X

Thank you for sharing!

Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

Brown, Judge. Andrea Bailey appeals from the dismissal of her negligence action against the Georgia World Congress Center Authority (“GWCCA”). Because we conclude that Bailey did not satisfy the requirements of the Georgia Tort Claims Act (“GTCA”), we affirm. Bailey’s complaint alleges that on October 11, 2015, she suffered injuries while attending a National Football League game at the Georgia Dome when the escalator on which she was riding malfunctioned. In particular, Bailey alleges that GWCCA’s failure to maintain or inspect the escalator caused her injuries. Bailey filed a renewal action against the GWCCA, as operator of the Georgia Dome, on May 11, 2018. Several days later, in an effort to comply with the ante-litem notice provisions of OCGA §§ 50-21-26 and 50-21-35, Bailey amended her complaint, attaching notices of her claim directed to the Attorney General and the “Director of Risk Management Administrative Service” of the “Department of Administrative Services.” The GWCCA timely answered and moved to dismiss the complaint, arguing that Bailey failed to comply with the strict ante-litem notice provisions of the GTCA. Specifically, GWCCA pointed out that Bailey failed to attach a notice of claim directed to the GWCCA. Subsequently, Bailey filed a second amendment to her complaint, attaching a copy of her notice of claim directed to the GWCCA. After considering Bailey’s second amendment to her complaint, the trial court denied in part the GWCCA’s motion to dismiss, finding that Bailey had cured any deficiencies regarding the filing of the notices. GWCCA then filed a supplemental brief in support of its motion to dismiss, arguing that while Bailey cured the notice filing requirement, her actual ante-litem notice failed to comply with the strict requirements of OCGA § 50-21-26 because it did not sufficiently describe the nature of the losses raised in her complaint. Following a hearing, the trial court granted the motion to dismiss, agreeing that Bailey’s ante-litem notice failed to comply with the requirements of OCGA § 50-21-26. We review this ruling under the de novo standard of review. DeFloria v. Walker, 317 Ga. App. 578, 579 (732 SE2d 121) (2012). Bailey makes two arguments on appeal. First, she contends that sovereign immunity does not bar her action because none of the statutory exceptions of OCGA § 50-21-24 apply to her case. In this regard, Bailey argues that under OCGA § 50-21-24 (8),[1] she is authorized to sue the State because it owned and operated the Georgia Dome at the time of her injury. Second, Bailey argues that the trial court erred in not finding that her ante-litem notice meets the requirements of the GTCA because it states the nature of losses, including medical expenses, lost wages, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and loss of consortium, and also states a specific damages amount. Because we agree with the trial court’s conclusion, however, we need not reach Bailey’s first argument. The GTCA “prohibits any person . . . from bringing a tort action against the [S]tate without first giving notice to the [S]tate of the claim. The statute provides that no court shall have jurisdiction until a written notice of claim has been timely presented to the [S]tate as provided in [OCGA § 50-21-26] (a).” Williams v. Georgia Dept. of Human Resources, 272 Ga. 624 (532 SE2d 401) (2000). Indeed, “[t]he explicit ante[-]litem notice provision is ignored only at peril to a plaintiff’s cause of action and serves as a condition precedent for bringing suit under the Act.” (Citation and punctuation omitted.) Gambell v. Georgia Ports Auth., 276 Ga. App. 115, 116 (1) (622 SE2d 464) (2005). OCGA § 50-21-26 (a) (5) provides that a notice of claim shall state the following: (A) The name of the state government entity, the acts or omissions of which are asserted as the basis of the claim; (B) The time of the transaction or occurrence out of which the loss arose; (C) The place of the transaction or occurrence; (D) The nature of the loss suffered; (E) The amount of the loss claimed; and (F) The acts or omissions which caused the loss. Strict compliance with these provisions is required; substantial compliance is not sufficient. See Williams, 272 Ga. at 624. As we have previously explained, substantial compliance is not strict compliance. Strict compliance is exactly what it sounds like: strict. That said, we have repeatedly emphasized that the rule of strict compliance does not demand a hypertechnical construction that would not measurably advance the purpose of the GTCA’s notice provisions as reflected by the plain meaning of the relevant statutory text. Nevertheless, if the antelitem notice requirements are not met, then the State does not waive sovereign immunity, and the trial court lacks subjectmatter jurisdiction over the case. (Citations and punctuation omitted.) Williams v. Wilcox State Prison, 341 Ga. App. 290, 292 (1) (799 SE2d 811) (2017). See also Bd. of Regents of the Univ. System of Georgia v. Myers, 295 Ga. 843, 845-846 (764 SE2d 543) (2014). Bailey’s ante-litem notice provides as follows: [Attorney] has been retained to represent . . . Bailey relating to her negligence and premise[s] liability claims arising from the Georgia Dome’s employees, agents and employees’ failure to warn of dangers relating to the premises and to maintain premises in a safe condition and failed to warn or/and maintain and prevent its escalator from malfunction on October 11, 2015. The event took place at 1 Georgia Dome Dr[.], Atlanta, GA 30313. As a result, Ms. Bailey has suffered personal injuries, present and pas[t] medical damages, present and future los[t] wages, [i]ntentional [i]nfliction of [e]motion[al] [d]istress, los[s] of consortium[,] and other damages in excess of $6 million dollars. The GWCCA contends that Bailey has failed to comply with OCGA § 50-21-26 (a) (5) (D) because her notice does not detail the type of injury or injuries she allegedly suffered. We agree. While Bailey’s ante-litem notice specifies an amount of damages and indicates that she suffered various general types of damage and injury, it does not describe the nature of those injuries or provide any details regarding the type of injury or injuries she allegedly sustained. See Camp v. Coweta County, 271 Ga. App. 349, 354 (3) (609 SE2d 695) (2005) (ante-litem notice insufficient where plaintiff failed to name GDOC in notice or provide proof that GDOC was mailed notice; notice also failed to specify place or time of incident or the nature of the plaintiff’s injuries), rev’d on other grounds, Camp v. Coweta County, 280 Ga. 199 (625 SE2d 759) (2006). See, e.g., Williams, 341 Ga. App. at 294 (1) (ante-litem notice insufficient to specify nature of loss where plaintiff stated generally that she “sustained serious injuries”); Colvin v. City of Thomasville, 269 Ga. App. 173, 174 (603 SE2d 536) (2004) (summary judgment in favor of municipality under OCGA § 36-33-5 proper where ante-litem notice failed to state when or where incident took place, extent of the alleged injuries, or what alleged negligence on the part of the municipality caused the incident). Similar to Williams, Bailey’s ante-litem notice stated that she expected her damages to exceed $6,000,000, but provided no information about the specific injuries causing this alleged amount of damage. Because Bailey failed to strictly comply with the notice requirements of OCGA § 502126 (a) (5), the trial court correctly found that it lacked subjectmatter jurisdiction over her complaint. See Williams, 341 Ga. App. at 294 (1). We, therefore, affirm the dismissal of Bailey’s complaint on this procedural ground and need not address her substantive argument. See Gambell, 276 Ga. App. at 116 (1) (affirming dismissal of plaintiff’s complaint for failure to comply with OCGA § 50-21-26, and declining to reach plaintiff’s substantive argument that the doctrine of sovereign immunity does not bar his claim). Judgment affirmed. Barnes, P. J., and Mercier, J., concur.

 
Reprints & Licensing
Mentioned in a Law.com story?

License our industry-leading legal content to extend your thought leadership and build your brand.

More From ALM

With this subscription you will receive unlimited access to high quality, online, on-demand premium content from well-respected faculty in the legal industry. This is perfect for attorneys licensed in multiple jurisdictions or for attorneys that have fulfilled their CLE requirement but need to access resourceful information for their practice areas.
View Now
Our Team Account subscription service is for legal teams of four or more attorneys. Each attorney is granted unlimited access to high quality, on-demand premium content from well-respected faculty in the legal industry along with administrative access to easily manage CLE for the entire team.
View Now
Gain access to some of the most knowledgeable and experienced attorneys with our 2 bundle options! Our Compliance bundles are curated by CLE Counselors and include current legal topics and challenges within the industry. Our second option allows you to build your bundle and strategically select the content that pertains to your needs. Both options are priced the same.
View Now
May 01, 2025
Atlanta, GA

The Daily Report is honoring those attorneys and judges who have made a remarkable difference in the legal profession.


Learn More
December 02, 2024 - December 03, 2024
Scottsdale, AZ

Join the industry's top owners, investors, developers, brokers and financiers for the real estate healthcare event of the year!


Learn More
December 11, 2024
Las Vegas, NV

This event shines a spotlight on how individuals and firms are changing the investment advisory industry where it matters most.


Learn More

We are seeking two attorneys with a minimum of two to three years of experience to join our prominent and thriving education law practice in...


Apply Now ›

Description: Fox Rothschild has an opening in the New York office for a Real Estate Litigation Associate with three to six years of commerci...


Apply Now ›

Downtown NY property and casualty defense law firm seeks a Litigation Associate with 3+ years' experience to become a part of our team! You ...


Apply Now ›