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Smith v. Henry

The privilege contained in O.C.G.A. § 51-5-7-statements made before a governmental body in connection with an issue under consideration by that body-applies to slander, libel and "any other tort based on communications."

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Brenda Henry sued George Smith for libel, slander, invasion of privacy, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress based on a statement Smith made about her at a Douglas County Board of Commissioners meeting on October 15, 2002. The parties filed cross motions for summary judgment, which were denied by the trial court. Smith appeals, and for reasons that follow, we reverse. 1. We review the trial court’s denial of a motion for summary judgment de novo and view the evidence in a light most favorable to the nonmovant.1 Viewed in that manner, the evidence shows that in October 2002, Henry was the Chief Appraiser for the Douglas County Board of Tax Assessors “BOA”. She reported directly to the BOA and was responsible for supervising appraisers in the Douglas County Tax Assessor’s Office. The appraisers conduct property appraisals from which tax valuation decisions are made by the BOA. Henry presented information to the BOA about methods of valuation, and on at least one occasion, “approached the BOA about the need to raise property values to conform to state law.”

Smith had previously been a member of the BOA; however, on October 15, 2002, he held no government post and attended the Douglas County Board of Commissioners meeting as a private citizen. At the meeting, county commissioners and citizens discussed recent increases in the dollar value of property appraisals. When Smith spoke, he stated that Henry “took her staff’s appraisals and just arbitrarily raised the value of the land.”2 This statement is the basis for Henry’s claims against Smith.

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