent to Holcomb’s property. The deed of conveyance did not include any express written easement or right-of-way for access to the property.3 However, an old unpaved roadbed on Holcomb’s land, known as the Marble Company Road, extended from Cove Mountain Road to Norton’s property. In 2003, Norton approached Holcomb and offered to trade one and one half acres of his property for one acre of her property, including the Marble Company Road, thereby “eliminating the road that . . . just sort of dissects the middle of her property.” Holcomb declined to trade or sell her property at that time. In 2004, Norton attempted to meet with Holcomb to discuss his plans to hire a timber company to remove trees on his property. Robert Lowery, Holcomb’s son-in-law, told Norton that Holcomb would not meet with him and was not interested in trading or selling her land. In June 2004, Norton entered into a contract with Georgia Mountain Forestry Service, Inc. “GMFS”, to cut and remove timber on his property. Norton testified that he met with GMFS representative Henry Anderson and directed GMFS to use the old roadbed on Holcomb’s property to access his property. Norton did not tell Holcomb about his contract with GMFS.
On the morning of June 7, 2004, GMFS began to clear the old roadbed on Holcomb’s property, until Lowery objected, advised Norton that he was trespassing and called the police. On June 11, 2004, Norton was advised that barbed-wire cable and a no trespassing sign had been erected across the roadway. On June 14, 2004, GMFS workers returned to the site, removed the cable and sign —as instructed by Norton —and began to cut timber until police ordered them to remove their equipment from the property. According to Norton, GMFS could not remove any timber and left 29 pushed trees laying in the roadbed. When asked if he directed GMFS to push down the trees along the roadbed, Norton testified that “it was at my direction that Henry Anderson authorize sic someone or get somebody to do it. I did not know who they were going to hire, but yes. The timber company hired the bulldozer and they, you know accessed the road.”
