Hadden v. ARE Properties LLC

Amanda Stone Hadden, on behalf of herself and her three children by Frank Henry Parker, and as administrator of Parker’s estate, appeals from the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to ARE Properties, LLC, Ralph Trapnell d/b/a Morgan Lake Hunting and Fishing Club the Club, Trapnell individually, and Bob King1 on premises liability and negligence claims resulting from the accidental shooting death of Parker on the Club’s property. Summary judgment is appropriate when the court, viewing all the facts and evidence and reasonable inferences from those facts in a light most favorable to the nonmovant, concludes that the evidence does not create a triable issue as to each essential element of the case. Lau’s Corp. v. Haskins, 261 Ga. 491 405 SE2d 474 1991. On appeal from a grant of a motion of summary judgment, we review the evidence de novo to determine whether a genuine issue of fact remains and whether the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Burdick v. GEICO , 277 Ga. App. 391 626 SE2d 587 2006.

So viewed, the evidence was that Trapnell, with his mother and sister, formed ARE Properties, LLC, and it owned the property where the Club operated. Trapnell hired Bob King to run the Club in 1995. In addition to selling hunting and fishing permits, King also handled renting lots on the property for mobile homes. When King went to another ARE property to work, Amanda Hadden began working in the office at the Club, selling permits and renting lots. She, Parker,2 and their children also lived in a trailer on the property.