Corneliu Pribeagu et al.v.Gwinnett County, Georgia
Corneliu and Sanda Pribeagu sued Gwinnett County after repeated flooding allegedly resulted from the County’s failure to maintain a road and storm-water drainage system serving their home. In an interlocutory appeal, they challenged an order in limine that excluded expert testimony and evidence concerning personal-property damage, repair costs, emotional distress, and attorney fees. The Court of Appeals held that the record did not support several of the appellants’ evidentiary arguments, including arguments for which the relevant portions of the record had not been included. It nevertheless reversed in part because attorney fees could be recoverable in an inverse-condemnation proceeding under Georgia law when sought under the statute addressing bad faith and unnecessary trouble and expense. The court distinguished the constitutional measure of just and adequate compensation from a statutory fee claim and noted that the County conceded possible liability for fees on proper facts. The judgment was affirmed in part and reversed in part, leaving the case to proceed with the permissible evidence and claims. Two judges concurred.
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