Rowland v. Clarke County Sch. Dist.

Because the decedent loaned her painting to the school district for an indefinite period of time, the loan terminated upon her death and her executor had four years to file an action to recover the painting under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-32.

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The appellant, Jack Rowland, as executor of his mother’s estate, appeals from the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to appellee Clarke County School District on Jack’s claim for the return of a painting that Jack alleged first had been loaned to the school district by his mother before her death, and then had been loaned anew by him as executor after her death. After careful consideration, we conclude that the trial court properly ruled that Jack’s cause of action was barred by the four-year statute of limitations for the return of personal property.1 Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to the school district.

Jack’s mother, Mary Lamb Rowland, died on December 23, 1968. Before her death, she loaned her painting, “The Cotton Pickers,” by Lamar Dodd, to the school district. Jack Rowland and his brother and father were qualified as co-executors of Ms. Rowland’s estate on December 27, 1968. Jack is the sole surviving executor. At the time of his mother’s death, Jack was aware that his mother had lent the painting to the school district. After Ms. Rowland’s death, the school district continued to have possession and control of the painting. In July 1998, Jack learned in a local paper that the school district was asserting ownership of the painting. Jack responded by demanding on two separate occasions in 1998 that the school district return the painting. When the school district refused, Jack filed a complaint in October 1998 seeking the return of the painting. The complaint alleged that Ms. Rowland had loaned the painting to the school district before her death, that the estate had demanded the return of the painting in 1998, and that the school district had wrongfully refused to return it.

Rowland v. Clarke County Sch. Dist.

Because the decedent loaned her painting to the school district for an indefinite period of time, the loan terminated upon her death and her executor had four years to file an action to recover the painting under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-32.

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